Paranoia Strikes

It is believed that the cause of the mass paranoia that began the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 all began in the home of Pastor Samuel Parris. The Parris family had owned an Indian slave named Tituba. Elizabeth Parris, the daughter of Samuel and Betty Parris, at the age of nine, and her cousin Abigail Williams, at the age of eleven, were left in Tituba’s care. Tituba would often entice the young Puritan girls with tales and demonstrations of magic and power. These demonstrations often were of “voodoo tricks¹⁰.” As we have previously learned, the practice of this witchcraft is greatly against the Puritan religion. The young girls, being in relation and a part of a Pastor’s house hold were in fact accustomed to these beliefs. Yet, they were fascinated by this witchcraft, and managed to keep it a secret for quite some time.

Eventually the secret came about. The young girls began acting in “strange and aberrant ways¹¹.” They claimed that they felt pricked by pins and cut with knives. They fell into sorts of trances where they were tempted to commit suicide and had fits. They would scream shrilly, cry out, and throw items around. All of these were highly unusual for women who were in training to become submissive, quiet, pleasant members of society.



Tituba

Pastor Parris noted the young girls’ odd behavior and called Dr. William Griggs in an attempt to find physical cause. Dr. Griggs of course could find any physical means for the girls’ exotic behavior, and determined it of spiritual effects. It was common for witches to seduce and tempt others to follow the devil’s reign. Many also believed that if those whom the witches tried to seduce did not willingly give their soul to the devil that they would face such terrors. The girls were asked to identify the people that had affected them. The young girls pointed out three suspects; Tituba, Sara Good, and Sara Osborne. They were to be the first of three people accused within the Salem Village.

 Sarah Good and her family were known as the town beggars. She, herself, was notorious for her unsociably and unpleasant reputation. This made her appear odd to the rest of the community, and thus a perfect suspect to be tried for witchcraft. Sarah Osborne’s maiden name was Sarah Warren. She was originally married to Robert Prince. After Prince’s death Sarah had married an Irish servant of hers. Sarah had also tried to take over the Prince estate which rightfully, according to the will of her deceased husband, belonged to her children. This dispute made her an easy target for the witchcraft trials in 1692. But what did Tituba, Good, and Osborne have in common, besides their social outcast status? None of them went to church. It was said that those who were in association with the Devil could not hear the sermons because it would cause them pain.

The three women were tried with the accusations of witchcraft in March 1692. Their Judges were John Harthorn and Jonathon Curren. The purpose of these trials was to prove that there was sufficient evidence to accuse these women. However, the trials were plausibly insufficient because they depended greatly upon spectral evidence. Spectral evidence is defined as “a witness testimony that the accused person’s spirit or spectral shape appeared to said witness, in a dream at the time the accused person’s physical body was at another location¹².” Many claimed that the Devil had such great power that he could send visions to the religious people in order to lead them astray. These spectral evidences were often provided by the young girls accusing people of witchcraft. Notice the injustice?

Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were the first to be accused and tried in the Salem village. They were all likely suspects because of their low status, their social outcast reputations, and their unwillingness to go to church. However, it was the testimony of one of these three women that produced paranoia and the fate that about 200 others would have to endure.