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Centuries Collide TBN Version

Cody Crouch: American Horror Story | Centuries Collide

December 4, 2024 | S2:E15

Cody Crouch: American Horror Story | Centuries Collide
Host Cody Crouch takes us on an unforgettable ride through the moments that made the U.S.A. the country it is today.
#AmericanHistory #History #Culture #Government #inActive #CodyCrouch #Documentary #Lukewarm #Prisoner #Witchcraft #Divination

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Centuries Collide TBN Version | Cody Crouch: American Horror Story | Centuries Collide | December 4, 2024
  • Cody crouch: i'm cody crouch.
  • 00:00:01.858 --> 00:00:03.093
  • On my new show, "centuries collide: american history," i'm
  • 00:00:03.193 --> 00:00:05.962
  • Traveling across the united states, uncovering the
  • 00:00:06.096 --> 00:00:09.265
  • Incredibly true history of what makes our nation so great.
  • 00:00:09.365 --> 00:00:10.366
  • We're recreating some of american history's greatest
  • 00:00:13.503 --> 00:00:16.072
  • Moments exactly how they happened.
  • 00:00:16.072 --> 00:00:17.974
  • Male: didn't you think the rock would be bigger?
  • 00:00:17.974 --> 00:00:20.310
  • Cody: welcome to the craziest, strangest, most whateverist
  • 00:00:20.310 --> 00:00:24.047
  • Crash course on american history.
  • 00:00:24.047 --> 00:00:26.049
  • Buckle up, it's time for "centuries collide."
  • 00:00:26.049 --> 00:00:30.420
  • Cody: the 16th century was a big deal for the new world.
  • 00:00:30.487 --> 00:00:34.624
  • The colony at jamestown was a thing, the mayflower pilgrims
  • 00:00:34.624 --> 00:00:38.094
  • Made a splash at plymouth rock, and the first thanksgiving meal
  • 00:00:38.094 --> 00:00:41.798
  • Was served.
  • 00:00:41.798 --> 00:00:43.133
  • And word started to spread, the old world was old and boring,
  • 00:00:43.133 --> 00:00:47.570
  • But the new world was pretty cool.
  • 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:50.907
  • Soon thousands of colonists started pouring in from spain,
  • 00:00:50.974 --> 00:00:54.744
  • France, england, and the netherlands.
  • 00:00:54.744 --> 00:00:57.280
  • Colonies started springing up like crazy, and little towns
  • 00:00:57.347 --> 00:01:00.517
  • Dotted the map everywhere.
  • 00:01:00.517 --> 00:01:02.519
  • Like this quaint, peaceful village was known for fishing,
  • 00:01:02.519 --> 00:01:05.588
  • Shipbuilding, timber, and delicious seafood, as well as
  • 00:01:05.588 --> 00:01:09.692
  • Corrupt judges, rival families, magic spells, and yes,
  • 00:01:09.692 --> 00:01:14.664
  • Wicked witches.
  • 00:01:14.664 --> 00:01:16.199
  • You know the name.
  • 00:01:16.266 --> 00:01:17.634
  • But do you know the true, actual, and totally freaky story
  • 00:01:17.634 --> 00:01:21.404
  • Of what really happened in salem, massachusetts?
  • 00:01:21.404 --> 00:01:24.007
  • Get ready for one of the spookiest tales in our nation's
  • 00:01:24.007 --> 00:01:26.709
  • History, the original american horror story.
  • 00:01:26.709 --> 00:01:30.513
  • It's time for "centuries collide."
  • 00:01:30.580 --> 00:01:31.915
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:01:31.915 --> 00:01:44.961
  • Cody: the salem witch trials has got to be one of the weirdest
  • 00:01:41.925 --> 00:01:48.765
  • Stories in american history.
  • 00:01:48.765 --> 00:01:50.934
  • Let me set the stage.
  • 00:01:50.934 --> 00:01:52.335
  • The american colonies, especially in the north, were
  • 00:01:52.335 --> 00:01:55.705
  • Founded by god fearing people who were fleeing religious
  • 00:01:55.705 --> 00:01:59.309
  • Persecution in europe.
  • 00:01:59.309 --> 00:02:01.010
  • Male: lord, we thank you for this new land to escape the
  • 00:02:01.010 --> 00:02:05.848
  • Persecution of our beliefs.
  • 00:02:05.848 --> 00:02:08.651
  • Female: amen.
  • 00:02:08.718 --> 00:02:10.086
  • Male: amen and amen.
  • 00:02:10.086 --> 00:02:13.923
  • Didn't you think the rock would be bigger?
  • 00:02:17.794 --> 00:02:20.096
  • Cody: they just wanted a place where they could go to practice
  • 00:02:20.096 --> 00:02:22.966
  • Their religion without the fear of death.
  • 00:02:22.966 --> 00:02:25.368
  • And salem was a pretty chill place to be.
  • 00:02:25.435 --> 00:02:28.504
  • A quiet seaside village right here on the coast
  • 00:02:28.571 --> 00:02:31.174
  • Of massachusetts.
  • 00:02:31.174 --> 00:02:32.508
  • At first, this little settlement was known as naumkeag, which to
  • 00:02:32.508 --> 00:02:36.112
  • The indigenous people of the area meant fish or
  • 00:02:36.112 --> 00:02:38.815
  • Fishing place.
  • 00:02:38.815 --> 00:02:40.183
  • Now, the word naumkeag can also mean to buff a shoe bottom.
  • 00:02:40.183 --> 00:02:44.554
  • Either way, it's a good thing the naming
  • 00:02:44.554 --> 00:02:46.589
  • Committee reconsidered.
  • 00:02:46.589 --> 00:02:48.458
  • Male: i go for lumpsucker, massachusetts.
  • 00:02:48.524 --> 00:02:50.360
  • It's a type of fish, and it rhymes with dumpsucker, so
  • 00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:52.862
  • It's cool.
  • 00:02:52.862 --> 00:02:54.230
  • Female: what about cobblertop?
  • 00:02:54.230 --> 00:02:55.565
  • Male: like, peach cobbler?
  • 00:02:55.565 --> 00:02:56.933
  • Female: no, shoe cobbler.
  • 00:02:56.933 --> 00:02:58.434
  • Male: you know, peach cobbler sounds pretty good.
  • 00:02:58.434 --> 00:03:00.603
  • I can go for a piece.
  • 00:03:00.603 --> 00:03:02.138
  • Male: peace, that's it.
  • 00:03:02.205 --> 00:03:05.041
  • Peace.
  • 00:03:05.108 --> 00:03:06.442
  • Female: piece of what?
  • 00:03:06.442 --> 00:03:07.810
  • Cody: in the end, they came up with a different name, salem,
  • 00:03:07.810 --> 00:03:10.079
  • Which comes from the word shalom, the hebrew word
  • 00:03:10.079 --> 00:03:12.715
  • For peace.
  • 00:03:12.715 --> 00:03:14.250
  • So, how do we go from a village named peace to a witch crazed
  • 00:03:14.250 --> 00:03:18.554
  • Mob that hanged 19 innocent people?
  • 00:03:18.554 --> 00:03:21.224
  • Well, it's actually really simple.
  • 00:03:21.291 --> 00:03:23.326
  • Dungeons and dragons.
  • 00:03:23.393 --> 00:03:25.628
  • Just kidding.
  • 00:03:25.695 --> 00:03:27.063
  • I wish history could be that simple, but it never is.
  • 00:03:27.063 --> 00:03:29.932
  • The story starts in 1689 with reverend samuel parris.
  • 00:03:29.999 --> 00:03:34.370
  • Female: i got you a gift.
  • 00:03:34.370 --> 00:03:35.738
  • Samuel parris: okay, size-- no, that's too large, i'm size 6.5.
  • 00:03:35.738 --> 00:03:39.242
  • Take it away, thank you.
  • 00:03:39.242 --> 00:03:40.576
  • Cody: after dropping out of harvard's seminary to manage his
  • 00:03:40.576 --> 00:03:42.679
  • Family's sugar plantation in barbados, he attempted to
  • 00:03:42.679 --> 00:03:45.948
  • Re-invent himself as a man of the cloth.
  • 00:03:45.948 --> 00:03:48.484
  • Samuel: what do we have?
  • 00:03:48.484 --> 00:03:49.852
  • An unscented candle, try harder.
  • 00:03:49.852 --> 00:03:52.388
  • Okay.
  • 00:03:52.388 --> 00:03:53.756
  • Bless you, good sir.
  • 00:03:53.756 --> 00:03:55.458
  • The lord bless you and keep you.
  • 00:03:55.458 --> 00:03:57.327
  • Cody: folks in town thought he was too rigid and greedy.
  • 00:03:57.327 --> 00:04:00.396
  • Female: how would you describe him?
  • 00:04:00.396 --> 00:04:02.899
  • Female: "oh, hi, i'm mr. reverend high and mighty, and
  • 00:04:02.965 --> 00:04:06.302
  • I've got bags of money, bags, i say.
  • 00:04:06.302 --> 00:04:09.138
  • And i smell better than you."
  • 00:04:09.138 --> 00:04:11.774
  • Female: oh, i take a bath once a week.
  • 00:04:11.774 --> 00:04:13.776
  • I'm so special.
  • 00:04:13.776 --> 00:04:15.144
  • Female: scrubby-dub-dub.
  • 00:04:15.144 --> 00:04:16.646
  • Cody: believe it or not, all of the famous salem witchy hocus
  • 00:04:16.713 --> 00:04:20.283
  • Pocus actually started in reverend harris's own home.
  • 00:04:20.283 --> 00:04:25.188
  • Quite the coincidence, don't you think?
  • 00:04:25.254 --> 00:04:28.524
  • In january of 1692, his nine year old daughter, elizabeth,
  • 00:04:28.591 --> 00:04:32.929
  • And her tweenage cousin abigail experienced something super
  • 00:04:32.929 --> 00:04:37.633
  • Creepy, perhaps even supernaturally creepy.
  • 00:04:37.633 --> 00:04:42.004
  • The girls were playing with whatever it is girls in the
  • 00:04:42.071 --> 00:04:44.974
  • 1600s played with, and things got weird.
  • 00:04:44.974 --> 00:04:48.378
  • Anne and abigail seemed to lose their senses.
  • 00:04:48.444 --> 00:04:51.347
  • They weren't able to hear, speak, or see.
  • 00:04:51.347 --> 00:04:54.684
  • They even felt prickly sensations in their skin.
  • 00:04:54.751 --> 00:04:57.887
  • They threw things, uttered strange sounds, they felt hot
  • 00:04:57.954 --> 00:05:02.058
  • And feverish to the touch, they had violent convulsions and
  • 00:05:02.058 --> 00:05:05.461
  • Twisted their bodies into what some observers called
  • 00:05:05.461 --> 00:05:08.664
  • Impossible positions.
  • 00:05:08.664 --> 00:05:10.800
  • So, reverend parris and his wife called upon dr. william griggs
  • 00:05:10.867 --> 00:05:14.704
  • To diagnose the problem.
  • 00:05:14.704 --> 00:05:16.205
  • William griggs: medically speaking, it could be anything.
  • 00:05:16.205 --> 00:05:18.474
  • But who's to say that a nine year old girl has kneecaps or
  • 00:05:18.474 --> 00:05:21.844
  • Bladder or kidneys anyway?
  • 00:05:21.844 --> 00:05:23.646
  • Cody: the doctor, unable to find anything physically wrong with
  • 00:05:23.646 --> 00:05:27.083
  • The girls, jumped to the only logical conclusion.
  • 00:05:27.083 --> 00:05:30.653
  • William: put your left hand in.
  • 00:05:30.653 --> 00:05:32.588
  • Take your left hand out.
  • 00:05:32.655 --> 00:05:34.157
  • Okay, now put your right hand in and shake it all about.
  • 00:05:34.157 --> 00:05:37.627
  • Okay, now do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.
  • 00:05:37.693 --> 00:05:40.396
  • Okay, that's what it's all about.
  • 00:05:40.463 --> 00:05:42.064
  • Samuel: doctor, what's your diagnosis?
  • 00:05:42.064 --> 00:05:43.499
  • William: she's a witch, the devil's bewitched her.
  • 00:05:43.499 --> 00:05:46.736
  • Samuel: oh, devil's in her too.
  • 00:05:46.803 --> 00:05:48.171
  • Cody: but here's where the story gets even weirder.
  • 00:05:48.171 --> 00:05:50.139
  • Elizabeth and abigail weren't the only ones.
  • 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:52.775
  • There were other creepy happenings bubbling up all
  • 00:05:52.775 --> 00:05:56.012
  • Over salem.
  • 00:05:56.012 --> 00:05:57.380
  • There was even rumors of girls dabbling in divination, which
  • 00:05:57.380 --> 00:06:00.683
  • For those who didn't go to hogwarts, is the art of looking
  • 00:06:00.683 --> 00:06:03.619
  • Into the future with the help of magic.
  • 00:06:03.619 --> 00:06:05.621
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:06:05.621 --> 00:06:16.132
  • Cody: and according to a local minister, john hale, things went
  • 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.202
  • From creepy bad to hide your kids, hide your wife, because
  • 00:06:19.202 --> 00:06:23.005
  • The devil's coming after everybody.
  • 00:06:23.005 --> 00:06:25.174
  • But i'll let the good reverend speak for himself.
  • 00:06:25.241 --> 00:06:27.777
  • John hale: i knew of the afflicted persons, who tried to
  • 00:06:27.844 --> 00:06:31.714
  • Call her future husband with
  • 00:06:31.714 --> 00:06:33.416
  • An egg and a glass.
  • 00:06:33.416 --> 00:06:35.585
  • Called up a coffin.
  • 00:06:35.585 --> 00:06:36.919
  • Well, a specter in the likeness of a coffin, and she was
  • 00:06:36.919 --> 00:06:40.723
  • Afterward followed by diabolical molestation until death, where
  • 00:06:40.723 --> 00:06:45.728
  • She died a single person, mind you.
  • 00:06:45.728 --> 00:06:48.965
  • Let this be a just warning to others, take heed when handling
  • 00:06:49.031 --> 00:06:53.102
  • The devil's weapons!
  • 00:06:53.102 --> 00:06:55.338
  • Cody: yes, those are his actual words.
  • 00:06:55.404 --> 00:06:58.140
  • His perspective shines a little light on the religious attitudes
  • 00:06:58.140 --> 00:07:01.711
  • Of the day.
  • 00:07:01.711 --> 00:07:03.045
  • First, notice how he said this young woman died a single
  • 00:07:03.045 --> 00:07:06.883
  • Person, as if that in itself is a fate worse than death.
  • 00:07:06.883 --> 00:07:10.887
  • Second, you can see just how terrified these people were of
  • 00:07:10.953 --> 00:07:15.324
  • The devil.
  • 00:07:15.324 --> 00:07:16.659
  • These new england folks took witchcraft really seriously.
  • 00:07:16.659 --> 00:07:20.596
  • And third, he mentioned that these girls were practicing
  • 00:07:20.663 --> 00:07:23.332
  • Divination using an egg and a glass.
  • 00:07:23.332 --> 00:07:26.802
  • What's that all about?
  • 00:07:26.869 --> 00:07:28.838
  • Female: hello, girls.
  • 00:07:28.905 --> 00:07:30.239
  • Would you like to learn about divination using eggs?
  • 00:07:30.239 --> 00:07:32.441
  • Female: i do.
  • 00:07:32.441 --> 00:07:33.776
  • Female: we love divination.
  • 00:07:33.776 --> 00:07:35.778
  • Female: i love deviled eggs.
  • 00:07:35.845 --> 00:07:37.179
  • Cody: this form of divination was called venus glass, and
  • 00:07:37.179 --> 00:07:39.649
  • Seems to be what john hale was referring to in his letter.
  • 00:07:39.649 --> 00:07:43.052
  • As the cloudy egg whites formed shapes in the water, young girls
  • 00:07:43.052 --> 00:07:47.056
  • Might even get a glimpse of the career of their future husband,
  • 00:07:47.056 --> 00:07:50.092
  • Or whatever.
  • 00:07:50.159 --> 00:07:51.627
  • Female: what do you see?
  • 00:07:51.694 --> 00:07:53.996
  • Female: i see a plow.
  • 00:07:54.063 --> 00:07:56.032
  • My husband's gonna be a farmer.
  • 00:07:56.098 --> 00:08:00.403
  • Female: my husband looks like a jellyfish.
  • 00:08:00.469 --> 00:08:05.308
  • My husband, my husband, he's dead!
  • 00:08:05.374 --> 00:08:10.580
  • [screams]
  • 00:08:10.580 --> 00:08:16.018
  • [cackles]
  • 00:08:12.448 --> 00:08:17.954
  • Cody: remember, this was way before iphones.
  • 00:08:17.954 --> 00:08:20.656
  • There wasn't a whole lot to do back then.
  • 00:08:20.656 --> 00:08:22.959
  • There's a rumor that one of these magic egg thingies went so
  • 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:27.630
  • Horribly wrong that one girl screamed herself to death.
  • 00:08:27.630 --> 00:08:33.169
  • I mean, it's not funny.
  • 00:08:33.235 --> 00:08:34.637
  • I just didn't know you could do that.
  • 00:08:34.637 --> 00:08:37.840
  • See what happens when you play around with egg magic, kids?
  • 00:08:37.907 --> 00:08:40.910
  • You could scream yourself to death or die a single young
  • 00:08:40.910 --> 00:08:43.913
  • Lady, according to john hale, anyway.
  • 00:08:43.913 --> 00:08:48.084
  • In 1692, salem was positively bedeviled with rumors of people
  • 00:08:48.150 --> 00:08:53.589
  • Being bedeviled.
  • 00:08:53.589 --> 00:08:54.957
  • Other girls in the village started experiencing eerie
  • 00:08:54.957 --> 00:08:58.127
  • Symptoms too.
  • 00:08:58.127 --> 00:08:59.495
  • There were reports of girls hiding in her furniture,
  • 00:08:59.495 --> 00:09:02.465
  • Mumbling incoherently, exploding in fits of anger, and
  • 00:09:02.531 --> 00:09:07.436
  • Experiencing nightmares.
  • 00:09:07.436 --> 00:09:09.438
  • You know, typical teenage witchy weirdness.
  • 00:09:09.505 --> 00:09:12.008
  • And salem was on high alert.
  • 00:09:12.008 --> 00:09:14.810
  • Female: help us, reverend.
  • 00:09:14.810 --> 00:09:16.145
  • The girls have gone wild.
  • 00:09:16.145 --> 00:09:20.783
  • Cody: reverend parris and thomas putnam, both prominent figures
  • 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.286
  • Within their community, started pressuring elizabeth and abigail
  • 00:09:24.286 --> 00:09:27.757
  • For answers to what the heck was going on.
  • 00:09:27.757 --> 00:09:30.860
  • In turn, the girls accused three other women of bewitching them.
  • 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:36.999
  • Sarah good, a homeless beggar.
  • 00:09:37.066 --> 00:09:39.135
  • Sarah osborn, who hadn't been
  • 00:09:39.135 --> 00:09:40.936
  • To church in a while.
  • 00:09:40.936 --> 00:09:42.405
  • And finally, tituba,
  • 00:09:42.405 --> 00:09:44.006
  • The parris family's caribbean slave.
  • 00:09:44.006 --> 00:09:45.908
  • The witchy trio was brought before the court, solidifying
  • 00:09:45.908 --> 00:09:49.278
  • Their bad girl reputations.
  • 00:09:49.278 --> 00:09:51.147
  • Now, it was tituba who was rumored to teach the girls this
  • 00:09:51.213 --> 00:09:54.984
  • Little venus glass trick, and it gets worse.
  • 00:09:54.984 --> 00:09:57.720
  • The most damning of all was tituba's confession.
  • 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:01.857
  • Tituba: the devil came to me and bid me serve him.
  • 00:10:01.924 --> 00:10:05.861
  • Cody: tituba described visions of unusual colored animals and a
  • 00:10:05.928 --> 00:10:09.632
  • Dark man who made her sign her name in his big black book.
  • 00:10:09.632 --> 00:10:13.803
  • Male: so, you are a witch.
  • 00:10:13.803 --> 00:10:16.572
  • Cody: no, but there are some other witches in this town.
  • 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:20.743
  • Male: well then, please tell us who.
  • 00:10:20.810 --> 00:10:22.778
  • Tituba: i'll tell you later, i ain't no snitch right now.
  • 00:10:22.845 --> 00:10:24.513
  • And i ain't no witch, write that down.
  • 00:10:24.513 --> 00:10:26.082
  • Cody: other witches in town?
  • 00:10:26.148 --> 00:10:28.017
  • Tituba's confession triggered mass hysteria here in salem.
  • 00:10:28.084 --> 00:10:32.188
  • First came the rumors, and then came the accusations.
  • 00:10:32.188 --> 00:10:35.524
  • Villagers accused each other of witchcraft for all sorts
  • 00:10:35.524 --> 00:10:38.561
  • Of reasons.
  • 00:10:38.561 --> 00:10:39.895
  • A failed crop, an illness, a dead dog.
  • 00:10:39.895 --> 00:10:42.765
  • Anything that couldn't be explained had to be witchcraft.
  • 00:10:42.765 --> 00:10:47.903
  • In fact, if someone just thought someone looked like a witch or
  • 00:10:47.970 --> 00:10:50.873
  • Acted like a witch, they could be accused.
  • 00:10:50.873 --> 00:10:53.509
  • Henry: let's say you're making a soup, stirring it up like so.
  • 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:57.446
  • Na, gazpacho.
  • 00:10:57.513 --> 00:10:58.881
  • A witch's brew, go to jail.
  • 00:10:58.881 --> 00:11:01.016
  • Let's say you've got a mole on your face.
  • 00:11:01.016 --> 00:11:02.852
  • You're a witch.
  • 00:11:02.852 --> 00:11:04.186
  • You beat me at monopoly? you're a witch.
  • 00:11:04.186 --> 00:11:05.921
  • Freckles? jail.
  • 00:11:05.921 --> 00:11:07.490
  • People don't like you? also jail.
  • 00:11:07.490 --> 00:11:10.126
  • People like you too much? straight to jail.
  • 00:11:10.126 --> 00:11:12.161
  • Female: henry, i am your wife.
  • 00:11:12.161 --> 00:11:14.130
  • Henry: definitely a witch.
  • 00:11:14.130 --> 00:11:16.866
  • Cody: things started to get so out of hand that the governor of
  • 00:11:16.866 --> 00:11:19.535
  • Massachusetts called for the establishment of a special court
  • 00:11:19.535 --> 00:11:23.272
  • Called the court of oyer and terminer, which means to hear
  • 00:11:23.272 --> 00:11:26.642
  • And determine, to preside over these witch trials.
  • 00:11:26.642 --> 00:11:29.945
  • Now, this all brings up a really important question.
  • 00:11:30.012 --> 00:11:33.282
  • How do you determine a witch from a non-witch?
  • 00:11:33.282 --> 00:11:38.187
  • I mean, this is all happening in the court of law, so there had
  • 00:11:38.254 --> 00:11:41.724
  • To be some pretty high standard of evidence, right?
  • 00:11:41.724 --> 00:11:45.294
  • Sadly, not even close.
  • 00:11:45.361 --> 00:11:47.563
  • Female: she couldn't accurately even say the lord's prayer.
  • 00:11:47.563 --> 00:11:52.968
  • Female: she has a mole.
  • 00:11:53.035 --> 00:11:55.571
  • It's there, but you can't see it, but it's there.
  • 00:11:55.638 --> 00:11:58.674
  • Female: she's giving me bad vibes.
  • 00:11:58.741 --> 00:12:00.509
  • Super judgy, like, everything she says offends me.
  • 00:12:00.509 --> 00:12:04.513
  • Total witch.
  • 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:07.283
  • Female: i was asleep, and she came to me in my dream.
  • 00:12:07.349 --> 00:12:10.619
  • Male: and?
  • 00:12:10.686 --> 00:12:12.021
  • Female: and she tormented me in my dream.
  • 00:12:12.021 --> 00:12:14.523
  • Female: objection, a dream can't be used as evidence.
  • 00:12:14.590 --> 00:12:18.327
  • Male: i agree.
  • 00:12:18.394 --> 00:12:19.728
  • It's pretty flimsy, but i'll allow it.
  • 00:12:19.728 --> 00:12:23.399
  • We shall henceforth call this
  • 00:12:23.465 --> 00:12:25.167
  • Spectral evidence.
  • 00:12:25.167 --> 00:12:27.336
  • ♪ ding dong, the witches are dead. ♪
  • 00:12:27.336 --> 00:12:29.438
  • ♪ spectral evidence made their bed. ♪
  • 00:12:29.438 --> 00:12:31.173
  • ♪ ding dong. ♪♪
  • 00:12:31.173 --> 00:12:32.708
  • Cody: spectral evidence is based on the idea that witches had so
  • 00:12:32.708 --> 00:12:36.312
  • Much devil power that they could project ghostly versions of
  • 00:12:36.312 --> 00:12:40.783
  • Themselves outside of their physical bodies and torment
  • 00:12:40.783 --> 00:12:44.153
  • Someone, even in their sleep.
  • 00:12:44.153 --> 00:12:46.689
  • So, in review, moles and birthmarks, owning weird dolls,
  • 00:12:46.755 --> 00:12:51.293
  • Inability to remember scripture, and nightmares are all perfectly
  • 00:12:51.293 --> 00:12:55.698
  • Good reasons to accuse someone of witchcraft in the court
  • 00:12:55.698 --> 00:12:58.834
  • Of law.
  • 00:12:58.834 --> 00:13:00.202
  • But my favorite has to be the touch test, and it worked
  • 00:13:00.202 --> 00:13:03.572
  • Like this.
  • 00:13:03.572 --> 00:13:04.907
  • If one of the accusers was having a devil fit, they
  • 00:13:04.907 --> 00:13:07.877
  • Believed the only thing that could stop it was the touch of
  • 00:13:07.877 --> 00:13:11.780
  • A witch.
  • 00:13:11.780 --> 00:13:13.148
  • And if that person stopped being hysterical, voila, you got
  • 00:13:13.148 --> 00:13:18.354
  • Yourself a witch.
  • 00:13:18.354 --> 00:13:19.755
  • But if we're being honest, i think the only thing all of this
  • 00:13:19.755 --> 00:13:22.758
  • Proves is how quickly normal, everyday people can lose their
  • 00:13:22.758 --> 00:13:27.563
  • Minds, especially when they're afraid.
  • 00:13:27.563 --> 00:13:30.666
  • How often do we see crowds or mobs of people swept up in a
  • 00:13:30.733 --> 00:13:35.170
  • Story that isn't 100% true?
  • 00:13:35.170 --> 00:13:37.806
  • People grow suspicious of one another, they fear one another,
  • 00:13:37.806 --> 00:13:42.044
  • They accuse each other of unthinkable crimes.
  • 00:13:42.044 --> 00:13:44.880
  • Three hundred years ago we called it the salem witch
  • 00:13:44.880 --> 00:13:47.683
  • Trials, but today it's just tuesday afternoon on
  • 00:13:47.683 --> 00:13:51.120
  • Social media.
  • 00:13:51.120 --> 00:13:52.655
  • The consequences of this type of hysteria can actually get
  • 00:13:52.721 --> 00:13:56.258
  • Pretty serious.
  • 00:13:56.258 --> 00:13:57.626
  • For example, the first case brought before the court of oyer
  • 00:13:57.626 --> 00:14:00.796
  • And terminer was a woman named bridget bishop.
  • 00:14:00.796 --> 00:14:03.899
  • Bridget was known for being an unlikable and quite
  • 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:07.736
  • Argumentative person, and to make things worse, she was known
  • 00:14:07.736 --> 00:14:11.473
  • To wear inappropriate clothing.
  • 00:14:11.473 --> 00:14:13.842
  • Inappropriate didn't mean exactly what it means today.
  • 00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:17.346
  • The puritans prided themselves on humility, so an inappropriate
  • 00:14:17.346 --> 00:14:21.884
  • Dress could have been something like too rich or fancy.
  • 00:14:21.884 --> 00:14:25.654
  • Clearly a witch, right?
  • 00:14:25.721 --> 00:14:28.457
  • Not so fast.
  • 00:14:28.524 --> 00:14:29.892
  • Male: and have you committed any acts of witchcraft?
  • 00:14:29.892 --> 00:14:35.798
  • Bridget bishop: i am as innocent as the child unborn.
  • 00:14:35.864 --> 00:14:39.568
  • Cody: so, no evidence and no admission, but still bridget's
  • 00:14:39.568 --> 00:14:44.206
  • Accusers would not back down.
  • 00:14:44.206 --> 00:14:46.675
  • Male: i now pronounce you guilty.
  • 00:14:46.742 --> 00:14:51.914
  • Cody: and so, the judge declared her guilty of witchcraft and put
  • 00:14:51.981 --> 00:14:56.452
  • Her to death.
  • 00:14:56.452 --> 00:14:57.920
  • Bridget was hanged at the location known as
  • 00:14:57.920 --> 00:15:00.589
  • Proctor's ledge.
  • 00:15:00.589 --> 00:15:02.458
  • In total, like, 200 people were accused of witchcraft and
  • 00:15:02.524 --> 00:15:06.595
  • Subjected to these bizarre trials, and while they were in
  • 00:15:06.595 --> 00:15:10.299
  • Jail they were treated horribly.
  • 00:15:10.299 --> 00:15:12.901
  • Some people believed that these witches could magically escape
  • 00:15:12.901 --> 00:15:17.406
  • Jail, so they were held in dungeons or chained to the wall
  • 00:15:17.406 --> 00:15:21.710
  • While awaiting their trial.
  • 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:23.779
  • What was really going on in salem?
  • 00:15:23.846 --> 00:15:26.715
  • Was it witchcraft, or were there other devious motivations?
  • 00:15:26.782 --> 00:15:32.354
  • Probably devious motivations.
  • 00:15:32.421 --> 00:15:34.456
  • In order to answer that question, i need to sit down
  • 00:15:34.523 --> 00:15:36.759
  • With a real salem witch trials expert, miss beth crowley.
  • 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:40.696
  • Cody: so, help us kind of understand what was going on in
  • 00:15:40.696 --> 00:15:43.365
  • Salem during the trials.
  • 00:15:43.365 --> 00:15:44.733
  • Beth crowley: absolutely, so the salem witch trials are so
  • 00:15:44.733 --> 00:15:47.469
  • Interesting, because it was such a short time period.
  • 00:15:47.469 --> 00:15:50.039
  • The people that came over here were puritans.
  • 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.141
  • They were extraordinarily religious, and they really did
  • 00:15:52.207 --> 00:15:55.110
  • Believe in the devil.
  • 00:15:55.110 --> 00:15:56.478
  • The devil was a huge factor.
  • 00:15:56.478 --> 00:15:58.080
  • You have to understand that witch trials were not new.
  • 00:15:58.147 --> 00:16:01.150
  • Witchcraft was not new.
  • 00:16:01.150 --> 00:16:02.551
  • It had been going on for centuries.
  • 00:16:02.551 --> 00:16:04.720
  • And so, to have this thought process that anything bad that
  • 00:16:04.787 --> 00:16:08.157
  • Happens to you, it's because of the devil.
  • 00:16:08.157 --> 00:16:10.993
  • Your children die?
  • 00:16:10.993 --> 00:16:12.361
  • Witchcraft.
  • 00:16:12.361 --> 00:16:13.695
  • Cody: sure, so you said, like, this was not a new idea.
  • 00:16:13.695 --> 00:16:17.266
  • Talk about where that all started, the whole idea
  • 00:16:17.332 --> 00:16:19.668
  • Of witchcraft.
  • 00:16:19.668 --> 00:16:21.036
  • Beth: absolutely, so really started in 1486, '87.
  • 00:16:21.036 --> 00:16:24.039
  • There was actually a very influential book written in
  • 00:16:24.039 --> 00:16:27.276
  • Germany called the "malleus maleficarum," and it actually
  • 00:16:27.276 --> 00:16:31.213
  • Translates to "the hammer of the witches."
  • 00:16:31.213 --> 00:16:34.716
  • And what it was was a how to book on how to find, how to
  • 00:16:34.783 --> 00:16:40.189
  • Identify, how to interrogate, and how to exterminate or
  • 00:16:40.189 --> 00:16:44.693
  • Torture witches.
  • 00:16:44.693 --> 00:16:46.462
  • Cody: that's crazy.
  • 00:16:46.528 --> 00:16:47.896
  • Beth: it resulted in three centuries of witch trials
  • 00:16:47.896 --> 00:16:52.034
  • In europe.
  • 00:16:52.034 --> 00:16:53.402
  • Cody: so, could the the inception of this been a prank
  • 00:16:53.402 --> 00:16:56.305
  • Gone bad, or do you think there was some genuine spooky stuff
  • 00:16:56.305 --> 00:16:59.741
  • Going on?
  • 00:16:59.741 --> 00:17:01.110
  • Beth: so, i don't think there was any magic or witchcraft
  • 00:17:01.110 --> 00:17:03.178
  • Going on.
  • 00:17:03.245 --> 00:17:04.580
  • I think that fear can be a really tricky thing, and one of
  • 00:17:04.580 --> 00:17:08.951
  • The newer theories is what's called mass conversion disorder.
  • 00:17:08.951 --> 00:17:12.321
  • Where, think about, if, you know, everyone around you is
  • 00:17:12.321 --> 00:17:15.224
  • Sick, then you're afraid you're sick.
  • 00:17:15.224 --> 00:17:17.326
  • And i think we can draw parallels to the last few years.
  • 00:17:17.326 --> 00:17:20.429
  • So, all of a sudden, you know, someone coughs, and you're like,
  • 00:17:20.496 --> 00:17:23.499
  • Do they know?
  • 00:17:23.565 --> 00:17:25.067
  • And i do think that in this case of the girls, they really were
  • 00:17:25.067 --> 00:17:28.871
  • Driven by fear.
  • 00:17:28.871 --> 00:17:30.372
  • But i also think it was an opportunity to be heard.
  • 00:17:30.439 --> 00:17:33.775
  • You know, the 12-year-old, ann putnam, she accused 62 people of
  • 00:17:33.842 --> 00:17:37.913
  • Witchcraft, and 19 of them were executed.
  • 00:17:37.913 --> 00:17:42.017
  • So, imagine you're a young child who's never been taken
  • 00:17:42.084 --> 00:17:45.420
  • Seriously, and then all of a sudden every word you say,
  • 00:17:45.420 --> 00:17:48.891
  • They're just captivated.
  • 00:17:48.891 --> 00:17:50.926
  • So, i think they ran with that.
  • 00:17:50.993 --> 00:17:52.628
  • It's a whole combination.
  • 00:17:52.628 --> 00:17:54.163
  • Were they really hallucinating?
  • 00:17:54.229 --> 00:17:58.267
  • Not sure.
  • 00:17:58.333 --> 00:17:59.668
  • Cody: so, who do you think were the real villains in the story?
  • 00:17:59.668 --> 00:18:02.337
  • Beth: the real villains, i would say, you know, these adults that
  • 00:18:02.404 --> 00:18:05.174
  • Stood by and did nothing.
  • 00:18:05.174 --> 00:18:07.709
  • But they were afraid, if you say something, you're gonna be
  • 00:18:07.776 --> 00:18:10.679
  • Accused of witchcraft, and it was a game of really just
  • 00:18:10.679 --> 00:18:13.749
  • Protecting yourself.
  • 00:18:13.749 --> 00:18:15.117
  • By the end of it, there were over 250 arrests, and 55 people
  • 00:18:15.117 --> 00:18:19.888
  • Confessed to witchcraft.
  • 00:18:19.888 --> 00:18:21.924
  • None of those people were executed.
  • 00:18:21.990 --> 00:18:24.092
  • Not a single person who confessed to witchcraft
  • 00:18:24.159 --> 00:18:26.762
  • Was executed.
  • 00:18:26.762 --> 00:18:28.197
  • They lost their property, they stayed in jail until the end,
  • 00:18:28.197 --> 00:18:31.066
  • But if you didn't confess, that's when you went to
  • 00:18:31.133 --> 00:18:33.802
  • Your trial.
  • 00:18:33.802 --> 00:18:35.137
  • Cody: interesting.
  • 00:18:35.137 --> 00:18:36.505
  • Beth: all of the people accused of witchcraft and executed
  • 00:18:36.505 --> 00:18:39.508
  • Were innocent.
  • 00:18:39.508 --> 00:18:40.876
  • These were innocent people, they were not witches.
  • 00:18:40.876 --> 00:18:42.611
  • The last of the names of the accused was actually cleared in
  • 00:18:42.678 --> 00:18:47.349
  • The last decade.
  • 00:18:47.349 --> 00:18:48.684
  • Cody: what were some of the reasons that someone would have
  • 00:18:48.684 --> 00:18:51.386
  • To accuse someone else of being a witch?
  • 00:18:51.386 --> 00:18:53.889
  • Beth: wow, there's so many reasons.
  • 00:18:53.889 --> 00:18:55.457
  • You might just not like someone.
  • 00:18:55.457 --> 00:18:57.025
  • Your prized cattle dies all of a sudden without explanation.
  • 00:18:57.025 --> 00:19:01.363
  • Your neighbors, their crops are flourishing, and yours
  • 00:19:01.430 --> 00:19:04.566
  • Are failing.
  • 00:19:04.566 --> 00:19:06.001
  • So, anything at all that was, you know, misfortune, really.
  • 00:19:06.001 --> 00:19:10.205
  • Cody: so, there's a lot of interests to be protected, and
  • 00:19:10.272 --> 00:19:13.308
  • If you got in someone's way, you could be accused, and--.
  • 00:19:13.308 --> 00:19:16.878
  • Beth: you can look at a map of salem village, and all the
  • 00:19:16.878 --> 00:19:19.147
  • Accusers are on one side, and all the accused over here, the
  • 00:19:19.147 --> 00:19:22.784
  • Porters and the putnams going after each other, going after
  • 00:19:22.784 --> 00:19:25.921
  • Their land, yeah.
  • 00:19:25.921 --> 00:19:27.489
  • Cody: so, there's a lot of interests to be protected.
  • 00:19:27.489 --> 00:19:30.025
  • Beth: yes, it's really attractive if someone's farm is
  • 00:19:30.025 --> 00:19:32.961
  • Up for auction.
  • 00:19:32.961 --> 00:19:34.663
  • Cody: oh, boy.
  • 00:19:34.730 --> 00:19:36.098
  • Beth: you might be the one who accused them, so.
  • 00:19:36.098 --> 00:19:37.432
  • Cody: well, beth, thank you so much.
  • 00:19:37.432 --> 00:19:39.034
  • Beth: thanks for having me.
  • 00:19:39.034 --> 00:19:40.402
  • Cody: absolutely.
  • 00:19:40.402 --> 00:19:41.737
  • Cody: the salem witch trials took place about 100 years
  • 00:19:41.737 --> 00:19:44.139
  • Before the united states officially became a nation, and
  • 00:19:44.139 --> 00:19:47.409
  • The whole ordeal only lasted, like, 11 months, so why is this
  • 00:19:47.409 --> 00:19:52.214
  • Strange, spooky tale still so fascinating to us today?
  • 00:19:52.214 --> 00:19:56.418
  • I think it's because the witch trials are such an anomaly in
  • 00:19:56.485 --> 00:20:00.289
  • Our nation's history.
  • 00:20:00.289 --> 00:20:01.623
  • You see, this was not an american idea.
  • 00:20:01.623 --> 00:20:05.260
  • Over in europe between the years of 1450 and 1750, about 50,000
  • 00:20:05.327 --> 00:20:11.199
  • People were executed for witchcraft and sorcery.
  • 00:20:11.199 --> 00:20:14.503
  • They were hanged, beheaded, and even burned alive.
  • 00:20:14.503 --> 00:20:18.273
  • Here in salem, 19 people died by hanging.
  • 00:20:18.340 --> 00:20:21.276
  • One poor guy, giles corey, remained silent in the face of
  • 00:20:21.276 --> 00:20:25.380
  • His accusers and was crushed to death.
  • 00:20:25.380 --> 00:20:29.084
  • In total, 25 lives were taken, which is 25 too many.
  • 00:20:29.151 --> 00:20:33.955
  • But who knows how far and wide this witch crazed madness would
  • 00:20:34.022 --> 00:20:38.660
  • Have swept through the new world if it hadn't been for some
  • 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:41.697
  • Feisty preachers who decided to intervene?
  • 00:20:41.697 --> 00:20:44.966
  • Meet john proctor.
  • 00:20:44.966 --> 00:20:47.402
  • John proctor was a part of a vocal minority who believed that
  • 00:20:47.469 --> 00:20:50.972
  • The witch trials were just a bunch of hocus pocus nonsense,
  • 00:20:50.972 --> 00:20:54.810
  • And his opinion got him in big trouble.
  • 00:20:54.810 --> 00:20:57.579
  • As in double, double, toil and trouble.
  • 00:20:57.579 --> 00:21:00.649
  • Now, it's important to understand that when it came to
  • 00:21:00.716 --> 00:21:03.785
  • Declaring your own innocence, the people of salem basically
  • 00:21:03.785 --> 00:21:07.622
  • Operated by the same rules as social media.
  • 00:21:07.622 --> 00:21:10.592
  • Basically, you're guilty until proven guilty, and even if
  • 00:21:10.659 --> 00:21:14.062
  • You're not guilty, well, you'll probably get banned anyway,
  • 00:21:14.062 --> 00:21:17.466
  • Because you've offended the mob.
  • 00:21:17.466 --> 00:21:19.401
  • And so, john proctor was arrested.
  • 00:21:19.468 --> 00:21:22.537
  • While in prison, john sends a letter to the clergy here in
  • 00:21:22.604 --> 00:21:26.274
  • Boston, begging for help.
  • 00:21:26.274 --> 00:21:27.876
  • John proctor: help!
  • 00:21:27.876 --> 00:21:29.945
  • Cody: unfortunately, by the time anyone outside of salem really
  • 00:21:30.011 --> 00:21:34.182
  • Got involved, john proctor and five of his family members had
  • 00:21:34.182 --> 00:21:38.387
  • Already been executed.
  • 00:21:38.387 --> 00:21:40.055
  • Only his pregnant wife was spared.
  • 00:21:40.122 --> 00:21:44.025
  • Salem was gripped with fear.
  • 00:21:44.092 --> 00:21:46.962
  • Fear of the devil, fear of each other, fear of being accused of
  • 00:21:46.962 --> 00:21:51.500
  • Witchcraft, and no one was safe.
  • 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:54.302
  • Even rebecca nurse, a beloved member of the community, was
  • 00:21:54.302 --> 00:21:58.673
  • Accused of witchcraft.
  • 00:21:58.673 --> 00:22:03.011
  • Male: witch!
  • 00:22:03.078 --> 00:22:04.413
  • All: witch!
  • 00:22:04.413 --> 00:22:05.781
  • Cody: at this point, many people in town started growing
  • 00:22:05.781 --> 00:22:07.349
  • Suspicious of social media-- i mean, the witch hunters,
  • 00:22:07.349 --> 00:22:11.453
  • Of course.
  • 00:22:11.453 --> 00:22:12.821
  • And so, the people signed a petition pleading for
  • 00:22:12.821 --> 00:22:15.424
  • Her release.
  • 00:22:15.424 --> 00:22:16.758
  • These witch trials had gone too far.
  • 00:22:16.758 --> 00:22:20.462
  • Male: innocent.
  • 00:22:20.529 --> 00:22:23.131
  • Innocent.
  • 00:22:23.198 --> 00:22:24.533
  • Cody: finally, a glimmer of hope.
  • 00:22:24.533 --> 00:22:26.668
  • But the witch hunters were not about to release their
  • 00:22:26.668 --> 00:22:30.338
  • Stranglehold of power that they had over the town.
  • 00:22:30.338 --> 00:22:34.509
  • Male: guilty!
  • 00:22:34.576 --> 00:22:36.077
  • Guilty!
  • 00:22:36.077 --> 00:22:37.946
  • Cody: this horror story reached its peak in september of 1692,
  • 00:22:37.946 --> 00:22:41.683
  • When seven women and one man were hanged for witchcraft on a
  • 00:22:41.683 --> 00:22:45.320
  • Single day.
  • 00:22:45.320 --> 00:22:46.688
  • Little by little, the townsfolk began turning their suspicions
  • 00:22:46.688 --> 00:22:49.925
  • Away from the, quote, "witches" and toward the witch hunters.
  • 00:22:49.925 --> 00:22:54.362
  • Now, a man named increase mather was a new england puritan in the
  • 00:22:54.362 --> 00:22:58.266
  • Massachusetts bay colony.
  • 00:22:58.266 --> 00:23:00.101
  • He was also the president of harvard college, generally a
  • 00:23:00.101 --> 00:23:03.371
  • Pretty well respected dude, and he had a stern word of caution
  • 00:23:03.371 --> 00:23:07.142
  • For these witchy trials.
  • 00:23:07.209 --> 00:23:09.778
  • Increase mather: it were better that ten suspected witches
  • 00:23:09.845 --> 00:23:12.447
  • Should escape than that one innocent person should
  • 00:23:12.447 --> 00:23:15.817
  • Be condemned.
  • 00:23:15.817 --> 00:23:17.819
  • Cody: finally, on october 29, the governor of massachusetts
  • 00:23:17.886 --> 00:23:22.057
  • Dissolved the court of oyer and terminer, and the witch hunters
  • 00:23:22.057 --> 00:23:25.994
  • Were losing their power.
  • 00:23:25.994 --> 00:23:28.296
  • Now, the accused still had to remain in jail until a new court
  • 00:23:28.363 --> 00:23:32.367
  • Was established.
  • 00:23:32.367 --> 00:23:33.735
  • And even still, three more people were accused
  • 00:23:33.735 --> 00:23:36.571
  • Of witchcraft.
  • 00:23:36.571 --> 00:23:37.939
  • But the good governor stepped in once again and reprieved the
  • 00:23:37.939 --> 00:23:41.276
  • Remaining convictions.
  • 00:23:41.276 --> 00:23:42.644
  • And with that, the jail started to slowly empty.
  • 00:23:42.644 --> 00:23:45.580
  • The salem witch trials were finally canceled.
  • 00:23:45.647 --> 00:23:48.316
  • In response, a day of repentance and prayer was declared for
  • 00:23:48.316 --> 00:23:51.953
  • Salem and the surrounding communities.
  • 00:23:51.953 --> 00:23:55.056
  • This american horror story is one of wrongful accusations and
  • 00:23:55.123 --> 00:23:58.927
  • Convictions in a case of mass hysteria that we're still
  • 00:23:58.927 --> 00:24:03.365
  • Talking about hundreds of years later, and for good reason.
  • 00:24:03.365 --> 00:24:06.902
  • We see the parallels everywhere.
  • 00:24:06.968 --> 00:24:10.505
  • Today, social media gives the mob more power than ever.
  • 00:24:10.572 --> 00:24:15.176
  • Why try to understand someone else's perspective or
  • 00:24:15.243 --> 00:24:18.580
  • Respectfully debate someone when it's much easier to throw out an
  • 00:24:18.580 --> 00:24:22.918
  • Accusation or call someone a name?
  • 00:24:22.918 --> 00:24:26.388
  • Whatever really happened, it's important that we learn
  • 00:24:26.454 --> 00:24:29.157
  • From this.
  • 00:24:29.157 --> 00:24:30.525
  • Kids, when you see an angry mob start to gather, whether it's on
  • 00:24:30.525 --> 00:24:33.595
  • Social media or in the city streets, check the facts.
  • 00:24:33.595 --> 00:24:37.499
  • Also, check your heart, and check in with the good book.
  • 00:24:37.566 --> 00:24:40.902
  • There's always something you can pull from it.
  • 00:24:40.902 --> 00:24:43.972
  • In the end, whatever's going on might just be a little fungus or
  • 00:24:44.039 --> 00:24:48.310
  • A sinister power grab from a greedy politician.
  • 00:24:48.310 --> 00:24:51.413
  • Or, well, i guess it could be a witch.
  • 00:24:51.479 --> 00:24:55.350
  • You never know.
  • 00:24:55.417 --> 00:24:56.918
  • We'll see you next time.
  • 00:24:56.985 --> 00:24:59.009