The Witch TrialsThe witch trials are one of the most read-about historical subjects, with Salem being the main centre of peoples’ attention. People were accused of witchcraft for the smallest of things, with 150 people accused of practising the craft and 19 executed for it. Back in the time of Salem the ‘leader’ of the witches was a man called George Burroughs. Ironically, he was able to escape the trials himself!

The most accused person, however, was a girl called Bridget Bishop in Salem in the 1600s. In 1692 she was judged by Samuel Sewall, William Stoughton and John Hawthorn and hanged due to the judges taking a serious disliking to her. Bridget got the most attention from the people of Salem due to her strange dress sense; she usually wore a black cap, dress and a red cape! Sound familiar…?

Another unforgettable victim of the Salem witch trials was Tituba, a servant of Samuel Parris, the puritan minister, and one of the youngest girls to have been put to death. Tituba was accused for bewitching Parris’ daughter, Betty, when she fell ill. She was caught feeding a dog a witch cake in the hope that the dog would in return tell her how to cure Betty. She was beaten until she confessed to being a witch.

Ann Putnam is also a well known name when it comes to the witch trials in Salem. Ann was known for being against witchcraft and regularly attended trials (11 in total). This made people very suspicious of her. In fact the people of Salem tried to trial her for witch craft for this very reason!

Ways of testing if you neighbour is a witch:

  • Strip him/her down and if there are any black spots on their body, the accused is a witch.
  • Throw him/her into the water, if they float then the accused has being dealing with witchcraft and practising it regularly.
  • If they were around in the time of the Bubolic plague in 1603 there is a large possibility that that person is a witch.
  • Your neighbour is a witch if they believe in fairies.

If you want to dress up as a witch this Halloween then why not read our Witch Costume Ideas page. If not, check out our other Halloween fancy dress costumes.