The Salem witch trials took place in colonial Massachusetts between the years 1692 and 1693. It all began when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by witches, leading to a wave of hysteria and paranoia throughout the town of Salem. The girls accused several women of practicing witchcraft, which was seen as a serious offense at the time. The trials gained momentum as more and more people were accused of witchcraft. The accused were often put on trial and subjected to intense questioning and examinations. The proceedings were heavily influenced by religious beliefs, with many people believing that the presence of witchcraft in the community was a sign of the devil's influence.

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692

The Salem witch trials are a defining example of intolerance and injustice in American history. The extraordinary series of events in 1692 led to the deaths of 25 innocent women, men and children. The crisis in Salem, Massachusetts took place partly because the community lived under an ominous cloud of suspicion. A remarkable set of conflicts and tensions converged, sparking fear and setting the stage for the most widespread and lethal outbreak of witchcraft accusations on this continent.

Centuries after this storied crisis, the personal tragedies and grievous wrongs of the Salem Witch Trials continue to provoke reflection, reckoning and a search for meaning. Today, the City of Salem attracts more than one million tourists per year, many of whom are seeking to learn more about these events. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) holds one of the world’s most important collections of objects and architecture related to the Salem Witch Trials. From 1980 to 2023, PEM’s Phillips Library was the temporary repository of the state’s Supreme Judicial Court collection of Witch Trial documents. These legal records, which were returned to the Judicial Archives following the expansion and modernization of the Massachusetts State Archives facility, are available to researchers around the world on our website here thanks to a comprehensive digitization project undertaken by the museum. Through exhibitions, research, publishing and public programming, PEM is committed to telling the story of the Salem Witch Trials in ways that honor the victims and amplify the teachings of wrongful persecution that remain relevant to today.

The Salem Witch Trials Walk

This self-guided audio tour takes you inside the galleries and outside the museum to learn more about the infamous events of 1692. PEM curators and experts share a behind-the-scenes perspective of some of the most compelling stories in Salem in this 1 hour tour. Included with admission.

History and Origins of the Salem Witch Trials

English colonial settlers arrived in 1626 at Naumkeag, a traditional Native American fishing site, to establish a Massachusetts Bay Colony outpost. Most were Puritans who sought to purify the Church of England from Roman Catholic religious practices and build a utopian society. The settlers renamed the place Salem, after Jerusalem, the “city of peace.”

Over successive decades, waves of colonists arrived, changing the power dynamics in governance, land ownership and religion. By the 1670s, tensions between rural Salem Village (now Danvers) and the prosperous Salem Town flared. Contentions multiplied when Salem Village formed its own church and appointed a controversial minister. Changes to the colony’s charter and leadership, skirmishes with French colonists and their Indigenous allies, a smallpox epidemic, and extreme weather heightened concerns.

In January 1692, young girls in Salem Village reported that unseen agents or forces afflicted them. The minister suspected witchcraft. In the 17th century, a witch was understood as a person who agreed to serve the devil in opposition to the Christian church. On February 29, four men and four girls traveled to Salem Town to make complaints against three women. The next day interrogations began.

Notable Figures of the Witch Trials: The Accused and the Accusers

Learn more about the individuals who were involved in the Salem witch trials, both the accused and the accusers.

Historical research reveals a picture of Bridget Bishop (1632–1692) as a witty and independent, though quarrelsome, resident of Salem. Widowed twice, she was married to sawyer Edward Bishop. Attorney General Thomas Newton decided to put Bishop on trial first, perhaps looking for a strong case to set the tone for subsequent hearings. Accused and acquitted of witchcraft 12 years earlier, she may have been an easy target by association. Multiple accusers claimed Bishop’s specter was responsible for damages and afflictions. Their testimonies were the result of longstanding suspicions or misattributed gossip about Sarah Bishop—a different person entirely. No witchcraft allegedly perpetrated by Bishop was ever proven by the required testimony of two witnesses. Instead, the court relied on the spectral evidence claimed by the accusers, the only ones who could “see” the invisible world of demons. Tragically, this injustice against Bishop set the pattern for the remainder of the trials.

What little is known about Tituba is through her involvement in the witch trials. Documents refer to her as “Indian,” but it is likely that she was from an Indigenous community in the Caribbean, Florida, or South America. Reverend Samuel Parris enslaved Tituba and brought her to Boston and then Salem Village when he returned north from Barbados in 1680. Betty Parris, Parris’s daughter, and her cousin Abigail Williams identified Tituba as the perpetrator of their January and February afflictions, the first accusations of 1692. Tituba’s testimonies on March 1–2 confirmed for locals that a witchcraft conspiracy existed. In addition to confessing — undoubtedly under pressure — she accused Sarah Osburn and Sarah Good and said there were seven more witches, quickly widening the scope of the crisis. The court left Tituba to languish in prison until May 1693 when a grand jury rejected the charges brought against her. Shortly after, an enslaver, whose name is not known, paid her jail debts and released her to their ownership. The remainder of her life is a mystery.

George Jacobs Sr. (1620–1692) was born in London and was living in the Salem colony by 1649. As a country farmer suffering from arthritis, he used two canes to walk. He did not attend church regularly and had a reputation for a violent temper and defiant spirit. These facts — along with his son’s friendship with the Porter family, enemies of the powerful Putnam family —made Jacobs an easy target for early accusers. His granddaughter Margaret, who confessed to the charge of witchcraft, accused him. Then Mercy Lewis, a servant of Thomas Putnam, testified that Jacobs “did torture me and beat me with a stick which he had in his hand . . . coming sometimes with two sticks in his hands to afflict me.” His son and wife also contributed. In August, the court sentenced him to death.

Rebecca Nurse (about 1621–1692), Mary Esty (born about 1634–1692), and Sarah Cloyce (about 1641–1703) were sisters from the Towne family of Topsfield, Massachusetts. All three women were married with large extended families. Elderly Rebecca, a respected member of the church, was nearly deaf, which may have prevented her from defending herself fully in court. Dozens petitioned the court on her behalf. At first, the jury returned a not guilty verdict, but the judges asked them to reconsider. In a dramatic reversal, Rebecca was found guilty, condemned, and hanged. Mary put before the court two of the most eloquent, heartfelt petitions of the entire episode. The documents called for fair trials, exposed the flaws of the existing court, and proposed methods of getting to the truth behind the accusations. But they did not help her avoid execution. It is unknown how Sarah escaped the fate of her sisters. After months in prison, she was cleared. Sarah, her husband, and many members of the extended Towne family were among the first English settlers of Framingham.

Giles and Martha Corey: Both faced accusations by multiple people. In March, Giles testified against Martha claiming that she bewitched him and his farm animals. In September, when Giles refused to participate in his own trial, the court ordered him to be pressed under stones in order to extract a plea. He remained silent and died under the weight in the only death by pressing in Massachusetts history. Martha and seven other victims were hanged days later.

The Putnams, a well-established Puritan family, owned much of the land in Salem Village and supported the Reverend Samuel Parris. They were deeply involved in the witchcraft hunt, accusing and testifying against many community and extended family members.

Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718) was a merchant and political figure who held various positions, including serving as magistrate during the 1692 pre-trial examinations. Corwin lived in the house now known as the Witch House on the corner of Essex and Summer streets. Corwin remained on the bench until October 1692 when the governor officially disbanded the court of oyer and terminer. We do not know much about how Corwin felt about the trials because he spoke little during the examinations and never made any public statements. He never apologized for his role in the trials. His brother-in-law magistrate John Hathorne served as magistrate and one of Corwin’s children was listed as afflicted in Tituba’s examination in March. His mother-in-law Margaret Thacher was accused of witchcraft, but the charges against her were ignored and no arrest warrant was issued.

Born in England, Samuel Sewall (1652–1730) and his family emigrated to Newbury, Massachusetts, in the 1660s. A Harvard graduate, Sewall initially trained to become a clergyman. He later pursued a career in business, politics, and public service after marrying the daughter of a wealthy Boston merchant. His wife’s first cousin was the Reverend Samuel Parris. He derived significant income from real estate holdings in New England. Sewall was one of nine judges appointed by Governor William Phips to serve on the court in Salem to “hear and determine” accusations of witchcraft. These judges were respected, educated, and affluent members of the community, but none had formal legal training. While fulfilling his role as judge, Sewall took part in proceedings that sent 19 innocent persons to their deaths. In the aftermath of the trials, Sewall’s troubled conscience led to a change of heart and, in January 1697, he made a public confession of guilt, remorse, and repentance for the part he played in the trials and apologized for his role in the proceedings. For the rest of his life, Sewall observed a day of fasting as evidence of ongoing contrition. Sewall continued his judicial career for many years culminating in 1718 with his appointment as Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Judicature. Sewall is also remembered for publishing the first anti-slavery tract in America in 1700.

Salem Witch Trials of 1692

In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of 19 men and women. In addition one man was pressed to death; several others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed.

The proceedings were heavily influenced by religious beliefs, with many people believing that the presence of witchcraft in the community was a sign of the devil's influence. As the trials continued, the accusations became even more widespread, with people from all walks of life being accused. In total, over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, with 20 individuals being executed.

Time Period Of The Salem Witch Trials

To understand the events of the Salem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village families and rivalry with nearby Salem Town combined with a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon, prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem; their names had been “cried out” by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in 17th-century New England – the practice of witchcraft.

The majority of those accused were women, but men were also among the accused. The trials finally came to an end when the governor of Massachusetts intervened and put a stop to the proceedings. He recognized that the trials were based on shaky evidence and profound fear, leading to an unjust and dangerous situation. The Salem witch trials are often seen as a dark chapter in American history. They serve as a reminder of the dangers of hysteria and the consequences of a justice system that is driven by fear and superstition. The events of the trials have been the subject of numerous books, plays, and films, highlighting their lasting impact on American culture. Today, they are often studied as an example of the dangers of groupthink and mass paranoia..

Reviews for "Dates to Remember: The Salem Witch Trials and Their Historical Significance"

- John Smith - 1 star - The Salem witch trials date was a complete waste of time. The tour guide was unenthusiastic and seemed like she didn't even want to be there. The information provided was lackluster and I didn't learn anything new about the Salem witch trials. Additionally, the tour was extremely crowded and it was difficult to hear what the guide was saying. Overall, I was extremely disappointed with my experience and would not recommend it to anyone.

- Emily Johnson - 2 stars - I had high hopes for the Salem witch trials date, but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The tour guide was knowledgeable, but the pacing of the tour was off, with long periods of standing in one spot and listening to information. Furthermore, the tour group was large and it was difficult to see some of the exhibits or hear what the guide was saying. It felt rushed and impersonal, and I left feeling underwhelmed. I would recommend looking for a different tour or experience in Salem.

- Michael Thompson - 2 stars - As a history enthusiast, I was excited to visit the Salem witch trials date. However, I found the experience to be underwhelming. The tour guide provided basic information that I already knew, and there was nothing new or insightful presented during the tour. Additionally, the tour group was too large, making it difficult to fully engage with the guide or see the exhibits up close. Overall, it was a letdown and I would not recommend it to fellow history lovers.

Delving into the Evidence: The Dates of the Salem Witch Trials