Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...

236 Salem Witchcraft
An afflicted girl demonstrates in court how she had been bewitched (17th century woodcut) (Library of Congress)
ter of the Puritan Church of Salem, brought back
a slave couple, John and Tituba, to
Massachusetts. Tituba, who cared for Parris’s
nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth, and his elevenyear-old
niece, Abigail Williams, soon began to
tell them stories about her native Barbados,
including tales of “voodoo.” The girls were fascinated
with the subject, and were joined by other
girls in the village, ranging from age twelve to
twenty. They began telling each other’s fortunes
and tried to discover the trades of their future
husbands through a primitive crystal ball that
they made by floating an egg white in a glass of
water. It is said that one saw the likeness of a
coffin, representing death. Beginning with Betty
Parris in January 1692, the girls began having fits,
crawling into holes, making strange noises and
contorting their bodies.
Rev. Parris decided to consult the village physician,
Dr. William Griggs, who could find no
medical precedent for the girls’ condition. Thus he
diagnosed bewitchment, since at that time it was
believed that witchcraft was among the causes of
illness and death. It was also believed that witches
derived their power from the Devil. It thus became
necessary to find the witch or witches responsible,
exterminate them and cure the girls who, unwilling
to admit their own complicity with Tituba’s
magic, began to mention names.
Tituba, who was afraid to reveal the story
sessions and conjurings, confessed to being a
witch. She also claimed that a black dog had
threatened her and ordered her to hurt the girls,
and that there was a coven of witches in
Massachusetts, about six in number, led by a tall,
white-haired man dressed all in black. The witchhunts
began as soon as more witches were named.
Among them were Martha Corey, a member of the
Salem village congregation; Rebecca Nurse, one of
the most outstanding people of her community
and a church member; and John and Elizabeth
Proctor, tavern-keepers and vocal opponents of
the proceedings.
The accused remained in prison, often
languishing in irons, without a formal trial, until
May 1692, when the new royal governor Sir