"Being a Witch Isn't Easy"

An Introduction to the Salem Witch Trials

There is nothing more intriguing than witches. Hollywood embellishes them with television shows like Bewitched and Sabrina the Teenage Witch and cult classic movies such as The Craft. However, witches were not always used for cinematic purposes.

“We see witchcraft, finally, as a deeply ambivalent but violent struggle /within/ women as well as an equally ambivalent but violent struggle /against/ women.” -Carol F. Karlsen from The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New England

Back in the late 1600s, people believed that witches truly existed. Thus, began the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts. More than 200 people were accused of practising witch craft and, from those people, about 20 were executed. The colony eventually realized they were wrong and compensated the families of those who were wrongfully executed.

A Q&A on the Salem Witch Trials

This website, used for tourism of Salem, Massachusetts has a good amound of information about the trials. The embedded link below is a question and answer forum about the trials.

Find out more about the Salem Witch Trials in the video below: