The Salem Witchcraft Trials occurred because of the depth of Salem Puritans' belief in witchcraft and the devil.

The first women to be accused of witchcraft in Salem were seen as different and as social outcasts: Tituba, a slave; Sarah Good, a homeless beggar; and Sarah Osborne, a sickly old woman who married her servant. These women were unpopular and it was easy to point fingers at them. Gossips and rumors were enough to accuse them.

Tituba was a dark skinned slave who lived in the household of the Reverend Samuel Parris. She was familiar with the West Indian Voodoo and practicing magic. In the evenings Tituba entertained little Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams by the kitchen fire. She played fortune-telling games and told them stories of magic and spirits from the Caribbean. Tituba was pointed out by the three girls and accused of teaching them witchcraft and fortune telling, which resulted in their strange behavior. Tituba did not deny the allegations. She confessed to being a witch after Reverend Parris beat her. Because she confessed, she was not executed. In her trial she said “The devil came to me and bid me serve him” and talked about black dogs, red cats, yellow birds, and a white-haired man who bade her sign the devil’s book. She also identified Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne as witches. Since the people were superstitious and believed in the supernatural and evil, they believed in the stories told by Tituba.

Bridget Bishop was an old widow acquitted of witchcraft. She was well known to the villagers, for she ran an unlicensed tavern out of her house. Physical evidence such as “popitts made up of rags and hoggs” with pins stuck in them were found in the cellar walls of her house. It was considered as a form of Black Magic. She was hanged at the witches’ hill and was the first victim of the Salem witchcraft trials.

John Hale expresses his thoughts in “A Modest inquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft”. He says “Lord hath his mysteries to bring us to Eternal Glory; Satan hath his Mysteries to bring us to Eternal Ruine”. He believes that Satan sends his messengers to create havoc and ruin the peaceful world created by god. People in that age believed that all evil or bad things that happened to them were the doings of Satan. They believed that god would pardon their doings and give them the strength to fight against Satan. This belief truly suggests that people were superstitious and believed in a power of evil (Satan) and God controlling their life.

Spectral evidence was the most popular form of accusing witches. Benjamin Gould stated that the presence of Cory and his wife caused him pain in his feet. Stephan Bittford claimed that he saw Rebecca nurse and Elizabeth proctor at night and experienced severe pain in the moving his neck and could not move or speak. Betty Parris felt knife like pain and a pinching sensation during Tituba’s sessions. Other evidence such as dreams, hallucinations, spirits, haunting images, which could be made up, were given to accuse witches.

Superstition and morbid fear of the supernatural was the main cause for their belief in witchcraft. E.g. Samuel Parris conducted prayer services and community fasting to save the girls from the hands of evil. Tituba baked a Witch cake and fed it to the dog. Sarah good’s curses were responsible for the failing of crops and death of livestock. All these evidences prove that people were highly superstitious and lacked scientific/logical reasoning.

Conclusion

The main cause of the Salem Witchcraft trials is the blind faith people had in the supernatural, Devil and God. Lack of scientific or logical thinking made people believe in evil in the form of witches and wizards. The beliefs in spectral evidences and intangible proof often given to accuse witches, lead to the examinations and executions of the witches.