A Brief History
On August 19, 1612, three women from Samlesbury in Lancashire, England were put on trial for witchcraft. Just yesterday History and Headlines featured an article about another Lancashire witch trial. In this article, we present to you the Samlesbury witch trials and also discuss a case of five witches who were executed on the same date in Salem, Massachusetts but in 1692.
Digging Deeper
Accused by a 14-year old girl of practicing witchcraft, three women in Samlesbury were brought to trial. They were accused of cannibalism and of having murdered a child and were charged with “maleficium,” harm by means of witchcraft. Fortunately they were acquitted, something of a wonder in those days of ignorance and paranoia. Another 11 people caught up in this round of witch hunting were not so lucky and hanged, 10 in Lancaster and one in York.
The witch hunts in Lancashire are believed by historians to be a result of the Protestant vs. Catholic religious power struggle prevalent at the time; the witch trials being used by Protestants as a tool to reign in Catholics.
Meanwhile, 80 years later to the day in Salem, Massachusetts, four men and one woman were hanged as witches, one of whom was a minister.
There would have been six executions, but a pregnant woman, Elizabeth Proctor, was allowed to give birth to her baby first. For some unknown reason, she was never executed. History and Headlines Note: Back then there was both a Salem Village and a Salem Town, both of which were involved in the witch trials. A total of 20 convicted witches were executed in Salem, 19 were hanged and one was pressed to death.
As with the Lancashire witch hunts, many historians believe that the Salem witch hunt was religiously motivated. In Salem, for example, there was conflict between adherents to the Church of England and those with Puritan and Calvinist tendencies.
Today, it is not uncommon for politicians to use the criminal justice system to create scapegoats and to sacrifice innocent people for political reasons in much the same manner that some people used to be accused of witchcraft and executed. Luckily, today’s victims of witch hunts are not hanged, but modern-day practices are just as evil. Question for students (and subscribers): What “witch hunts” are you aware of? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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For another interesting event that occurred on August 19, please see the History and Headlines article: “The 6 Most Versatile Aircraft of all Time.”
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Almond, Philip C. The Lancashire Witches: A Chronicle of Sorcery and Death on Pendle Hill. I.B. Tauris, 2012.
Roach, Marilynne K. Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials. Da Capo Press, 2013.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="3948 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=3948">65 Comments
interesting article! I would be completely terrified to live during this period of time
In the time of all of these horrible acts….. It would of been terrible to live in this time period. I mean you have the Black Death… then all the wars then the witch trials. All in a 200 year window
Although i don’t personally believe in witchcraft, its interesting to read about the trials and how they proceeded to execute them
Glad I do not live in that time period, Interesting that this happened though.
Wow that is a lot of events to happen in that short amount of tkme. Would be terrible to live during then
I am not so informed on very many witch hunts. I think of it like the “Finding Bigfoot” show, its cool if you are into that, but not for those of us who have no reason to hunt witches or bigfoot’s. I again, think that these witch killings, are ways for people to commit murder on groups of people and justify it. The article even suggests that.
I would be afraid for my life living in this time period. I would’ve moved out of these areas.
I would have feared for my life during this time period!
The Salem Witch trials were a dark spot in history. It’s amazing how false accusations can be the deciding factor for taking life.
This reminds me of the time my mom was telling me about her trip to Salem. She said there was a creepy feeling aroud the place. The witch trials always make me so said.
This is definitely a period of time that I am happy to not have existed! — DAVID WARDLE
I read the Crucible in high school which was fiction but inspired by the events that happened in Salem. Once someone was accused of witchcraft then everyone assumed they were a witch without any logic or solid reasoning. Rumors spread through the town quickly and it was hard to persuade them otherwise.
Many believe that the Salem witch hunt was religiously motivated. The shocker of the century lol.
It’s amazing that a 14year old girl would be trusted when accusing three women of being a witch.
People say that we should study history so we do not repeat it, but articles about events such as the Salem witch hunt and examples of “modern witch hunts” show that history has repeated itself.
The “witch hunts” and “scapegoats” we have today are definitely unfair, but I would take them over a witch hunt in 1692.
Five executed in one day? Interesting that the majority was hanged but one was pressed to death. GW
It is a shame so many innocent people were accused of being a witch because of hatred between people. My teacher who introduced the witchcraft trials to me was related to the man who got pressed to death and I don’t think he believed he was a wizard. I am surprised that they actually let the pregnant woman have her baby first, they seemed very cruel back then.
I still do not understand the reasoning behind the false accusations from the girls. They definitely were not under the spell of some witch. Such a shame that so many innocent people had to die because of this situation.
It is interesting that in Samlesbury, the witch trials started with the accusation of a young girl, as did the trials in Salem. It leads me to believe even more that the trials were just an act of paranoia and misunderstandings.
I agree with Jenna. I could see some of the accusations being out of paranoia. I hate that innocent people lost their lives and were accused of witchcraft.
Interesting Article, I remember watching the movie and learning about this a few years ago, but I didn’t like the ending with all the innocent people being executed.
Cant begin to think how young girls could begin to blame someone for being a witch
Using religion as a way to persecute others is something I will never understand. People become so invested in the differences between religions and their specific beliefs without being able to see each religious person as someone who believes in something bigger than themselves. That should be something that brings people together, not tears them apart.
I always wonder if these accusations by young children were due to a joke or a dare that got completely out of control or even just a plea for attention.
I can’t think of any modern day witch hunts…maybe ISIS members? Arabics?
Just one wrong move could cost you your life, it would be terrifying to be living on thin ice during this period of time.
It seems as if the witch craft accusations were likely to be made towards someone that you had “beef” with, as a way to seek revenge. Whether it was religion, economy, disputes between families, or even being envious of what another had. People used it in as a way to get back at one another.
I can’t think of a specific witch hunt, but I do know they have been going on for hundreds of years and still go on today. The reasons for accusations were just silly. This article also shows that the hunts go on around the world.
I haven’t heard of any modern day witch hunts around the world..I didn’t think people were still being accused of witchcraft
I found it interesting that the pregnant women, that was supposed to be executed, was allowed to give birth to her child and after that, neither her nor her child were killed. I don’t believe that witchcraft is a main threat in today’s society.
It’s easy to play on someone’s paranoia especially when there is something to be gained. Those that accused the “witches” were trying to settle a dispute they had had with the accused or they wanted their property. The same goes on in politics today like when two candidates are competing and they those each other’s “dark” past to try and sway the votes their way.
The witch trials were crazy! That would have been such a scary time to live in Salem.
It seemed like a incredibly tense time to live in Salem, say the wrong thing or act the wrong way you may be the next person blamed for witchcraft.
You can definitely see the strength in their religion. These people didn’t want to execute others yet they felt they had to follow their beliefs.
The Salem Witch Trials is such an intriguing story and I’ve always enjoyed learning about it. Religion always seems to cause tons of problems in the world.
It is good to hear that not everyone who was accused was proven guilty and then killed. However, the scapegoat situation does get thrown around throughout modern history. One specific example that comes to mind was during the Cold War. I believe many times people had been called a communist and this led to a paranoid society.
It’s pretty spooky that there are two sets of executions occurring on the same days years apart. Also, witchcraft again seems to be a front, this time for differences between faiths.
The most prominent “witch-hunt” today is that against terrorists. Unfortunately,innocent practitioners of Islam are often caught in the cross fire. People do not take the time to realize that ignorance may be clouding their judgement.
I am not aware of many witch hunts and it is interesting to see how a one 14 year old girl had such an effect on so many people.
It is pretty crazy to me that the actual trial came to the verdict of witchcraft, now-a-days that would never happen because not everyone believes in witchcraft
It’s crazy that one girl started a ripple effect that resulted in the death of so many people. I read online that even two dogs were accused and executed of witchcraft!
Reading this, it was interesting to me to see how a little 14 year old girl can have so much power. Especially back then.
I think that these accusations had more than just a
religious motive, accusing someone of witchcraft was an easy way to put them in
a negative light and get others to turn on them as well.
The amount of power that the religion had back 5 centuries ago is staggering. This whole hunt started because of catholic vs protestant opposition. I also remember that one woman was accused because someone wanted her land. Terrible time in american history.
The Simpsons reenactment of the witch hunts was a classic
The Salem Witch Trials are so ingrained in American history. Many other events that were more bloody take second place simply because of the supernatural element inherent in the events.
i feel like these people should been not even tried since it kinda made up from a 14 year old girl. i think she just didnt like these people so wanted them gone
Elizabeth Proctor was probably not hung or killed because she was pregnant but she was probably banned to Siberia after they tried to convict her of being a witch.
It is crazy how a 14 year old girl had that much influence
The killing seem to never end!!
As bad as Salem was, the witch hunts in France were far more widespread and horrific.
Who in their right mind would put someone to death because a 14 year old girl assumed they were witches? 14 year olds have very vivid imaginations.
I have always been intrigued with the Salem witch trails and always thought they were brutal. Reading this article made me realize the Salem trials were bad but not horrific. I mean the people of France obviously believed anyone and everyone who claimed they knew a witch or a saw witch, which is very stupid.
I remember as a 14 year old I was very impressionable, so I can only imagine what this one went through!
Ouch! Pressed to death?
Why were the people just allowed to accuse any person of being a witch? I feel like they were all idiots for just believing anyone who said hey’d found a witch. Also,how do they even know for sure that someone is a witch. These trials were just a way for protestants to gain more control over the “lesser religions”
I don’t understand why people were able to simply accuse their neighbor of witchcraft and why people where so willing to accept it without much evidence.
Everyone must have been constantly afraid someone would randomly decide to accuse them of being a witch.
That would be a very hard time period to live in, i am thankful to be in the one im in today !
I would be constantly afraid for myself and love ones if people were accused so freely.
It is crazy that a child could be that believable back than.
I’ve always felt the salem witch trials were a bunch of young girls who got a little attention and power and then took it to the extreme
Sneezing in the wrong direction was enough to have you accused it seems.
I couldn’t imagine my life being in the hands of a young school girl, you never know what they will do or say!