Back in the old days, people thought there were really witches out there. It all started in a Puritan community of Salem Village, Massachusetts in 1692. A group of girls were staying the night of the house of Reverend Parris. The girls were listening to a story told by one of the slaves. They played fortune-telling games, something forbidden by the Puritan. One night, one girl was trying to see her future husband. Instead, she saw a coffin-like shaped.
Soon after, the girls started to act strange. The Puritan people suspected the practice of witchcraft. The girls pointed out three townswomen, including the slave who told them the stories, as the witches to tortured them.
There was a trial for these women. They argued a lot over this situation. The court didn’t believe them and found them guilty of practicing witchcraft.
As time passed, the group of girls started accusing other people too. It wasn’t just women, it was children and men too. By 1693, there have been 24 people who died. Some died in jail but most were hanged. Some who were accused, confessed, but none of those people were hanged.
The Puritan way of life was strict. If you were just a little different, you could be in trouble. No one knows why the witch craze spread, but it changed a lot of things.
That was the last witch hanging in America.
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