“Testifieth & saith that divers of the afflicted by Witchcraft were much tortured at the examination of John Proctor.”
Reverend Samuel Parris
Translation – Parris was saying that not only did Proctor afflict his accusers in the past, but that he was doing it during the trial.
I used to think that the religious zealotry of the Puritans caused the Salem Witch Trials. But, as I researched the event, I learned it was a lot more complicated than that with a fascinating and often despicable cast of characters. We’ll probably never understand all the reasons for the hysteria, but here are some of the leading causes of the Salem Witch Trials. You can find a good synopsis of the event at, History of the Salem Witch Trials.
In the early versions of my series, I envisioned my antagonists to be a cabal of evil spirits composed of some of the leading instigators of the Witch Trials. However, I eventually changed the series story arc and created new, historically-based antagonists for every book because I realized there have been too many fascinating people to limit my bad guys to so few.
But where to start on the list of the key instigators? The roots of the Trials began many years before the actual events and include things like fears of religious persecution, the hardships people endured to survive, greed, and people like The Reverend Cotton Mather, who stoked the fires by speaking and writing vociferously about the reality of witches and devils. He was also an outspoken advocate of the Trials.
The first accusers were Elizabeth Parris (9), the daughter of Salem Village’s priest – Reverend Samuel Parris, and Abigail Williams (11), the priest’s niece. Over the trials, the two girls and their friends accused dozens of people of witchcraft. Yet, only a few of them ever expressed regrets for what they did. Their actions could have been for numerous reasons, including ergot poisoning and adults pressuring the girls to accuse others.
John Hathorne was one of the first judges of the trials. Documents of the proceedings show him to be an unusually harsh, some say cruel, judge. He never expressed regrets for his actions. His great-great-grandson was so embarrassed by his actions that he changed his last name. You know him as the famous author – Nathaniel Hawthorne.
William Stoughton was another one of the infamous judges, presiding over the later stages of the Trials. Most of the executions occurred during his time. He, too, never expressed any regrets. What amazes me is that there are streets and buildings still named after him, despite his role. I made him my chief ‘bad guy’ in the book because of his zeal towards prosecuting/persecuting the victims.
George Corwin was the sheriff during the Trials. He signed all the arrest and execution warrants and profited from seizures of properties and jail fees. One legend about him is that people hated him so much that his family had to hide his corpse in their basement after he died until the backlash had died down, and they could quietly bury him. It’s a lot more colorful than the actual story of one of the accused placing a lien on his burial to retrieve the property Corwin had seized during the Trials.
Below is the statue of Roger Conant, founder of Salem, Ma. To me, it represents the times and the area perfectly.
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