Witches Should Be Hanged and They Were in Salem in 1639

¶ … Salem Citizen at the Witch Trials Sixty years or so before the Salem witch trials were being held in 1692-93 -- a series of events featuring fear, paranoia, ignorance, hysteria, which ended with 20 young women being hanged -- Bernal Diaz del Castillo writes that he witnessed human sacrifices in the Aztec world of Mexico. "They strike open the wretched Indian's chest with flint knives and hastily tear out the palpitating heart," Diaz writes (published on page 23 of Michael Johnson's book, Reading the American Past: Volume 1 to 1877: Selected Historical Documents).

The initial thought that comes to my mind is that while human sacrifices are horrendously bloody and brutally, the injustices perpetrated on the 20 women in Salem Village in the late 17th century were perhaps even more inhumane. Each culture in these two cases had their own dark, sadistic sides, and while the juxtaposition of the two is odd, killing is killing and the innocents that die are to be pitied.

A Resident in Salem Village -- in 1692 I can imagine that I am a member of the Salem Village and I see Sarah Good acting in a "strange and unusual manner by getting into holes and creeping under chairs and stools," using weird positions, making "ridiculous speeches" and making "foolish" gestures (Goss, 2008). It would be easy for me to fall into the belief that first Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, and Tituba were somehow tainted by the devil.

At an emotional hearing in the Salem Village meetinghouse even her own husband, William, testified that ".. she is an enemy to all good" and "was either a witch or would become one very quickly" (Goss, 20). After all, the doctor who examined Betty Parris and Abigail Williams (William Griggs) believed they were under a spell, and there was some evil force controlling them. In the 17th century doctors were highly respected as knowledgeable on many issues pertaining to physical and emotional health.

And moreover, the ministers were highly respected as well, and when they prayed for spiritual healing, held "private fasts and prayer meetings .. " in order to ask God to restore these girls to "normalcy" -- but the condition only "worsened" -- there surely had to be some kind of devil working inside these females (Goss, 21). Sarah Good's answers to reasonable questions were, as Court Clerk Ezekial Cheever explained, " .. given in a very wicked and spiteful manner, reflecting and retorting against the authority with base and abusive words" (Goss, 22).

With this in mind, the feeling in the Salem Village community was that something darkly dramatic was happening and before its wickedness spread to innocent girls and women, and it should be putting these witches to death. Even the slave of Reverend Parris, Tituba, admitted that she flew around on broomsticks and acted in a devilish manner, and when she refused to do what the devil demanded she do, she was " .. beaten by a coven of local witches" (Goss, 23).

I was at the hanging of five people in July 1639; I missed the hanging of five more witches in August that year but I was on hand to witness the hanging of eight women in September, 1639. Even the iconic pastor Cotton Mather, who " .. wrote a letter imploring the court not to allow spectral evidence -- testimony about dreams and visions" (Blumberg, 2007) could not make the court change its mind about these witches' demise. At the September hanging on Gallows Hill, some women were crying, others were clearly pleased.