What do you get when you mix puritans, teenagers, and possible “egg magic”? Double, double toil and trouble. With a side of cancel culture! Get ready for the true, actual, and totally spooky story of what really happened in Salem, Massachusetts. This is the original American horror story — The Salem Witch Trials.
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#Fear
#AmericanHistory
#History
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#Trials-HardTimes
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#Devil
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#Occult
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Centuries Collide | Cody Crouch: American Horror Story | Centuries Collide | March 1, 2025
- - i am cody crouch, and this is the craziest
- 00:00:00.423 --> 00:00:03.226
- Crash course on american history you'll ever see.
- 00:00:03.226 --> 00:00:07.297
- Buckle up.
- 00:00:07.297 --> 00:00:08.431
- It's time for centuries collide.
- 00:00:08.431 --> 00:00:09.999
- [horse whinneys] ♪♪
- 00:00:09.999 --> 00:00:12.702
- The 16th century was a big deal for the new world.
- 00:00:12.702 --> 00:00:16.306
- The colony at jamestown was a thing.
- 00:00:16.306 --> 00:00:18.541
- The mayflower pilgrims made a splash at plymouth
- 00:00:18.541 --> 00:00:21.611
- Rock, and the first thanksgiving meal was
- 00:00:21.611 --> 00:00:23.880
- Served, and word started to spread.
- 00:00:23.880 --> 00:00:26.049
- The old world was old and boring, but the new world
- 00:00:26.049 --> 00:00:30.353
- [chuckles] was pretty cool.
- 00:00:30.353 --> 00:00:32.789
- Soon colonies started springing up like crazy,
- 00:00:32.789 --> 00:00:35.291
- And little towns dotted the map everywhere.
- 00:00:35.291 --> 00:00:38.361
- Like this quaint, peaceful village was
- 00:00:38.361 --> 00:00:40.130
- Known for fishing, shipbuilding, timber, and
- 00:00:40.130 --> 00:00:42.765
- Delicious seafood, as well as corrupt judges,
- 00:00:42.765 --> 00:00:46.402
- Rival families, magic spells, and yes,
- 00:00:46.402 --> 00:00:50.340
- Wicked witches. [witch cackling]
- 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:52.275
- You know the name.
- 00:00:52.275 --> 00:00:53.343
- The salem witch trials has got to be one of the
- 00:00:53.343 --> 00:00:56.546
- Weirdest stories in american history.
- 00:00:56.546 --> 00:00:59.115
- Let me set the stage.
- 00:00:59.115 --> 00:01:00.216
- The american colonies, especially in the north,
- 00:01:00.216 --> 00:01:03.119
- Were founded by god-fearing people who
- 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:05.889
- Were fleeing religious persecution in europe.
- 00:01:05.889 --> 00:01:09.125
- - lord, we thank you for this new land to escape
- 00:01:09.125 --> 00:01:13.563
- The persecution of our beliefs.
- 00:01:13.563 --> 00:01:15.899
- - amen.
- 00:01:15.899 --> 00:01:17.800
- - amen and amen.
- 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:20.003
- ♪♪
- 00:01:20.003 --> 00:01:25.742
- Didn't you think the rock would be bigger?
- 00:01:25.742 --> 00:01:28.311
- - they just wanted a place where they could go
- 00:01:28.311 --> 00:01:30.079
- To practice their religion without the fear
- 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:32.515
- Of death, and salem was a pretty chill place to be.
- 00:01:32.515 --> 00:01:35.985
- At first, this little settlement was known as
- 00:01:35.985 --> 00:01:38.154
- Naumkeag which to the indigenous people of the
- 00:01:38.154 --> 00:01:41.224
- Area meant fish or fishing place.
- 00:01:41.224 --> 00:01:44.127
- Now, the word naumkeag can also mean to buff a
- 00:01:44.127 --> 00:01:47.530
- Shoe bottom.
- 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:48.831
- Either way, it's a good thing
- 00:01:48.831 --> 00:01:50.366
- The naming committee reconsidered.
- 00:01:50.366 --> 00:01:52.702
- - i go for lump sucker massachusetts.
- 00:01:52.702 --> 00:01:54.604
- It's a type of fish and it rhymes with
- 00:01:54.604 --> 00:01:55.905
- Dump sucker.
- 00:01:55.905 --> 00:01:56.706
- So it's cool.
- 00:01:56.706 --> 00:01:57.807
- - what about cobbler top? - like peach cobbler?
- 00:01:57.807 --> 00:02:00.143
- - no, shoe cobbler.
- 00:02:00.143 --> 00:02:02.612
- - you know, peach cobbler sounds pretty good.
- 00:02:02.612 --> 00:02:04.681
- I can go for a piece.
- 00:02:04.681 --> 00:02:06.516
- - peace.
- 00:02:06.516 --> 00:02:07.750
- That's it.
- 00:02:07.750 --> 00:02:08.952
- Peace.
- 00:02:08.952 --> 00:02:10.587
- - piece of what?
- 00:02:10.587 --> 00:02:11.754
- - in the end, they came up with a different name,
- 00:02:11.754 --> 00:02:13.856
- Salem, which comes from the word shalom, the
- 00:02:13.856 --> 00:02:15.959
- Hebrew word for peace.
- 00:02:15.959 --> 00:02:18.394
- So how do we go from a village named peace to a
- 00:02:18.394 --> 00:02:21.531
- Witch-crazed mob that hanged 19 innocent people?
- 00:02:21.531 --> 00:02:24.968
- Well, it's actually really simple.
- 00:02:24.968 --> 00:02:27.537
- Dungeons and dragons.
- 00:02:27.537 --> 00:02:30.106
- Just kidding.
- 00:02:30.106 --> 00:02:31.174
- I wish history could be that simple, but it
- 00:02:31.174 --> 00:02:32.508
- Never is.
- 00:02:32.508 --> 00:02:34.177
- The story starts in 1689 with reverend samuel paris.
- 00:02:34.177 --> 00:02:38.648
- - i got you a gift.
- 00:02:38.648 --> 00:02:39.749
- - okay.
- 00:02:39.749 --> 00:02:40.617
- Size.
- 00:02:40.617 --> 00:02:41.517
- No, that's too large.
- 00:02:41.517 --> 00:02:42.452
- I'm size six and a half.
- 00:02:42.452 --> 00:02:43.453
- Take it away.
- 00:02:43.453 --> 00:02:43.987
- Thank you.
- 00:02:43.987 --> 00:02:45.054
- - after dropping out of harvard seminary to
- 00:02:45.054 --> 00:02:46.189
- Manage his family's sugar plantation in barbados,
- 00:02:46.189 --> 00:02:49.025
- He attempted to reinvent himself as a man of the cloth.
- 00:02:49.025 --> 00:02:53.062
- - what do we have?
- 00:02:53.062 --> 00:02:54.030
- An unscented candle.
- 00:02:54.030 --> 00:02:55.398
- Try harder.
- 00:02:55.398 --> 00:02:56.499
- Okay.
- 00:02:56.499 --> 00:02:57.767
- Bless you,
- 00:02:57.767 --> 00:02:58.701
- Good, sir.
- 00:02:58.701 --> 00:02:59.802
- The lord bless you and keep you.
- 00:02:59.802 --> 00:03:01.571
- - folks in town thought he was too rigid and greedy.
- 00:03:01.571 --> 00:03:04.907
- Believe it or not, all of the famous salem witchy
- 00:03:04.907 --> 00:03:07.644
- Hocus pocus actually started in reverend
- 00:03:07.644 --> 00:03:10.446
- Paris' own home.
- 00:03:10.446 --> 00:03:12.482
- Quite the coincidence, don't you think?
- 00:03:12.482 --> 00:03:16.586
- In january of 1692, his 9-year-old daughter,
- 00:03:16.586 --> 00:03:19.756
- Elizabeth and her tweenage cousin abigail,
- 00:03:19.756 --> 00:03:22.859
- Experienced something super creepy, perhaps
- 00:03:22.859 --> 00:03:27.030
- Even supernaturally creepy.
- 00:03:27.030 --> 00:03:30.199
- The girls were playing with whatever it is.
- 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:32.535
- Girls in the 1600s played with and things
- 00:03:32.535 --> 00:03:35.238
- Got weird.
- 00:03:35.238 --> 00:03:36.306
- Anne and abigail seemed to lose their senses.
- 00:03:36.306 --> 00:03:39.442
- They weren't able to hear, speak, or see.
- 00:03:39.442 --> 00:03:42.812
- They even felt prickly sensations in their skin.
- 00:03:42.812 --> 00:03:46.082
- They threw things, uttered strange sounds.
- 00:03:46.082 --> 00:03:48.985
- They felt hot and feverish to the touch.
- 00:03:48.985 --> 00:03:52.889
- They had violent convulsions and twisted
- 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:54.257
- Their bodies into what some observers called
- 00:03:54.257 --> 00:03:55.825
- Impossible positions.
- 00:03:55.825 --> 00:03:58.961
- So reverend paris and his wife called upon
- 00:03:58.961 --> 00:04:01.331
- Dr. william griggs to diagnose the problem.
- 00:04:01.331 --> 00:04:04.300
- - medically speaking, it could be anything, but
- 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.736
- Who's to say that a nine-year-old girl has
- 00:04:06.736 --> 00:04:09.105
- Kneecaps or a bladder or kidneys anyway.
- 00:04:09.105 --> 00:04:11.474
- - the doctor unable to find anything
- 00:04:11.474 --> 00:04:13.643
- Physically wrong with the girls
- 00:04:13.643 --> 00:04:15.912
- Jumped to the only logical conclusion.
- 00:04:15.912 --> 00:04:18.715
- - put your left-hand in.
- 00:04:18.715 --> 00:04:20.583
- Take your left hand out.
- 00:04:20.583 --> 00:04:22.318
- Okay, now put your right hand in and shake it all
- 00:04:22.318 --> 00:04:24.053
- About, okay?
- 00:04:24.053 --> 00:04:25.722
- Do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around. okay?
- 00:04:25.722 --> 00:04:28.725
- That's what it's all about.
- 00:04:28.725 --> 00:04:30.226
- - doctor, what's your diagnosis?
- 00:04:30.226 --> 00:04:31.527
- - she's a witch.
- 00:04:31.527 --> 00:04:32.695
- The devil's bewitched her. ahp, devil's in her, too.
- 00:04:32.695 --> 00:04:38.668
- - but here's where the story gets even weirder.
- 00:04:39.602 --> 00:04:41.504
- Elizabeth and abigail weren't the only ones.
- 00:04:41.504 --> 00:04:44.340
- There were other creepy happenings bubbling up
- 00:04:44.340 --> 00:04:46.809
- All over salem.
- 00:04:46.809 --> 00:04:49.011
- There was even rumors of girls dabbling in
- 00:04:49.011 --> 00:04:50.680
- Divination, which for those who didn't go to
- 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:53.182
- Hogwarts, is the art of looking into the future
- 00:04:53.182 --> 00:04:56.052
- With the help of magic.
- 00:04:56.052 --> 00:04:58.321
- [bubbling] [eerie music]
- 00:04:58.321 --> 00:05:06.829
- [poof] [screams]
- 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:07.964
- And according to a local minister, john hale,
- 00:05:07.964 --> 00:05:10.066
- Things went from creepy bad to hide your kids,
- 00:05:10.066 --> 00:05:13.436
- Hide your wife, because the devil's coming
- 00:05:13.436 --> 00:05:15.104
- After everybody.
- 00:05:15.104 --> 00:05:17.273
- But i'll let the good reverend speak for himself.
- 00:05:17.273 --> 00:05:26.716
- - called up a coffin.
- 00:05:27.216 --> 00:05:29.018
- Well spectre in the likeness of a coffin, and
- 00:05:29.018 --> 00:05:31.988
- She was afterward followed by diabolical
- 00:05:31.988 --> 00:05:34.690
- Molestation until death where she died
- 00:05:34.690 --> 00:05:38.027
- A single person
- 00:05:38.027 --> 00:05:39.162
- Mind you. let this be a just warning to others.
- 00:05:39.162 --> 00:05:43.132
- Take heed when handling the devil's weapons.
- 00:05:43.132 --> 00:05:47.036
- - yes, those are his actual words.
- 00:05:47.036 --> 00:05:49.372
- His perspective shines a little light on the
- 00:05:49.372 --> 00:05:51.908
- Religious attitudes of the day.
- 00:05:51.908 --> 00:05:53.943
- First, notice how he said this young woman died a
- 00:05:53.943 --> 00:05:58.014
- Single person, as if that in itself is a fate
- 00:05:58.014 --> 00:06:00.983
- Worse than death.
- 00:06:00.983 --> 00:06:02.785
- Second, you can see just how terrified these
- 00:06:02.785 --> 00:06:05.388
- People were of the devil.
- 00:06:05.388 --> 00:06:07.790
- These new england folks took witchcraft
- 00:06:07.790 --> 00:06:09.792
- Really seriously.
- 00:06:09.792 --> 00:06:12.195
- And third, he mentioned that these girls were
- 00:06:12.195 --> 00:06:13.963
- Practicing divination using an egg and a glass.
- 00:06:13.963 --> 00:06:18.534
- [rooster crowing] what's that all about?
- 00:06:18.534 --> 00:06:20.770
- - hello, girls.
- 00:06:20.770 --> 00:06:22.271
- Would you like to learn about divination using eggs?
- 00:06:22.271 --> 00:06:23.973
- - i do.
- 00:06:23.973 --> 00:06:24.674
- - please.
- 00:06:24.674 --> 00:06:25.274
- We love divination.
- 00:06:25.274 --> 00:06:26.442
- - i love deviled eggs.
- 00:06:26.442 --> 00:06:28.211
- - this form of divination was called venus glass,
- 00:06:28.211 --> 00:06:31.180
- And seems to be what john hale was referring to in
- 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:33.783
- His letter.
- 00:06:33.783 --> 00:06:34.817
- As the cloudy egg whites formed shapes in the
- 00:06:34.817 --> 00:06:36.819
- Water, young girls might even get a glimpse of the
- 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:39.522
- Career of their future husband or whatever.
- 00:06:39.522 --> 00:06:43.459
- - what do you see?
- 00:06:43.459 --> 00:06:44.627
- - i see a plow.
- 00:06:44.627 --> 00:06:47.730
- My husband's going to be a farmer.
- 00:06:47.730 --> 00:06:50.166
- - congratulations. - thanks.
- 00:06:50.166 --> 00:06:52.301
- - my husband looks like a jellyfish.
- 00:06:52.301 --> 00:06:56.973
- - [gasps] a coffin. my husband, he's dead!
- 00:06:56.973 --> 00:07:01.344
- [screaming] [laughter]
- 00:07:01.344 --> 00:07:09.785
- - remember this was way before iphones.
- 00:07:09.785 --> 00:07:12.121
- There wasn't a whole lot to do back then.
- 00:07:12.121 --> 00:07:14.524
- There's a rumor that one of these magic egg
- 00:07:14.524 --> 00:07:17.093
- Thingies went so horribly wrong that one girl
- 00:07:17.093 --> 00:07:21.531
- Screamed herself to death.
- 00:07:21.531 --> 00:07:24.834
- I mean, it's not funny.
- 00:07:24.834 --> 00:07:26.235
- I just didn't know you could do that.
- 00:07:26.235 --> 00:07:29.705
- See what happens when you play around with egg
- 00:07:29.705 --> 00:07:31.374
- Magic, kids, you could scream yourself to
- 00:07:31.374 --> 00:07:33.409
- Death or die
- 00:07:33.409 --> 00:07:34.810
- A single young lady, according to john hale.
- 00:07:34.810 --> 00:07:37.246
- Anyway. in 1692, salem was positively bedeviled
- 00:07:37.246 --> 00:07:43.052
- With rumors of people being bedeviled.
- 00:07:43.052 --> 00:07:46.522
- Other girls in the village started
- 00:07:46.522 --> 00:07:47.757
- Experiencing eerie symptoms, too.
- 00:07:47.757 --> 00:07:51.127
- There were reports of girls hiding under
- 00:07:51.127 --> 00:07:52.595
- Furniture, mumbling, incoherently, exploding in
- 00:07:52.595 --> 00:07:56.899
- Fits of anger and experiencing nightmares.
- 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:01.003
- Typical teenage witchy weirdness and salem was
- 00:08:01.003 --> 00:08:04.574
- On high alert.
- 00:08:04.574 --> 00:08:06.442
- - help us, reverend.
- 00:08:06.442 --> 00:08:07.577
- The girls have gone wild.
- 00:08:07.577 --> 00:08:11.280
- ♪♪
- 00:08:11.280 --> 00:08:16.003
- ♪♪
- 00:08:16.188 --> 00:08:19.692
- - reverend paris and thomas putnam, both
- 00:08:19.692 --> 00:08:21.493
- Prominent figures within their community started
- 00:08:21.493 --> 00:08:24.129
- Pressuring elizabeth and abigail for answers to
- 00:08:24.129 --> 00:08:26.999
- What the heck was going on.
- 00:08:26.999 --> 00:08:29.301
- In turn, the girls accused three other women
- 00:08:29.301 --> 00:08:32.571
- Of bewitching them.
- 00:08:32.571 --> 00:08:35.040
- Sarah good, a homeless beggar, sarah osborne,
- 00:08:35.040 --> 00:08:38.744
- Who hadn't been to church in a while,
- 00:08:38.744 --> 00:08:41.013
- And finally tituba the paris family's
- 00:08:41.013 --> 00:08:43.182
- Caribbean slave.
- 00:08:43.182 --> 00:08:44.883
- The witchy trio was brought before the court
- 00:08:44.883 --> 00:08:47.252
- Solidifying their bad girl reputations.
- 00:08:47.252 --> 00:08:49.955
- Now, it was tituba who was rumored to teach the
- 00:08:49.955 --> 00:08:52.625
- Girls this little venus glass trick and it
- 00:08:52.625 --> 00:08:55.361
- Gets worse.
- 00:08:55.361 --> 00:08:56.462
- The most damning of all was tituba's confession.
- 00:08:56.462 --> 00:09:00.566
- - the devil came to me and begged me, serve him.
- 00:09:00.566 --> 00:09:04.370
- - tituba described visions of unusual colored
- 00:09:04.370 --> 00:09:07.206
- Animals and a dark man who made her sign her
- 00:09:07.206 --> 00:09:10.309
- Name in his big black book.
- 00:09:10.309 --> 00:09:12.444
- - so you are a witch?
- 00:09:12.444 --> 00:09:14.880
- - no, but there are some other witches in this town.
- 00:09:14.880 --> 00:09:19.518
- - well, then please tell us who.
- 00:09:19.518 --> 00:09:21.553
- - i'll tell you later.
- 00:09:21.553 --> 00:09:22.721
- I ain't no snitch right now, and i ain't no witch.
- 00:09:22.721 --> 00:09:23.689
- Write that down.
- 00:09:23.689 --> 00:09:24.890
- - other witches in town? tituba's confession
- 00:09:24.890 --> 00:09:27.793
- Triggered mass hysteria here in salem.
- 00:09:27.793 --> 00:09:30.963
- First came the rumors and then came
- 00:09:30.963 --> 00:09:32.631
- The accusations.
- 00:09:32.631 --> 00:09:33.999
- Villagers accused each other of witchcraft for
- 00:09:33.999 --> 00:09:36.135
- All sorts of reasons.
- 00:09:36.135 --> 00:09:38.070
- A failed crop, an illness, a dead dog.
- 00:09:38.070 --> 00:09:41.640
- Anything that couldn't be explained had to
- 00:09:41.640 --> 00:09:45.044
- Be witchcraft.
- 00:09:45.044 --> 00:09:46.745
- In fact, if someone just thought someone looked
- 00:09:46.745 --> 00:09:48.180
- Like a witch or acted like a witch, they
- 00:09:48.180 --> 00:09:50.916
- Could be accused.
- 00:09:50.916 --> 00:09:52.217
- - let's say you're making a soup, stirring it up
- 00:09:52.217 --> 00:09:54.186
- Like so.
- 00:09:54.186 --> 00:09:56.255
- Not gazpacho. a witches brew.
- 00:09:56.255 --> 00:09:58.424
- Go to jail.
- 00:09:58.424 --> 00:09:59.758
- Let's say you've got a mole on your face.
- 00:09:59.758 --> 00:10:01.427
- You are a witch.
- 00:10:01.427 --> 00:10:02.227
- You beat me at monopoly.
- 00:10:02.227 --> 00:10:03.429
- You're a witch.
- 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:04.396
- Freckles. jail. people don't like you.
- 00:10:04.396 --> 00:10:06.965
- Also jail. people like you
- 00:10:06.965 --> 00:10:09.468
- Too much. straight to jail.
- 00:10:09.468 --> 00:10:11.103
- - henry, i am your wife. - definitely a witch.
- 00:10:11.103 --> 00:10:15.340
- - things started to get so out of hand that the
- 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:17.309
- Governor of massachusetts called for the
- 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:19.411
- Establishment of a special court
- 00:10:19.411 --> 00:10:21.914
- Called the court of oyer and terminer,
- 00:10:21.914 --> 00:10:23.849
- Which means to hear and determine to preside over
- 00:10:23.849 --> 00:10:26.518
- These witch trials.
- 00:10:26.518 --> 00:10:28.454
- Now, this all brings up a really important question.
- 00:10:28.454 --> 00:10:31.757
- How do you determine a witch from a non-witch?
- 00:10:31.757 --> 00:10:36.662
- I mean, this is all happening in the court of
- 00:10:36.662 --> 00:10:39.064
- Law, so there had to be some pretty high standard
- 00:10:39.064 --> 00:10:41.333
- Of evidence, right?
- 00:10:41.333 --> 00:10:43.802
- Sadly, not even close.
- 00:10:43.802 --> 00:10:46.171
- - she couldn't accurately even say the lord's prayer.
- 00:10:46.171 --> 00:10:50.142
- [crowd gasps]
- 00:10:50.142 --> 00:10:51.610
- - she has a mole.
- 00:10:51.610 --> 00:10:54.046
- It's there, but you can't see it.
- 00:10:54.046 --> 00:10:55.714
- But it's there.
- 00:10:55.714 --> 00:10:57.483
- - i was asleep and she came to me in my dream!
- 00:10:57.483 --> 00:10:59.918
- [crowd gasps]
- 00:10:59.918 --> 00:11:01.186
- Judge: and?
- 00:11:01.186 --> 00:11:02.121
- - and she tormented me in my dream.
- 00:11:02.121 --> 00:11:03.522
- [crowd] oh!
- 00:11:03.522 --> 00:11:04.890
- - objection!
- 00:11:04.890 --> 00:11:05.958
- A dream can't be used as evidence.
- 00:11:05.958 --> 00:11:08.460
- - i agree.
- 00:11:08.460 --> 00:11:09.728
- It's pretty flimsy, but i'll allow it.
- 00:11:09.728 --> 00:11:13.332
- We shall hinseforth call this spectral evidence.
- 00:11:13.332 --> 00:11:17.603
- [singing] ding dong, the witches are dead...
- 00:11:17.603 --> 00:11:19.238
- Spectral evidence made their bed...
- 00:11:19.238 --> 00:11:21.206
- Ding-dong...
- 00:11:21.206 --> 00:11:22.641
- - spectral evidence is based on the idea that
- 00:11:22.641 --> 00:11:24.910
- Witches had so much devil power that they could
- 00:11:24.910 --> 00:11:28.647
- Project ghostly versions of themselves outside of
- 00:11:28.647 --> 00:11:31.917
- Their physical bodies and torment someone
- 00:11:31.917 --> 00:11:34.853
- Even in their sleep.
- 00:11:34.853 --> 00:11:36.955
- So in review, moles and birthmarks,
- 00:11:36.955 --> 00:11:40.058
- Owning weird dolls, inability to remember
- 00:11:40.058 --> 00:11:42.528
- Scripture and nightmares are all perfectly good
- 00:11:42.528 --> 00:11:45.998
- Reasons to accuse someone of witchcraft
- 00:11:45.998 --> 00:11:48.066
- In the court of law.
- 00:11:48.066 --> 00:11:49.968
- But my favorite has to be the touch test,
- 00:11:49.968 --> 00:11:53.105
- And it worked like this.
- 00:11:53.105 --> 00:11:54.506
- If one of the accusers was having a devil fit,
- 00:11:54.506 --> 00:11:57.843
- They believed the only thing that could stop it
- 00:11:57.843 --> 00:12:00.245
- Was the touch of a witch.
- 00:12:00.245 --> 00:12:02.848
- And if that person stopped being hysterical,
- 00:12:02.848 --> 00:12:06.552
- Voila, you got yourself a witch.
- 00:12:06.552 --> 00:12:09.955
- But if we're being honest,
- 00:12:09.955 --> 00:12:11.190
- I think the only thing all of this proves is how
- 00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:13.625
- Quickly normal, everyday people can lose their
- 00:12:13.625 --> 00:12:17.663
- Minds, especially when they're afraid.
- 00:12:17.663 --> 00:12:20.866
- How often do we see crowds or mobs of people
- 00:12:20.866 --> 00:12:24.269
- Swept up in a story that isn't 100 percent true?
- 00:12:24.269 --> 00:12:28.207
- People grow suspicious of one another,
- 00:12:28.207 --> 00:12:30.375
- They fear one another, they accuse each other
- 00:12:30.375 --> 00:12:32.945
- Of unthinkable crimes.
- 00:12:32.945 --> 00:12:35.180
- 300 years ago, we called it the salem witch
- 00:12:35.180 --> 00:12:37.683
- Trials, but today it's just tuesday afternoon
- 00:12:37.683 --> 00:12:40.752
- On social media.
- 00:12:40.752 --> 00:12:42.988
- The consequences of this type of hysteria
- 00:12:42.988 --> 00:12:45.324
- Can actually get pretty serious.
- 00:12:45.324 --> 00:12:47.593
- For example, the first case brought before
- 00:12:47.593 --> 00:12:49.828
- The court of oyer and terminer was a woman
- 00:12:49.828 --> 00:12:52.364
- Named bridget bishop.
- 00:12:52.364 --> 00:12:54.466
- Bridget was known for being an unlikable and
- 00:12:54.466 --> 00:12:57.336
- Quite argumentative person.
- 00:12:57.336 --> 00:12:59.605
- And to make things worse,
- 00:12:59.605 --> 00:13:00.973
- She was known to wear inappropriate clothing.
- 00:13:00.973 --> 00:13:04.142
- Inappropriate didn't mean exactly what it means today.
- 00:13:04.142 --> 00:13:07.479
- The puritans prided themselves on humility,
- 00:13:07.479 --> 00:13:10.549
- So an inappropriate dress could have been something
- 00:13:10.549 --> 00:13:13.418
- Too rich or fancy.
- 00:13:13.418 --> 00:13:15.921
- Clearly a witch, right?
- 00:13:15.921 --> 00:13:18.490
- Not so fast.
- 00:13:18.490 --> 00:13:19.858
- - and have you committed any acts of witchcraft?
- 00:13:19.858 --> 00:13:25.797
- - i am as innocent as the child unborn.
- 00:13:25.797 --> 00:13:29.902
- - so no evidence and no admission, but still,
- 00:13:29.902 --> 00:13:33.972
- Bridget's accusers would not back down.
- 00:13:33.972 --> 00:13:36.642
- - i now pronounce you...
- 00:13:36.642 --> 00:13:39.678
- Guilty!
- 00:13:39.678 --> 00:13:42.214
- - and so the judge declared her guilty of
- 00:13:42.214 --> 00:13:44.716
- Witchcraft and put her to death.
- 00:13:44.716 --> 00:13:48.287
- Bridget was hanged at the location known as
- 00:13:48.287 --> 00:13:50.522
- Proctor's ledge.
- 00:13:50.522 --> 00:13:52.591
- In total, like 200 people were accused of
- 00:13:52.591 --> 00:13:55.827
- Witchcraft and subjected to these bizarre trials.
- 00:13:55.827 --> 00:13:59.731
- And while they were in jail,
- 00:13:59.731 --> 00:14:01.033
- They were treated horribly.
- 00:14:01.033 --> 00:14:03.068
- Some people believed that these witches could
- 00:14:03.068 --> 00:14:06.338
- Magically escape jail, so they were held in
- 00:14:06.338 --> 00:14:09.675
- Dungeons or chained to the wall while
- 00:14:09.675 --> 00:14:12.077
- Awaiting their trial.
- 00:14:12.077 --> 00:14:17.007
- Awaiting their trial.
- 00:14:17.007 --> 00:14:19.490
- - what was really going on in salem?
- 00:14:20.258 --> 00:14:22.927
- Was it witchcraft
- 00:14:22.927 --> 00:14:24.495
- Or were there other devious motivations?
- 00:14:24.495 --> 00:14:28.533
- Probably devious motivations.
- 00:14:28.533 --> 00:14:30.635
- In order to answer that question,
- 00:14:30.635 --> 00:14:31.936
- I need to sit down with a real salem witch
- 00:14:31.936 --> 00:14:34.706
- Trials expert, miss beth crowley.
- 00:14:34.706 --> 00:14:36.841
- So help us kind of understand what was
- 00:14:36.841 --> 00:14:38.543
- Going on in salem during the trials.
- 00:14:38.543 --> 00:14:40.812
- - absolutely. so witch trials were not new.
- 00:14:40.812 --> 00:14:43.514
- Witchcraft was not new.
- 00:14:43.514 --> 00:14:44.983
- It had been going on for centuries.
- 00:14:44.983 --> 00:14:46.684
- And so to have this thought process that
- 00:14:46.684 --> 00:14:49.354
- Anything bad that happens to you,
- 00:14:49.354 --> 00:14:51.522
- It's because of the devil.
- 00:14:51.522 --> 00:14:53.257
- The children die? witchcraft.
- 00:14:53.257 --> 00:14:55.526
- - sure. so you said this was not a new idea.
- 00:14:55.526 --> 00:14:57.895
- - no.
- 00:14:57.895 --> 00:14:59.430
- - talk about where that all started.
- 00:14:59.430 --> 00:15:01.332
- The whole idea of witchcraft.
- 00:15:01.332 --> 00:15:02.533
- - absolutely. so really it started in 1486, 87.
- 00:15:02.533 --> 00:15:06.137
- There was actually a very influential book written
- 00:15:06.137 --> 00:15:08.773
- In germany called the malleus maleficarum,
- 00:15:08.773 --> 00:15:12.710
- And it actually translates to
- 00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:14.379
- The hammer of the witches.
- 00:15:14.379 --> 00:15:15.880
- - wow.
- 00:15:15.880 --> 00:15:17.115
- - and what it was was a how-to book on how to
- 00:15:17.115 --> 00:15:20.918
- Find, how to identify, how to interrogate and
- 00:15:20.918 --> 00:15:25.423
- How to exterminate or torture witches.
- 00:15:25.423 --> 00:15:28.092
- - that's crazy.
- 00:15:28.092 --> 00:15:29.761
- - so it resulted in three centuries of
- 00:15:29.761 --> 00:15:32.997
- Witch trials in europe.
- 00:15:32.997 --> 00:15:35.133
- - so could the inception of this been a prank gone
- 00:15:35.133 --> 00:15:38.603
- Bad, or do you think there was some genuine
- 00:15:38.603 --> 00:15:40.838
- Spooky stuff going on?
- 00:15:40.838 --> 00:15:42.640
- - so i don't think there was any magic or
- 00:15:42.640 --> 00:15:44.475
- Witchcraft going on.
- 00:15:44.475 --> 00:15:46.310
- I think that fear can be a really tricky thing.
- 00:15:46.310 --> 00:15:50.448
- And one of the newer theories is what's called
- 00:15:50.448 --> 00:15:52.517
- Mass conversion disorder, where think about if
- 00:15:52.517 --> 00:15:55.686
- Everyone around you is sick,
- 00:15:55.686 --> 00:15:58.089
- Then you're afraid you're sick.
- 00:15:58.089 --> 00:15:59.524
- And i think we can draw parallels to
- 00:15:59.524 --> 00:16:01.025
- The last few years.
- 00:16:01.025 --> 00:16:02.093
- - i think we can.
- 00:16:02.093 --> 00:16:03.127
- - so all of a sudden someone coughs
- 00:16:03.127 --> 00:16:04.629
- And you're like.... - sure.
- 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:07.265
- - and i do think that in this case of the girls,
- 00:16:07.265 --> 00:16:10.268
- They really were driven by fear.
- 00:16:10.268 --> 00:16:12.670
- But i also think it was an opportunity to be heard.
- 00:16:12.670 --> 00:16:16.040
- The 12-year-old ann putnam,
- 00:16:16.040 --> 00:16:17.809
- She accused 62 people of witchcraft and
- 00:16:17.809 --> 00:16:22.280
- 19 of them were executed.
- 00:16:22.280 --> 00:16:24.415
- So imagine you're a young child who's never been
- 00:16:24.415 --> 00:16:27.218
- Taken seriously, and then all of a sudden,
- 00:16:27.218 --> 00:16:29.654
- Every word you say, they're just captivated.
- 00:16:29.654 --> 00:16:32.690
- - that's interesting.
- 00:16:32.690 --> 00:16:33.958
- - so i think they ran with that, if it's a whole
- 00:16:33.958 --> 00:16:36.394
- Combination. were they really hallucinating?
- 00:16:36.394 --> 00:16:40.431
- I'm not sure.
- 00:16:40.431 --> 00:16:41.632
- - so who do you think were the real villains
- 00:16:41.632 --> 00:16:43.167
- In the story?
- 00:16:43.167 --> 00:16:44.735
- - the real villains, i would say these adults
- 00:16:44.735 --> 00:16:47.105
- That stood by and did nothing,
- 00:16:47.105 --> 00:16:50.007
- But they were afraid.
- 00:16:50.007 --> 00:16:51.109
- If you say something, you're going to be
- 00:16:51.109 --> 00:16:52.710
- Accused of witchcraft.
- 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:54.212
- And it was a game of really just
- 00:16:54.212 --> 00:16:55.847
- Protecting yourself.
- 00:16:55.847 --> 00:16:57.115
- And by the end of it, there were over
- 00:16:57.115 --> 00:16:58.382
- 250 arrests and 55 people confessed to witchcraft.
- 00:16:58.382 --> 00:17:03.955
- None of those people were executed.
- 00:17:03.955 --> 00:17:06.424
- Not a single person who confessed to
- 00:17:06.424 --> 00:17:08.392
- Witchcraft was executed.
- 00:17:08.392 --> 00:17:09.994
- - that's crazy.
- 00:17:09.994 --> 00:17:11.129
- - they lost their property, they stayed in jail
- 00:17:11.129 --> 00:17:12.230
- Until the end, but if you didn't confess,
- 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:15.299
- That's when you went to your trial.
- 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:16.934
- - interesting.
- 00:17:16.934 --> 00:17:18.636
- - all of the people accused of witchcraft and
- 00:17:18.636 --> 00:17:21.038
- Executed were innocent.
- 00:17:21.038 --> 00:17:22.807
- These were innocent people.
- 00:17:22.807 --> 00:17:23.841
- They were not witches.
- 00:17:23.841 --> 00:17:25.042
- The last of the names of the accused was actually
- 00:17:25.042 --> 00:17:28.613
- Cleared in the last decade.
- 00:17:28.613 --> 00:17:30.548
- - wow. beth, thank you so much.
- 00:17:30.548 --> 00:17:32.283
- - thanks for having me.
- 00:17:32.283 --> 00:17:33.417
- - yeah, absolutely.
- 00:17:33.417 --> 00:17:34.485
- The salem witch trials took place about a
- 00:17:34.485 --> 00:17:36.587
- Hundred years before the united states officially
- 00:17:36.587 --> 00:17:39.123
- Became a nation, and the whole ordeal only lasted
- 00:17:39.123 --> 00:17:42.059
- Like 11 months.
- 00:17:42.059 --> 00:17:43.995
- So why is this strange, spooky tale still so
- 00:17:43.995 --> 00:17:48.032
- Fascinating to us today?
- 00:17:48.032 --> 00:17:49.800
- I think it's because the witch trials are such
- 00:17:49.800 --> 00:17:52.336
- An anomaly in our nation's history.
- 00:17:52.336 --> 00:17:54.772
- You see, this was not an american idea.
- 00:17:54.772 --> 00:17:58.709
- Over in europe, between the years of 1450 and
- 00:17:58.709 --> 00:18:01.679
- 1750, about 50,000 people were executed for
- 00:18:01.679 --> 00:18:06.117
- Witchcraft and sorcery.
- 00:18:06.117 --> 00:18:07.885
- They were hanged, beheaded and even burned alive.
- 00:18:07.885 --> 00:18:11.722
- Here in salem, 19 people died by hanging.
- 00:18:11.722 --> 00:18:14.725
- One poor guy, giles corey,
- 00:18:14.725 --> 00:18:17.128
- Remains silent in the face of his accusers and
- 00:18:17.128 --> 00:18:19.797
- Was crushed to death.
- 00:18:19.797 --> 00:18:22.433
- In total, 25 lives were taken,
- 00:18:22.433 --> 00:18:24.802
- Which is 25 too many.
- 00:18:24.802 --> 00:18:27.438
- But who knows how far and wide this witch-crazed
- 00:18:27.438 --> 00:18:31.275
- Madness would've swept through the new world if
- 00:18:31.275 --> 00:18:33.811
- It hadn't been for some feisty preachers who
- 00:18:33.811 --> 00:18:36.480
- Decided to intervene.
- 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.516
- Meet john proctor.
- 00:18:38.516 --> 00:18:40.785
- John proctor was a part of a vocal minority who
- 00:18:40.785 --> 00:18:43.521
- Believed that the witch trials were just a bunch
- 00:18:43.521 --> 00:18:46.123
- Of hocus pocus nonsense.
- 00:18:46.123 --> 00:18:48.192
- And his opinion got him in big trouble,
- 00:18:48.192 --> 00:18:50.995
- As in double, double toil and trouble.
- 00:18:50.995 --> 00:18:53.931
- And so john proctor was arrested.
- 00:18:53.931 --> 00:18:57.301
- While in prison, john sends a letter to the
- 00:18:57.301 --> 00:18:59.537
- Clergy here in boston begging for help.
- 00:18:59.537 --> 00:19:02.907
- - help!
- 00:19:02.907 --> 00:19:04.575
- - unfortunately, by the time anyone outside
- 00:19:04.575 --> 00:19:07.478
- Of salem really got involved,
- 00:19:07.478 --> 00:19:09.847
- John proctor and five of his family members had
- 00:19:09.847 --> 00:19:12.683
- Already been executed.
- 00:19:12.683 --> 00:19:14.719
- Only his pregnant wife was spared.
- 00:19:14.719 --> 00:19:22.009
- Only his pregnant wife was spared.
- 00:19:22.009 --> 00:19:24.498
- - salem was gripped with fear; fear of the devil,
- 00:19:25.432 --> 00:19:29.536
- Fear of each other, fear of being accused of
- 00:19:29.536 --> 00:19:32.973
- Witchcraft, and no one was safe.
- 00:19:32.973 --> 00:19:35.442
- Even rebecca nurse, a beloved member of the
- 00:19:35.442 --> 00:19:38.412
- Community, was accused of witchcraft.
- 00:19:38.412 --> 00:19:41.115
- - witch!
- 00:19:41.115 --> 00:19:43.684
- - [crowd] witch!
- 00:19:43.684 --> 00:19:45.286
- - at this point, many people in town started
- 00:19:45.286 --> 00:19:47.855
- Growing suspicious of social media-- i mean,
- 00:19:47.855 --> 00:19:50.724
- The witch hunters of course.
- 00:19:50.724 --> 00:19:53.460
- And so the people signed a petition pleading
- 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:56.030
- For her release.
- 00:19:56.030 --> 00:19:57.431
- These witch trials had gone too far.
- 00:19:57.431 --> 00:20:01.669
- - innocent!
- 00:20:01.669 --> 00:20:03.971
- Innocent!
- 00:20:04.271 --> 00:20:05.572
- - finally a glimmer of hope.
- 00:20:05.572 --> 00:20:07.975
- But the witch hunters were not about to
- 00:20:07.975 --> 00:20:10.577
- Release their stranglehold of power that
- 00:20:10.577 --> 00:20:13.314
- They had over the town.
- 00:20:13.314 --> 00:20:15.449
- - guilty!
- 00:20:15.449 --> 00:20:16.717
- Guilty!
- 00:20:16.717 --> 00:20:18.752
- - this horror story reached its peak in
- 00:20:18.752 --> 00:20:20.521
- September of 1692, when seven women and one man
- 00:20:20.521 --> 00:20:24.491
- Were hanged for witchcraft on a single day.
- 00:20:24.491 --> 00:20:27.761
- Little by little, the townsfolk began turning
- 00:20:27.761 --> 00:20:29.963
- Their suspicions away from the quote,
- 00:20:29.963 --> 00:20:32.299
- Witches and toward the witch hunters.
- 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:35.502
- Now, a man named increase mather was a
- 00:20:35.502 --> 00:20:37.771
- New england puritan in the massachusetts bay colony.
- 00:20:37.771 --> 00:20:41.241
- He was also the president of harvard college,
- 00:20:41.241 --> 00:20:43.777
- Generally a pretty well-respected dude,
- 00:20:43.777 --> 00:20:46.013
- And he had a stern word of caution for
- 00:20:46.013 --> 00:20:48.349
- These witchy trials.
- 00:20:48.349 --> 00:20:50.951
- - it were better that 10 suspected witches
- 00:20:50.951 --> 00:20:53.520
- Should escape, then that one innocent person
- 00:20:53.520 --> 00:20:56.390
- Should be condemned.
- 00:20:56.390 --> 00:20:58.959
- - finally, on october 29th,
- 00:20:58.959 --> 00:21:01.462
- The governor of massachusetts dissolved
- 00:21:01.462 --> 00:21:03.931
- The court of oyer and terminer,
- 00:21:03.931 --> 00:21:05.999
- And the witch hunters were losing their power.
- 00:21:05.999 --> 00:21:09.470
- Now the accused still had to remain in jail
- 00:21:09.470 --> 00:21:12.206
- Until a new court was established.
- 00:21:12.206 --> 00:21:14.508
- And even still, three more people were
- 00:21:14.508 --> 00:21:16.910
- Accused of witchcraft.
- 00:21:16.910 --> 00:21:18.746
- But the good governor stepped in once again
- 00:21:18.746 --> 00:21:21.215
- And reprieved the remaining convictions.
- 00:21:21.215 --> 00:21:23.550
- And with that, the jails started to slowly empty.
- 00:21:23.550 --> 00:21:26.720
- The salem witch trials were finally canceled.
- 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:29.490
- In response, a day of repentance and prayer was
- 00:21:29.490 --> 00:21:32.159
- Declared for salem and the surrounding communities.
- 00:21:32.159 --> 00:21:34.862
- Today, social media gives the mob more power than
- 00:21:34.862 --> 00:21:39.633
- Ever. why try to understand someone
- 00:21:39.633 --> 00:21:42.269
- Else's perspective or respectfully debate
- 00:21:42.269 --> 00:21:45.205
- Someone when it's much easier to throw out an
- 00:21:45.205 --> 00:21:47.941
- Accusation or call someone a name.
- 00:21:47.941 --> 00:21:51.645
- Whatever really happened, it's important that
- 00:21:51.645 --> 00:21:53.647
- We learn from this.
- 00:21:53.647 --> 00:21:55.249
- Kids, when you see an angry mob start to
- 00:21:55.249 --> 00:21:57.651
- Gather, whether it's on social media or
- 00:21:57.651 --> 00:21:59.853
- In the city streets, check the facts.
- 00:21:59.853 --> 00:22:02.756
- Also, check your heart and check in
- 00:22:02.756 --> 00:22:05.092
- With the good book.
- 00:22:05.092 --> 00:22:06.360
- There's always something you can pull from it.
- 00:22:06.360 --> 00:22:09.196
- In the end, whatever's going on might just be
- 00:22:09.196 --> 00:22:11.365
- A little fungus or a sinister power grab
- 00:22:11.365 --> 00:22:14.334
- From a greedy politician.
- 00:22:14.334 --> 00:22:16.703
- Or, well, i guess it could be a witch.
- 00:22:16.703 --> 00:22:20.741
- You never know.
- 00:22:20.741 --> 00:22:22.242
- We'll see you next time.
- 00:22:22.242 --> 00:22:22.242