22nd of September

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 22

In 1692 the last eight victims of the Salem Witch Trials were found Guilty and hung.

 

After the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris become ill and started displaying fits the doctor of the puritan village claimed the cause was witch craft.

 

On the 1st of March 1692 three young women were captured for the crime. Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and a slave from Barbados named Tituba were all accused of witchcraft and after a day of questioning, and possibly torture, Tibuta confessed to the charges.

 

After more people became ill the residents of Salem began searching for more witches and within a few months they had captured 150 people of the crime including women, men and a four year old child.

 

In June 1692 Chief Justice William Stoughton began trying the accused starting with Bridget Bishop who was found guilty and hanged on the 10th of June. Many more were convicted and executed for the crime, usually by hanging although Giles Corey was killed by crushing.

 

On the 10th of June Bridget Bishop became the first victim of the trials followed closely by Sarah Goode, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Wildes who were all hung on the 19th of June 1962.

 

Two months later on the 19th of August George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, George Jacobs, John Proctor and John Willard were all hung for witch craft.

On the 19th of September 1692 Giles Corey refused to make a plea at his trial knowing that anything he said would be taken against him. The court therefore ordered that an old form of French Torture be used known as ‘peine forte et dure’ meaning hard and forceful punishment. It involved placing increasingly heavy rocks upon the mute defendant until they either spoke or died. Giles Corey didn’t speak.

 

On the 22nd of September 1692 the last eight victims were tried and executed. These final eight were Martha Corey (wife of Giles Corey), Mary Eastey, Ann Pudeator, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, Wilmot Redd, Margaret Scott and Samuel Wardwell.  

 

In October of that year the court was dissolved and the witch trials officially ended, but in the four months of the Salem witch trials 19 people were executed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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