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Since it's October, we want to try and keep it as spooky and scary as possible, and what better way to do that then to head over to America's most infamously haunted town of Salem, located a stones throw away from where we call home.
This week we wanted to keep it light and not only walk through the history of this ghostly town, but also give you a break of the gruesome cases of the current world that we live in. Though known for old colonial houses, shops filled with potions, broomsticks and other haunted knick-knacks, Halloween themed coffee shops and the most haunted ghost tours in the country, Salem is most notably famous for the Witch Trials that took place almost 400 years ago.
The Salem Witch Trials took place between 1692 and 1693 and more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, also known as the Devil's magic, and 20 people were executed. Over time, the colony admitted that the trials were a mistake as they were not finding those guilty on the same grounds that they'd find others who'd committed heinous crimes. Meaning, there was absolutely NO evidence required to prove that someone was a witch where-as in other cases, there needed to be substantial evidence in order to convict someone of a crime.
Several centuries ago, many Christians as well as many other religions had a strong belief that the Devil could essentially give specific people "powers" making them Witches looking to harm other people in return for their loyalty. From the 1300's to the 1600's, a "Witchcraft craze" spread through Europe, where tens of thousands of people, mostly women, were executed. Though the Salem Witch Trials came just as the Europe paranoia was winding down, local circumstances explain their reasoning.
To hear the full story on the Salem Witch Trials, listen to our latest episode.
As always, we hope you keep it spooky and see you next Monday!