Witchcraft

Salem Witch Trials

Ray, B. (2003). Salem Witch Trials. OAH Magazine of History. Vol, 17 (4), 33-36

To start my research into witchcraft I looked into the history of the Salem witch trials. I wanted to research into the associations to witchcraft and how the 'witches' were treated.

Evidence they found which led them to believe that this women was a witch:

-'Poppets' (dolls made of rags and hogs bristles, with pins in them) were found in this woman’s cellar.

-A 'preternatural teat' was found on her body which then disappeared within a few hours.

The two images to the left show illustrations of a 'witch' being arrested and the other of a girl who is about to be hung in result of being accused of using witchcraft. These were the actions taken if they believed you were a witch in the 1800s.

Below are two more illustrations of the actions taken when accusing someone of witchcraft. Below to the left illustrates a girl stripped down in-front of a court to help determine wether she is a witch or not depending on wether she has the devils mark on her. Below to the right are two women accused of witch craft trying to declare their innocence.

To the left is the tail told of the salem witch trials.

"Today the behaviour of the young women-dramatic and alarmingly abnormal as it was- would almost certainly be diagnosed as clinically hysterical. In the diagnosis of the time, the girls were demonically possessed."

This shows some traits that would have gotten you accused with witchcraft at this time. Throughout my research Demonic and Witchcraft tend to overlap, as they are both assosiated with evil and hellish behaviour.

The tail also talks about how they were hung on Witch's Hill as punishment for recognition with witchcraft.

Marshall, R. (1998). Witchcraft: The history and mythology - Richard Marshall - hardcover - only from B&N books. Barnes & Noble Books.

Many books had tails of events associated with witchcraft. They tended to be about illnesses or events of nature which couldn't be explain so would be blamed on witchcraft. Doctors would also be called to come and treat ill people and if they couldn't diagnose the cause they would blame witchcraft.

Unknown and unexplainable events tended to be blamed on witchcraft.

Marshall, R. (1998). Witchcraft: The history and mythology - Richard Marshall - hardcover - only from B&N books. Barnes & Noble Books.

Tortureing the Witches

Marshall, R. (1998). Witchcraft: The history and mythology - Richard Marshall - hardcover - only from B&N books. Barnes & Noble Books.

Joan of Arc

I had heard about the classic tale of Joan of Arc and read about it in more detail at the Witchcraft Museum in Boscastle. I decided to research into the tale further as it kept being mentioned within my research into witchcraft.

Marshall, R. (1998). Witchcraft: The history and mythology - Richard Marshall - hardcover - only from B&N books. Barnes & Noble Books.

Here shows some statistics of the ratios of execution for witchcraft before and after the Salem witch trials (from 1648-1692) showing the large increase of executions.

Tortureing witches through humiliation and inflicting pain I have seen through many various sources of texts. One source I read led the accused witch to confess to crimes she didn't commit because of the torture.

The witches were stripped naked and their hair was shaven off as a safety precaution as the witches were thought to have habit of hiding objects in their clothes and hair. This instantly gave me the image of a witch with big crazy hair possibly holding and hiding various items used within witchcraft.

The mystery of the witch and the unknown of what they would do and what they were capable of is probably why they were feared so by torture and take everything away from them was seen as an essential act to protect themselves.

There is no exact meaning or image of witchcraft and can mean different things to different people. Culture and beliefs can have a big impact on an individuals interpretation of the word. I will gather my research and take different aspects from different parts of my research to create my character.

Lucie Minty

Specialist Practice

Witchcraft