Discover American History

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Discover American History

Meg Chorlian, Editor Debra M. Porter, Senior Art Director John Hansen, Designer Ellen Bingham, Copy Editor and Proofreader Naomi Pasachoff, Editorial Consultant, Research Associate, Williams College James M. O’Connor, Director of Editorial Jestine Ware, Assistant Editor Christine Voboril, Permissions Specialist Frances Nankin and Hope H. Pettegrew, Founders

Advisory Board Eric Arnesen, Professor of History The George Washington University Diane L. Brooks, Ed.D., Director (retired) Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Office California Department of Education Ken Burns Florentine Films Beth Haverkamp Powers, Teacher age age Milford, New Hampshire p p Maryann Manning, Professor 40 45 School of Education University of Alabama at Birmingham

Alexis O’Neill, Author and page Museum Education Consultant Lee Stayer, Teacher 26 Advent Episcopal Day School Birmingham, Alabama Sandra Stotsky, Professor of Education Reform 21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality University of Arkansas

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NEW!2015 Parents’ Choice Magazine Gold Award Winner CONSULTING EDITOR ABOUT THE COVER 2014 Parents’ Choice Magazine Gold Award Winner Marilynne K. Roach is an illustrator, writer, and The were held in a court 2013 Parents’ Choice Magazine Gold Award Winner researcher who is a life-long resident of Massachusetts before a jury, but it was impossible to defend and lives a train ride away from Salem. She has written against , which were claims 2012 Parents’ Choice Magazine several books on the subject of the Salem witch trials. by the accusers that they had “seen” the Gold Award Winner Having researched the 1692 trials for decades, she finds accused person’s spirit or ghost exhibiting George Washington Honor Medal that new bits and pieces of information continue to witch-like behavior. Award Winner turn up. JOIN US ON Indexed and/or Abstracted in: Children’s Magazine Guide Primary Search and Middle Search Readers’ Guide for Young People Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature www.facebook.com/cricketmedia FEATURES ACTIVITIES 2 Before Salem 38 All About Salem by Andrew Matthews Crossword Puzzle by Will Bremen 6 Stressed Out by Jennifer Raifteiri-McArdle DEPARTMENTS page 11 The Witch Scare Begins 24 1 Editor’s Note by Marilynne K. Roach 24 Did You Know? 40 Going Global 14 Young by Bryan Langdo by Jennifer Raifteiri-McArdle 42 Brain Ticklers 43 Your Letters 16 Order in the Court! 44 Just for Fun by Marjorie Rackliffe 45 Dr. D’s Mystery Hero by Dennis Denenberg 21 The “Late Troubles at Salem” 46 Spotlight On . . . by Marjorie Rackliffe by Ebenezer 48 Say What? 26 Never Forget 49 Cartoon Connection by Barbara Brooks Simons by K.E. Lewis

page 30 Examining the Evidence: 16 An Interview with Marilynne K. Roach by Meg Chorlian 32 Modern Witch-Hunts by Marcia Amidon Lusted 34 Witchy Characters by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers and Andrew Matthews

During the witch trials, the atmosphere was so frightening that family EDITOR’S NOTE members accused one another of being witches! Good thing Puritans didn’t The Salem witch trials is a topic that is hard to fathom today. To celebrate holidays. Can even begin to understand what happened, we need to forget our you imagine how awkward large family get-togethers 21st-century lives and try to imagine life in Salem in 1692. At that might have been in the time and in that place, people believed that Devil-worshipping years that followed? witches were real. As fear and hysteria spread, hundreds of people faced accusations of being witches, and 20 innocent people were killed. The more I read about the trials, the more fascinating and layered the history became. In the end, however, I kept wondering one thing: What would I have done in Salem in 1692 if I or some- one I knew was accused? How would you answer that question?

Editor Beforeby Andrew Matthews Salem

he word witch often brings up an image of an old woman with a hooked nose and a pointy chin wearing a Tpeaked black hat and a black dress. She spends her time stirring a brew of nasty- smelling things in a cauldron. She creates mischief, casting spells and cursing people as she flies through the night on a broomstick with her black cat. Today, people understand that this concept of a witch is not real. Yet, until a few hundred years ago, people believed that it was true. They also believed that witches were the servants of the Devil.

Versions of witches evolved over many centuries. Ancient civilizations The Middle Ages was the period in believed in multiple gods and goddesses who could inspire good and evil. European history People prayed to certain gods for their aid and intervention—to help the from about sick or promote healthy crops or provide blessings. Several goddesses in a.d. 476 to 1453, between antiquity Greek myths were closely associated with darkness and moonlit nights: and the Renaissance. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and childbirth; Selene, Heretics are goddess of the moon; and Hecate, goddess of the spirits of the dead, witch- people who hold controversial craft, and magic. Hecate particularly shared many characteristics later opinions, especially in attributed to witches. She lived in tombs and appeared at crossroads on public opposition to clear nights, accompanied by spirits and howling dogs. She had knowledge the Roman Catholic Church. of herbs and poisonous plants. She was present when the spirit entered The Inquisition was and left the human body—at birth and at death. a court held in the Over the centuries, a shift occurred away from worshipping many Roman Catholic Church to identify gods. The rise of Judaism and Christianity introduced the idea of one and persecute God as the image of good, and the Devil or Satan as the image of evil. As heretics or church Christianity spread and became more established in Europe, religion and members who publicly dissented religious leaders held enormous influence on people’s lives. Church lead- from the Church’s ers dismissed the existence of witches as superstition and as not being in beliefs. agreement with Christian beliefs. 2 Toward the end of the Middle Ages, and magic became Over time, practicing sorcery or closely associated with the Devil. Witches were credited with all kinds magic became connected with of powers. They were said to transform themselves or other people into witches doing the Devil’s work. animals and to enter hidden places by leaving their bodies behind. They were believed to make spells and potions capable of inspiring passion, creating delusions, and changing love to hate. They were believed capable of causing illness and bringing about storms and other disasters. To carry out their secret plans, witches met together after dark. They were said to recruit followers by getting them to sign their names in the Devil’s book. The mostly Christian Europe of the 15th century believed it was wag- ing a war against the Devil and his followers. Witchcraft became a crime so terrible and evil that sparing the innocent was not as important as punishing the guilty. Any means, including torture and false promises, was justified if it led to the discovery and punishment of the guilty. Since women were viewed as spiritually and physically weaker than men, they were considered more vulnerable to the attacks and corrupting influence of the Devil and more likely to become his followers. Witch-hunting was supported by the most powerful men of the age. In 1320, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope John XXII, declared that witches were heretics. In 1484, Pope Innocent VIII issued a decree FAST FACT that defined the powers of the Inquisition to be used for the suppression of While the vast majority witchcraft. Two years later, two German friars, Henry Kraemer and Jacob of accused “witches” Sprenger, published the Malleus Maleficarum, or The Hammer of Witches. over the centuries were The publication stated that acts of witchcraft were real, dangerous, and women, men were associated with the Devil. The work provided information on how to fight accused of practicing witchcraft, too. and destroy witches. It supported the use of torture and suggested that if 3 DID YOU KNOW? he most famous “witch” to be Texecuted in Europe was Joan of Arc. Joan was a French peasant girl who rallied the French army to defeat an invading English army at Orleans. She was captured in the spring of 1430, turned over to the English, accused of being a witch, and burned at the stake in 1431. She later was declared a saint.

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for being a “witch,” but her real “crime” may have been that she was a woman who stepped outside the accepted boundaries between men and women in the 15th century.

the “guilty” party could not be made to confess, it might be because the Devil had power over her or him. From the 15th through the 18th centuries, tens of thousands of accused Fear and hysteria “witches” were burned at the stake in Europe. The witch-hunts reached can make people do terrible things. their height between the late 1500s to the mid-1600s. The accused came from a variety of backgrounds, but they were more likely to be women, poor, or elderly. They also often showed an independence from male authority or an outspokenness that was not considered appropriate for the time. It was not until the 18th century that witch-hunting was discredited and witches and witchcraft were proclaimed imaginary. In the American colonies, the persecution of “witches” occurred on a smaller scale. While hundreds were accused, less than 35 New Englanders were executed for witchcraft. Hartford, Connecticut, was the site of the first public hanging of a “witch” in 1647. Several other executions took place in the years that followed, and four convicted “witches” were hanged in 1662. Twenty men and women were victims of the 1692 Salem witch trials. 4 In the colonies, as in England, it was against the law to be a witch, but it Germany led an aggressive was a civil issue in the colonies, not a religious issue as it was in England. effort to eliminate “witches” As a capital crime, “witches” in the colonies were hanged. in western Europe. Here, three victims are publicly Today, it is difficult to fully understand the actions and behaviors of burned in the city of people 300 years ago. And yet, forms of witch-hunts have taken place in Derneburg in 1555. the United States since then. Check out the article on page 32 for a look at modern-day situations in which fear and hysteria have led to the persecu- tion and mistreatment of innocent people. t

Anne Whitehouse contributed to this article.

Wo men Healers by Catherine Williams

ver the centuries, women traditionally have childbirth meant that most mothers faced the Obeen the caretakers of the home and families. process with a certain amount of fear. Midwives In their preparation of meals, they developed a or women attendants developed a knowledge and vast knowledge of herbs and plants. They dis- a confidence that men lacked: how to help deliver covered that some plants worked as medicines children and to ease pain during childbirth. or pain relievers. From generation to generation, During the Middle Ages, men—but not women passed down their self-taught understand- women—had the opportunity to attend medical ing of natural remedies to relieve suffering and universities. As medicine developed into a profes- ease pain in their families and communities. sion for men, they may have felt threatened by Mothers, sisters, and other female relatives the role of self-taught women healers. By the also often exclusively cared for pregnant women. 15th century, both religious and civil leaders in This was mostly because it was considered Europe began suggesting a connection between indecent for any man other than a woman’s hus- women healers and witches. band to see her in any unclothed condition. The many complications that were associated with Catherine Williams was a senior editor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. 5 StressedStressedStressedStressed OutOutOutOut by Jennifer Raifteiri-McArdle

alem was a community under stress. Residents Sfaced constant threats in their daily lives. Real threats included attacks from Native Americans, unresolved politi- cal issues between England and the , outbreaks of deadly diseases, and severe weather that im- pacted crop growth. A less real but still great fear was belief in the existence of the Devil and Puritan colonists in the 1600s remained on the alert for his constant attempts to cor- all sorts of danger: Native Americans, deadly diseases, political turmoil . . . and witches. rupt people.

6 Fear of Attack Native American groups had lived in the Massachusetts Bay area for centuries prior to the arrival of the first English colonists in 1620. While the Puritan and Native American cultures were vastly different, initial interactions between the two groups were mutually beneficial. The growing community of Puritans and their claims on the land, however, became a major obstacle to continued coexistence with the Native Americans.

by Jennifer Raifteiri-McArdle

Hoping to drive the Puritans away, native groups launched attacks The first English settlers in on their towns or settlements. Sometimes the attacks were quick raids, Massachusetts began working other times they turned into longer wars. King Philip’s War (1675–1676) immediately to build a permanent home. was a Wampanoag-led rebellion that spread throughout present-day . Colonial towns were destroyed, and several thousand people died on both sides of the conflict. It was particularly devastating to the Wampanoag and the Narragansett Indian populations.

7 With their homes burned and families killed, displaced settlers straggled into towns looking for a safe haven. The fear of attacks created an unsettled atmosphere in Massachusetts. It also re- inforced the Puritans’ sense that they lived on the edge of a wilderness. Political Uncertainty When King Charles I of England granted a royal charter to the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629, it gave the company the right to self-government. The charter didn’t specifically state that the governor and officers of the company had to remain in England to conduct their business. At that time, certain groups, such as the Puritans, feared for their ability to practice their faith without persecution in England. Seeing an opportunity for political and religious freedom in the New World, the Puritans decided to set sail with their charter and set up their company’s government in the colony itself. Clashes between New England Over the decades, the Massachusetts Bay Company repeatedly violated colonists and Native Americans the charter’s terms. It established religious laws and discriminated against in the 1600s destroyed entire other religious groups such as Anglicans and Quakers. English leaders, pre- towns and settlements. occupied by a civil war, did not actively try to stop the company’s attempts at self-rule until 1684, when King Charles II revoked the charter. Revoked means made King James II, who succeeded his brother to the throne in 1685, cre- invalid by recalling or ated the Dominion of New England in 1686. It combined British colonies reversing. in present-day Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts,

8 Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey under one governor. The newly appointed governor, Sir Edmund Andros, began by abolishing local legislatures and raising taxes. He also voided all land titles that had been created under the former colonies. In some cases, decades of work completed by the colonists to improve the land and build homes suddenly became irrelevant. Andros then established high fees to reinstate the titles. Those who refused to pay lost their land. Several years of political and legal uncertainty in Massachusetts Bay ended when a royal charter was restored in 1691. It united Massachusetts Bay with colonies in Plymouth and Maine. By then, individual residents in and around Salem had fought with one another over land rights and shift- ing property lines. Colonial Wars FAST FACT Tensions between France and England erupted into armed conflict in In 1752, Salem Village officially separated from their North American colonies during King William’s War (1689–1697). Salem Town to become Battles along the frontier between New France (present-day Canada) and the town of Danvers. New England led to more displaced people and families without homes. As Salem is now a city. some of them trickled into Salem, they added to the community’s already strained society and resources and created more stress and mistrust among the residents. An Atmosphere of Intolerance Puritans were intolerant of anyone who failed to follow their strict civil and moral codes. They believed that following the Bible’s teachings, regular church attendance, and good behavior shielded them from God’s anger. They also believed that God showed his displeasure by sending wars, epidemics, or crop failures. Puritans also encouraged neighbors to monitor one another and report improper behavior, which led to an unhealthy interest in the activities of others. Town Versus Village Local politics were another source of tension. Salem consisted of a town Now I’m on the coast and a village inland about five miles away and a two-hour stressed out! walk. The villagers were mostly small farmers who worked hard to earn a living from the soil. The town was a prosperous port in which educated and wealthy citizens engaged in fishing, shipbuilding, and a profitable trade with London. Although the town depended on the village for food, the town leaders set the crop prices and collected taxes from the villagers. The town also controlled the church and church attendance. As the village grew, however, its residents petitioned for the right to have their own minister and church closer to where they lived. In 1672, the town agreed. By that time, Salem Village had grown enough to develop a different identity from Salem Town.

9 Church was an important part But the villagers were not in complete agreement about their new of Puritan life, and attendance church. They argued about how to pick the minister and who would be at meetings—even when it expected to pay for the support of the minister and his home. Petty dis- meant walking a great distance putes in the village became so common and constantly shared with the such as between Salem’s town and village—was required to town that the town leaders finally asked the villagers to stop involving remain in good standing within them. Those unresolved issues boiled over in 1691. the community. Two years earlier, Salem Village had hired its fourth minister in less than 20 years, the Reverend . Parris was the village’s first ordained minister, but his sermons denouncing the worldly ways and economic prosperity of Salem Town created conflict among the villag- ers. Some farmers agreed with Parris and felt that the “worldliness” of Salem Town threatened true Puritan values. But other villagers did not care for Parris and his fiery sermons. A few households refused to pay their share of his salary. They also refused to supply firewood to the Parris household, which had been part of the agreement when he was hired. Then, in 1692, an outbreak of smallpox hit Massachusetts. To the Puritan residents living in Salem at the time, it may have seemed as Ordained means invested with the though an already hard life had become particularly cursed. When authority of a minister Parris’s sermons hinted at the Devil’s presence in Salem, it seemed easy or priest. to accept that as a possible explanation for Salem’s problems. t Smallpox was a highly infectious, often fatal, Jennifer Raifteiri-McArdle lives in central British Columbia not far from Historic Barkerville, a restored gold- viral disease. rush town. When not chasing chickens and cattle, she writes for young readers and draws and paints.

10 The Parrises’ slave, , may have dabbled in magic with the village children during the long, cold winter of 1691–92.

he panic that led to the lived in the home: Betty’s 10-year- Salem witch trials started old brother, Thomas, and 5-year-old with little things. In sister, Susanna. The JanuaryT 1692, two girls began mak- The family also owned two ing strange noises, complaining of enslaved people, John and Tituba headaches, and crawling under the Indian. Before becoming a minister, furniture. They made odd gestures Parris had worked as an English and babbled sentences no one could merchant in Barbados, where he had Witch understand. inherited his father’s sugar planta- The girls were nine-year-old tion. Tituba may have come from Elizabeth “Betty” Parris and Barbados. her 11-year-old cousin, Abigail The Parrises could not figure Scare Williams. Betty’s father was the out what was the matter with the minister in Salem Village, the rural girls. Their strange actions may part of the port of Salem Town have been part of a game that went in Massachusetts. Besides Betty’s on too long. Or they may have parents, the Reverend Samuel and frightened themselves with forbid- Begins Elizabeth Parris, two other children den fortunetelling. Parris had no by Marilynne K. Roach 11 The girls probably were aware that there was plenty to be afraid of in Massachusetts at the time. Ministers held a central role in Puritan com- munities, so the parsonage was probably full of the latest news about frontier attacks, government interference from England, and pirates off the coast. Near the end of January, French forces from Canada and their Algonquin allies attacked and burned York, Maine, and killed the minister. York was not that far from Salem. The girls also may have under- stood that residents of Salem Village did not agree that Parris was the right minister for the community. Some people had stopped paying their share of his salary, and the parsonage woodpile was nearly used up. The issue of firewood supply became a big problem as winter approached and temperatures dropped. New England winters were often harsh and cold, and without a supply of wood, the Parris family could not keep warm or cook meals. Nothing seemed secure. Betty and Abigail could well have been afraid of something or many things, their symptoms a result of their fears. At first, the Parrises treated The afflicted girls in the Parris doubt told them that trying to the malady like any illness. They household had such violent learn the future would only attract tried home remedies and prayer, outbreaks that they had to be evil spirits. Yet, some people in but those attempts did not stop the watched constantly. Puritan Massachusetts did make strange symptoms. They called in the attempt. That winter, at least local physicians, one after another. Sure sounds like two local girls used an English folk- No one could find a physical reason something scared charm to learn who their future for the girls’ illness. One of the doc- those girls! husbands might be. It is not clear tors finally suggested that the girls if Betty and Abigail were involved might be “under an evil hand”—or in the fortunetelling, but they suffering from a witch’s curse. may have known about it. Just the Word of the possible diagno- knowledge of something forbidden sis spread through the village. may have thoroughly frightened Meanwhile, the girls could not be them. left alone. Friends and neighbors 12 came to help. One February day, seemed to want to hear. She claimed A parsonage is the official residence neighbor Mary Sibley came to the that witch spirits had hurt her too provided by a church parsonage to keep an eye on the and described groups of witches to its parson. girls. She showed John and Tituba flying to the village. The magistrates Apparitions are how to make a charm against took what she said to mean she col- ghostly figures. Magistrates are civil witchcraft. It was supposed to cancel laborated with witches and that she officers with powers out the evil magic. Instead, Betty was a witch herself. By the end of to enforce the law. and Abigail became more distressed the session, Tituba was also jailed to than before. They convulsed and await trial. claimed that they were being bitten, People were left wondering who pinched, and stuck with pins. They the other witches were and how reported apparitions and said that many there were. As the number they were what caused their pain. of accusers and accused grew, the Betty and Abigail must have panic spread. t been asked who was hurting them. Older, less affluent women Eventually, the girls gave names— who lived on the fringes of people who seemed likely to cause Marilynne K. Roach is a writer, illustrator, and researcher who has been studying the Salem witch trials society became the initial harm, people who unnerved them, for decades. targets of the witch-hunts. or names heard in gossip. Tituba’s name was first, then two other women were added. Ill- tempered had come to the parsonage begging. was a sickly woman. Her sons thought their mother’s second husband had stolen their late father’s farm from them. Two girls in two other households also began to act bewitched: Jr. and Elizabeth Hubbard. On February 29, after days of storms and floods, four men from the village registered a complaint before the Salem magistrates. The three women named by Betty and Abigail were arrested then questioned in the village on March 1. All four girls were present as witnesses. Flinching, contorting, and crying out in pain, they blamed the accused for their affliction. Good and Osborne denied the charges of witchcraft but were held for trial. Tituba also denied that she was a witch, at first, but under relentless questioning, she began telling the magistrates what they 13 Youngby Jennifer Puritans Raifteiri-McArdle

14 an you picture what life was like for a Puritan The Puritans believed that an educated, literate child living in Massachusetts in the late 17th community was essential. Being familiar with God’s century? Most families lived in a home that word in the Bible protected people from Satan’s consisted of only a few rooms heated by a central attempt to corrupt them. Thus, children were Cfireplace. No one had privacy, and several children taught to read, either at home or at a dame school, often shared a bed. There was no electricity, run- if a family could afford it. Education focused on ning water, or indoor bathroom. Bible readings and teaching right from wrong. The Everything was made by hand and at home, education of girls usually ended once they knew which required time and effort. Nearly all the how to read. Boys who hoped to attend a university members of a family worked six days a week continued their education. from dawn to dusk. After the morning meal Hard work was important to everyone’s survival. and devotions, the day’s chores began. Even Children were expected to work hard and young children completed small tasks obey their parents. Parents believed such as gathering sticks for fire- that the will of children needed wood, weeding the garden, and to be broken, and the pun- collecting eggs. ishment for bad behavior Girls were taught the DID YOU could be harsh. Children skills needed to be wives were allowed time to and mothers: how to KNOW? play, and adults played cook and preserve food he Massachusetts Bay Company was musical instruments for winter, how to spin T one of the first colonies in North and danced for recre- flax and wool to make America to pass laws to make public ation and enjoyment, cloth and clothing, and education mandatory. In the , towns but those moments how to care for livestock. that consisted of at least 50 families were came only after chores They learned how to expected to hire a teacher. Towns that were completed. consisted of 100 or more families make butter, cheese, soap, Church meeting was were expected to provide a candles, beer, and cider. grammar school. a large part of Puritan Older daughters helped care life. From sundown Saturday for and watch younger siblings evening until sundown Sunday and learned how to care for the sick. evening, no work was done. Most girls’ tasks kept them in or around the Members of the church were expected home and under a mother’s watchful eye. Winters to attend services, which involved long sermons. were particularly hard, when girls spent more time After church, families passed the rest of the day indoors with little to fill their time. quietly, perhaps discussing the sermon. A second Boys enjoyed more freedom than girls did— church-going day took place during Devotions are acts of most of their chores were outside the home. They the week. religious reflection or cut and stacked the firewood, which was a big job The Puritans built communities that prayer. because wood was needed to heat the home and centered on God, the church, and the Literate means able to cook the food. They explored outdoors while teachings in the Bible. Puritan beliefs read and write. hunting or fishing. They were set up to learn a prepared children to be devout, God- A dame school was a school setting within trade such as miller, furrier, or blacksmith, so fearing adults. Those same values also a home, in which an that they might become the head of their own created problems when the idea that educated woman taught a range of household someday. Childhood was considered witches had corrupted their commu- young children how over by age 14. nity was introduced in 1692. t to read, write, and understand arithmetic.

15 by Marjorie Rackliffe er in the Cour Ord t!

illiam Phips, the trial and sentencing came last. new governor of Ironically, the defendants who the province of refused to lie and insisted on WMassachusetts Bay, arrived in their innocence never avoided on May 14, 1692. He being hanged, while terrified found the jails overflowing with people who confessed to being people accused of witchcraft. The witches and named other witches first arrests had taken place in early avoided the gallows. March, but the colony lacked an official The Court of Oyer and Terminer court to prosecute the cases. Armed wasted no time. Just two weeks after its with a new charter and the authority Massachusetts Bay Colony formation on May 27, was to act, Phips established the Court of governor hanged on June 10. She was the first of Oyer and Terminer (oyer means “to 19 people who were eventually convicted hear” and terminer means “to deter- of being a witch. Although Bishop was not the mine”). He promptly approved the appointment of first to be accused, her reputation for fighting with eight justices and one chief justice to hear the witch- her husband and using coarse language and a prior craft cases. The justices were picked from among claim of witchcraft made the case against her seem the leaders in Boston and Salem. Most of them easy to win. More than 10 people came forward to firmly believed that witches existed, and they were offer evidence of Bishop’s “guilt.” determined to root out any evil influences in their The case against Bishop—and the others who fol- community. The chief justice, William Stoughton, felt lowed her—was based on spectral evidence. Spectral particularly strongly, and he led the court’s effort to evidence was a legal term referring to evidence from identify and punish all witches. the spirit world. One person described Bishop’s spirit There were several steps to the legal proceedings. stealing eggs and then changing into a cat. Another First, someone registered an official complaint. If person testified that the money Bishop had paid it proved valid, the accused was arrested and ques- him disappeared from his pocket as he walked away tioned to see if there was sufficient reason to bring from her. Still another person claimed that Bishop’s him or her before a jury. That meant exhausting and spirit had tried to drown her. Other “witches” were repeated questioning by at least two magistrates. The accused of pinching, choking, scratching, or biting accused was also examined for physical signs of a people. Spectral evidence meant that the hysterical witch, such as a mole or birthmark. If the investiga- tales of teenaged girls and young women were treated tions supported a case, the accused then appeared as hard evidence. The accused people were left trying before the grand jury so it could gather evidence to prove their innocence and defend themselves from and the defendant could enter a plea. The things that only their accusers could “see.” 16 When Tituba, the Reverend Samuel Parris’s ser- vant, confessed to witchcraft, people believed that DID the Devil was present in their village. After Bishop’s YOU KNOW? hanging, the accused understood what was at stake. ne justice in the Court of Oyer and O Terminer, , led the questioning n the C Many of those who confessed to being witches i in a way that suggested he believed in the r o did so under the threat or pain of torture. Some u accused’s guilt, not in trying to get to the truth. e r of the accused confessed freely, believing them- d Hathorne badgered the accused people to confess, r t! selves to be witches or at least not purely good in the eyes of the society in which they lived. twisted their words, and tried to get them to O identify others who were witches. Hathorne was an Not everyone was comfortable with the pro- ancestor of , the 19th-century ceedings. One justice quit the court after Bishop was hanged. A few brave souls spoke out against author. Hawthorne changed the spelling of the young accusers. The court ignored those pro- his last name to be different from his tests. As fears of witches and witchcraft took root relative. Still, Puritan New England proved and spread, those who tried to dismiss the claims of an interesting setting for a number witchcraft often became the next to be accused. John of his famous works. Proctor came forward to defend his wife and ended up being accused and convicted himself.

Magistrates repeatedly questioned the accused “witches” while they waited in prison, in the hope of getting a confession.

17 The “evidence” that was presented at the trials, however false, resulted in conviction after conviction.

As the accused waited their turn for trial, they many of the accused, but not yet convicted, people were kept in jail—a horrible experience that some- had their possessions confiscated while they were times lasted for months. Accused “witches” were in jail awaiting trial. confined to the dungeons, which were dark, window- The prison experience destroyed the physical less areas. Rats were common, and bathrooms did not and the emotional health of those who were jailed. exist. The prisoners often were kept chained in irons , the young daughter of Sarah Good, because it was believed that iron counteracted magic joined her mother in prison as an accused witch. and that restricting a witch’s movements prevented After nearly eight months, Dorothy was released, but the ability to perform witchcraft. the experience scarred her for life. Among those who Prisoners also had to pay a fee and had to con- died in prison was Sarah Osborne, one of the first to tribute money for their own food. Even after the be accused and convicted of being a witch. witch-hunt ended, some accused people remained Even respected members of the community in jail because they owed money to the jailer. And became victims of the village’s hysteria. Described

18 as a kind, devout, grandmotherly person, was accused of witchcraft. Friends and neigh- Victims of the bors came to her defense, and a jury initially found her “not guilty.” Stoughton, determined to get a Salem Witch Trials conviction, urged the jury to reconsider its verdict. Hanged on July 10, 1692 It brought back a charge of “guilty.” Governor Phips Bridget Bishop, Salem then stepped in and pardoned Nurse, but he was Hanged on July 19, 1692 pressured to reverse his ruling. Nurse was hanged on Sarah Good, Salem Village July 19. Rebecca Nurse, Salem Village Of the 20 men and women to be put to death dur- , Amesbury ing the Salem witch trials, met a different , Ipswich fate than hanging: He was slowly pressed to death , Topsfield beneath a plank upon which great stones were placed. Corey had refused to enter a plea because without it, Hanged on August 19, 1692 the court could not proceed with a trial. By prevent- , Wells (Maine) ing a trial and the guilty verdict that was sure to John Proctor, Salem Village follow, Corey hoped to keep his personal possessions , Salem Village from being confiscated. He wanted to make sure that George Jacobs, Andover his family would inherit them. The court’s attempt to Martha Carrier, Andover get Corey to confess failed: The only words he uttered Pressed to death on were “more weight” before he died. September 19, 1692 The bodies of the people who were hanged as Giles Corey, Salem Farms witches were hastily buried near Gallows Hill Hanged on September 22, 1692 , Salem Farms Mary Easty, Topsfield Alice Parker, Salem , Salem Margaret Scott, Rowley Wilmot Redd, Marblehead , Andover Mary Parker, Andover

At first, Giles Corey seemed to support the idea that his wife, Martha, may have been casting spells, but he later refused to testify against her or even enter a plea in his own defense.

19 Men as well as women were convicted of being witches. This scene from the Salem Witch Museum depicts the hanging of John Proctor at Gallows Hill.

where they died. In some cases, the family of the More than 200 people faced accusations of being deceased secretly retrieved their loved one’s body witches, and more than 150 were arrested. Other to bury it in an unmarked grave on family land. than Wardwell, the people who confessed remained After the last hanging of eight men and women in jail to be used as witnesses to identify other on September 22, people realized that good people witches. The panic ended before they could be tried. were being put to death. Almost all the convicted Accused by children, neighbors, and even their people had denied the charges of witchcraft right own family members—husbands turned in wives, up until the end. The exception was Samuel children accused parents—20 innocent people were Wardwell, who had initially confessed, accused executed, and four adults and an infant died in others, and then retracted his confession. George prison. The dark chapter in America’s history known Burroughs, a former minister in Salem Village, as the Salem witch trials lasted less than a year, had calmly recited the Lord’s Prayer without error yet it would cast a long shadow over the centuries before he was hanged, which was thought to be an that followed. t impossible task to complete by a true witch. In the end, the witch-hunts spread to 24 differ- ent communities, including Amesbury, Andover, Marjorie Rackliffe is a self-taught American history geek who never tires of Gloucester, Ipswich, Salisbury, and Topsfield. learning.

20 The “Late Troubles at Salem”

by Marjorie Rackliffe

y the end of September 1692, 20 people Bin Massachusetts Bay were dead by order of the Court of Oyer and Terminer. While Chief Justice William Stoughton had no regrets and appeared determined to continue the witch-hunts, other men had grown uneasy. A few prominent people began to express their concerns publicly. The Reverend , a well-respected and influential Boston minister, became alarmed at the court’s process. While Mather did not question the existence of witches, he wondered if innocent people were being put to death. On October 3, an essay he had recently completed, Cases of Conscience, was shared with other Boston ministers. It questioned relying exclusively on spectral evidence to convict a person of witchcraft. He cautioned, “[I]t were better that ten suspected witches should escape than one innocent person should be condemned.” The Reverend , another influential Boston minister, also tried to silence the witchcraft hysteria. He had spoken publicly against the unjust tri- als. He wrote a fictitious argument between two men, one from Boston and one from Salem. In it, he pointed

The Reverend Increase Mather’s son, the Reverend , offered a defense of the witch-hunts in The Wonders of the Invisible World.

21 The Reverend Increase Mather It is good to know tried to uphold the efforts of a few people the court and the justices while tried to be the also warning against the use of voice of reason! spectral evidence.

out the irony of the situa- tion in Salem: If a person confessed to being a witch, he or she survived, but if a person claimed innocence and denied being a witch, he or she was tried, found guilty, and executed. Also in early October, , a well-known scientist and Boston merchant, wrote a letter that offered a descrip- tion of what was taking place in Massachusetts Bay. The letter was copied and shared in Boston. In it, Brattle condemned the methods that the court had been using in the trials. He too believed that spectral evidence should not have been allowed, and he was scornful of how the “bewitched” girls had been treated as visionaries. Pointing out how families had been ruined by the court’s irresponsible pursuit of witches, he wondered if people would someday “not look upon these things without the greatest of sorrow and grief imaginable.” The growing public unease pushed Governor William Phips to take action. He dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer on October 29, 1692. More than 100 people accused of witchcraft remained in jail, however. Phips ordered a new court—the Superior Court of Judicature—to conduct the remaining trials. Spectral evidence was not allowed in those proceedings. All but three people were acquitted, and Phips eventually pardoned those three people in May 1693. But while some people seemed to wrestle with feelings of guilt and remorse, there remained a general refusal to acknowledge what had taken place.

A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft, written by the Reverend and published in 1702, attempted to make sense of the events of 1692.

22 Acquitted means to be freed or cleared of a charge or accusation. Slander is a false or injurious statement or report about someone. Blasphemy is an was a Quaker and a Salem Town resident irreverent act, who took issue with the Puritans’ handling of the trials. He writing, or utterance concerning God or compared it to their persecution of Quakers. In 1695, he a sacred being. wrote Truth Held Forth and Maintained. It claimed that God Restitution means the would condemn the leaders of the Court of Oyer and Terminer effort to bring back to a former condition or for putting innocent people to death. Maule was arrested for to restore. slander and blasphemy. He spent a year in jail before being tried, but the jury refused to find him guilty. On January 14, 1697, Massachusetts declared a day of fasting and prayer as a public acknowledgement and apology before God and the community of the great wrong that had been committed. alone publicly apologized for his part in the trials as a justice in the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Sewall stood up in front of the Boston congregation as his minister read his note of apology. Sewall accepted “the blame and shame” of the witch trials court. Guilt also seemed to motivate about a dozen jurors from the trials, who also came forward to ask God’s forgiveness. Only one of the “bewitched” girls ever publicly apologized. Twelve-year-old Ann Putnam Jr. had testified against all but two of the people who were hanged. In August 1706, as she prepared to formally join a Puritan congregation, she asked for forgiveness for her role in taking the lives of innocent people, blaming the Devil for her actions. Although some restitution was eventually made to the families of the executed and accused, the damage to lives was far reaching. Most of the accused people discovered that their personal property had been confiscated while they waited in prison for a trial. Once they were freed, they went back to living with neighbors, or in some cases with family members, who had accused them of being witches. t

Justice Samuel Sewall asked his minister to read the apology he wrote for his role in the witch trials.

23 Did You e In the last 100 years, the portrayal of witches r Know a W in popular culture has come a long way. Meet is r ? h some of the best good witches. C y b ed rat illust Glinda, known as the Good Witch of the South in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book (1900) and the Good Witch of the North in The Wizard of Oz movie (1939), uses her special powers to help and protect others, particularly the Munchkins and Dorothy.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch was introduced in 1962 in Archie Comics. She is kind and friendly and secretly uses her powers to help her friends when they get into jams. In 1996, Sabrina Spellman was the subject of a television sitcom based on the comic. 24 In the 1988 action fantasy film Willow, Fin Raziel is a sorceress who uses her magic to help the movie’s main character, Willow, overcome the odds as he fulfills his mission to protect an innocent baby from the evil Bavmorda.

Author Madeleine L’Engle introduced Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which in A Wrinkle in Time in 1969. These three otherworldly beings appear as witches to Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin, and they use their powers to help the children rescue Meg’s and Charles Wallace’s father.

Hermione Granger—the smart, overachieving young witch from the Harry Potter book and movie series—made her first appearance in 1997. The fact that her parents are muggles (nonmagical) makes Hermione’s skill as a witch even more impressive.

25 NEVER FORGETby Barbara Brooks Simons

What a beautiful space to stop in and reflect and remember.

ix towering locust trees shade a small square park in Salem. It is located near a historic cemetery and a block away from Sbustling downtown shops. As you step across the paving stones at the entrance, you notice words carved there. They are the protests that the accused people made: I am no witch. I am innocent. As you step into the park, you speak more softly. So do other people. Around the square are low walls of cut granite, with 20 rough-cut pieces of stone jutting out. 26 The stones look like benches, but as you stones. A few are store-bought bouquets, others walk along the path, you see a carved name are just wildflowers, picked nearby and left by and a date on the surface of each stone: one visitors as if to say, “Sorry” or “We remember for each of the 20 women and men executed you.” The last eight stones record the final day during the witch trials of 1692. The first reads of executions: September 22, 1692. Bridget Bishop Hanged June 10, 1692. The next More than 300 years later, Salem’s past has five stones record five hangings on the same helped shape its current identity as a tourist day, July 19, 1692. The victims’ names are spot—especially at Halloween. The town is Rebecca Nurse, Susannah Martin, Elizabeth filled with fun shops and spooky museums Howe, Sarah Good, and Sarah Wildes. And selling “witchy” souvenirs. But people never so, you walk slowly around the Salem Witch forgot the town’s tragic past and the dreadful Trials Memorial. Flowers are on nearly all of the events of the summer of 1692. In 1992, the

27 300th anniversary of the witch trials, the camps in World War II (1939–1945) and winner Tercentenary Committee chose to remember of the 1986 Nobel Peace Price, Wiesel spoke and honor the injustice done in 1692. about the importance of resisting intolerance One result was the Salem Witch Trials and oppression. Another speaker at the cer- Memorial. A National Endowment for the Arts emony was African American actor GregAlan

Tercentenary means grant helped fund the project. More Williams. Williams received the first Salem 300th anniversary or than 240 designers submitted plans. Award for Human Rights & Social Justice for celebration. The winning entry was a collaboration his heroic actions during the 1992 Los Angeles An attainder is the between architect James Cutler and art- riots. He stepped in to defend a Japanese dishonored state into which a defendant ist Maggie Smith: a simple but moving American man who was being beaten by a mob. is placed when a open square with stone benches. The Salem Award is part of the community’s sentence against him or her for a capital At the dedication of the memorial on effort “to keep alive the lessons” of the witch offense is handed August 5, 1992, the main speaker was trials and to turn the events of 1692 into a down. Elie Wiesel. A survivor of the Nazi death continuing fight for human rights. Since 1992, the annual award has been given to someone who fights for tolerance and understanding. Winners have included men and women working for local, national, and world- wide issues that range from immigration rights to prison reform and education for women and girls in Pakistan. By 2012, 20 years after the 300th anniversary of the tri- als, about 6 million people had visited the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. The stonework was restored and the memo- 28 rial rededicated. Williams gave the keynote In 1957, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts speech. The ceremony also included a proces- issued another official apology. It passed a bill, sion of descendants of the witch trial victims. but the bill did not include all of the people tried Before the memorial was built, there had or executed as witches. It mentioned only “Ann been few official apologies for what had Pudeator and certain other persons.” In October happened. In 1711, the colony reversed the 2001, the state amended the half-apology of 1957. attainders that had been placed on some of the The legislature passed a bill that finally and offi- victims by passing a bill that legally cleared cially stated all the victims’ names and cleared their names and restored their civil rights. It them of any wrongdoing. Once the legislature also awarded their families 600 English pounds. approved the act, Acting Governor Jane Swift Events may have been too fresh in peoples’ signed it. The witch trials victims’ descendants minds to support a more sweeping and public found justice at last. t apology, and some families may still have feared being publicly associated with accused “witches” Barbara Brooks Simons is a freelance writer living in Boston. In research- ing this article, she discovered an ancestor who lived in Salem in the early to push for more. 1600s but who moved to Rhode Island around 1638.

hat made the girls of Salem behave so her theory in an article in WAS Wcrazily? Their symptoms weren’t com- Science magazine in 1976. pletely unfamiliar. Earlier reports from Europe had At first, other facts IT included similar strange behavior—which also had and researchers seemed been blamed on witches. As time passed, however, to back up the idea. The other hypotheses were suggested. Was it mass land and the weather in POISON? hysteria? Mental illness? Bored teenagers getting 1692 were both ideal for carried away in an effort to get attention? Or, per- the spread of ergot. The fungus haps, meals that included poisoned rye bread? thrives in wet, marshy land, similar to the farmland In the early 1970s, Linnda Caporael, a graduate in the western part of Salem Village. Weather con- student at the University of California in Santa ditions that year were right, too—a cold winter and Barbara, was doing research on the Salem witch rainy spring. Nearly all of the afflicted girls lived in trials. At the time, some people were experiment- the village and would have eaten rye bread made ing with hallucinogens, and Caporael recognized a from their family’s grain. similarity to the Salem girls’ behavior. Other researchers strongly disagreed. Ergot poi- Caporael put the modern-day chemistry and soning requires a diet deficient in vitamin A, which the past stories of witchcraft together to come up was not the case in Salem Village. Also, if ergot was with a possible answer. Her conclusion was ergot, a present in the grain, it should have poisoned more yellowish fungus that grows on cereal grains, espe- members of the village, not just the small group of cially rye and wheat. Could ergot poisoning be the girls. People continue to disagree over what might answer to the 300-year-old mystery? She published have triggered the witch trials. —B.B.S.

Hallucinogens are drugs that cause strange mental and physical symptoms.

29 Very interesting! Examining Evidence the AN INTERVIEW life-long resident of Massachusetts, WITH Marilynne K. Roach (RIGHT) has A turned her curiosity about the MARILYNNE Salem witch trials into a professional K. ROACH outlet. She has written several books on the subject. She shared her thoughts by Meg Chorlian about the trials and why, more than 300 years later, they continue to interest people.

How did you get Day-by-Day Chronicle of a interested in the Community Under Siege cov- subject of the Salem ers nearly everything that witch trials? happened, and Six Women of I have to admit, the spooky Salem: The Untold Story of the aspect of the subject Accused and Their Accusers attracted me first. I’d occa- in the Salem Witch Trials is a sionally read the few books biographical focus on specific the local library had on the individuals. I also contributed subject, although they turned out to be not all the glossary that identifies all that accurate. During the nation’s bicentennial the names that appear in the in 1976, the city of Salem published a guidebook court papers for the 2013 that encouraged me to visit. That first trip made edition of the Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt. me want to know more about what really hap- pened. The more I looked, the more I wanted What do you think was wrong with to know. the girls who started the hysteria? It might have been fear that sparked Betty How many books have you written and Abigail’s symptoms. Once adults raised on the subject? the possibility that evil magic was at work, Three of my books on the trials have been pub- that development would have been even more lished. In the Days of the Salem Witchcraft Trials frightening. Their reactions against the heightened is an introduction for young readers of the daily concerns could seem to be a confirmation of that life interrupted by the witch panic. My other two original fear. But since dozens of individuals were books are for adults. The Salem Witch Trials: A considered “afflicted” at different times during 30 the course of the trials, there could have been a from our modern lives that people seem to feel variety of motives and reasons, conscious and superior to the people of 1692 and miss the lesson unconscious. of this disaster. What is the biggest myth that persists In your research, did you ever stumble about the trials? across a particularly interesting piece There are so many myths that have grown around of testimony or story? the trials: that the condemned were burned, that By reading everything I could from and about the they really were witches, that the accusations were period, I put together a scrap of testimony with a plot to grab a neighbor’s land. None of them early 20th-century articles on Salem land owner- are true. ship and local oral traditions to verify the site of the executions. Other people concerned with the What is the most important lesson to 1692 trials recently added computerized mapping take away? of the site, and the results back up the claim. Don’t jump to conclusions. Something bad may (Check out the press release about the findings at be going on, but ask yourself, is it what it first news.virginia.edu/content/uvas-help-salem-finally- seems to be, or is it something else? Examine the discovers-where-its-witches-were-executed.) evidence. Do you wonder how you would have Why do you think the witch trials behaved if you had lived in Salem fascinate people today? during that time? The spooky aspect continues to intrigue people, as I like to think I would have kept my head and been it did me, but the whole situation is so far removed brave, but I really don’t know. t

The witch hysteria began in Salem Village, but it quickly spread to more than 20 surrounding towns and settlements.

31 MODERN -HUNTS WITCHby Marcia Amidon Lusted

he Salem witch trials provided a disturbing example of how hysteria Tand fear can lead to innocent people becoming victims. Since then, there have been other examples of people becoming the targets of “witch-hunts” in the United States. One of the most famous modern witch-hunts took place in the 1950s, when Senator Joseph McCarthy from Wisconsin focused on identifying Americans who had Communist sympathies. Communism was believed to be a dangerous political theory at that time. It was contrary to everything that the capitalistic United States stood for. Suspected Communists were forced to appear before McCarthy’s Senate com- mittee to answer questions about their patriotism and activities. In his hunt for Communists, McCarthy trampled on the constitutional rights of Americans. People lost their jobs, and their reputations were ruined during the McCarthy era. Senator Joseph McCarthy led Also in the 1950s, gay and lesbian people became the target of a witch- a hunt for Communists in the hunt in the Lavender Scare. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower United States in the 1950s. signed Executive Order 10450, barring homosexuals from working in the federal government. Gay and lesbian people were considered more likely to be Communists sympathizers, and they were believed to be security risks because their lifestyle made them vulnerable to blackmail. About 5,000 people were fired, while thousands more people saw their career opportunities become limited or destroyed. The investigations also publicly identified homosexuals at a time when society was unaccepting of alterna- Witch-hunts, in tive lifestyles. The order remained in effect until President Bill Clinton this sense, refer to investigations carried rescinded it in 1995. out to uncover secret During World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945), mass activities but that hysteria led to certain groups being persecuted or singled out as scapegoats. are actually used to harass and undermine Those conflicts resulted in the U.S. government identifying wartime people with different “enemy aliens.” Enemy aliens were people living in the United States who views. had once lived in the nations then fighting against America. During both 32 wars, some people of German and Italian descent were viewed with suspi- cion and questioned or detained. A large number of Japanese Americans became the target of more By definition, intense government persecution during World War II. After Japan attacked hysteria involves the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in December 1941, President Franklin uncontrollable D. Roosevelt issued an executive order, declaring the West Coast to be an emotion or panic. exclusion zone. The order prohibited any Japanese Americans from living along the coast. About 110,000 Japanese Americans were forced to move to isolated, inland relocation camps during the war. More than half of them were U.S. citizens. Not only were their civil rights ignored, but they had to leave behind homes, jobs, and businesses they had built. Religious affiliations have also sparked witch-hunts. During the 1930s and 1940s, members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses were frequently attacked and persecuted for their religious beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses do not observe national holidays or participate in politics, which seemed unpa- triotic to other Americans. Their refusal to serve in the military during wars or to contribute to war efforts also brought them into conflict with government leaders. Today, followers of Islam in America are often viewed with fear and hatred. In 2011, Representative Peter T. King from New York led govern- ment hearings in which he tried to claim a connection between radical terrorist groups and Muslim Americans. Those hearings fed on the anxiety people felt about Islamic terrorists after the 9/11 and subsequent terrorist The Manzanar War Relocation attacks. Studying and understanding history encourages a rational and Center in California was one thoughtful process to avoid future harmful witch-hunts. of 10 remote camps in which t Japanese Americans were Marcia Amidon Lusted has written 135 books and more than 500 magazine articles for young readers. She espe- forced to live during World cially loves writing about history. War II.

33

The Witch of Endor delivers a prediction to King Saul that spells doom for him.

torytellers have used witches for many purposes in spinning their tales. They make great characters—we cheer when good witches Suse their powers to shift the balance for good, or we get goose bumps when evil witches succeed in carrying out their evil plans. They create a bridge between the real world and the spiritual world. Here is a look at some famous literary witches or witch-themed stories. In the Bible’s Old Testament, King Saul seeks out the Witch of Endor for advice on how to defeat an army of Philistines. She shares a message from the prophet Samuel. Samuel warns that King Saul has failed to obey God and has lost favor with him. Samuel predicts that the king will meet a bad end. When King Saul survives but loses the battle, the witch’s prediction terrifies him, and he kills himself. Oral folklore preserved the ancient legends of Britain’s King Arthur, but a 12th-century written account by Geoffrey of Monmouth popularized the stories. Both male wizards and female witches play important

by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers 34 and Andrew Matthews Witchy Characters When the Three Weird Sisters greet Macbeth, they set in motion a horrible series of events.

roles in King Arthur’s life. The great wizard Merlin is an invaluable teacher and mentor to the young Arthur. He shares prophe- cies about the future and generally guides Arthur as he learns how to become a king and strives to be a kind and just ruler. Mean- while, Arthur’s half-sister, Morgan le Fay, uses her magic ability to thwart Arthur, ruin his wife, Guinevere, and destroy his idea of a chivalric court. Morgan learned her craft from Merlin. English playwright William Shakespeare used prophetic witches in his tragedy of Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth meets the Three Weird Sisters (witches) on a lonely heath. They are joined by Hecate, queen of the witches, who calls up spirits that foretell Macbeth’s rise from general in the Scottish army to king of Scotland. The witches do not perform any evil actions. They simply plant the idea of what Macbeth can achieve. It encourages him to follow an ultimately tragic course—one that pushes him to commit multiple acts of murder. The witches’ eerie super- natural powers allow Shakespeare to hold the attention of his 17th-century audience. In the early 1800s, classic fairy tales by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm almost always used witches to represent forces of evil. Wicked witches or fairies cast spells and otherwise threaten the happiness of heroes and heroines in Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince, Hansel and Gretel, The Little Mermaid, and others. In Beauty and the Beast and The Frog Prince, witches cast spells on the princes, condemning them to animal form until someone shows that they love them. A bad fairy or witch condemns Sleeping Beauty to a sleep and the Little Mermaid to a silence that

Witchy Characters 35 can be broken only by a kiss. The power of love breaks the evil spell, allowing good to triumph over evil. I am so glad Hansel and Gretel L. Frank Baum’s children’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of outsmart the witch! Oz, written in 1900, culminates in a scene in which Dorothy and her friends confront the Wicked Witch of the West. A fatal weakness in the evil witch makes it possible for Dorothy to defeat their tormentor: The witch melts when Dorothy throws water on her. Several classic works use the events of 1692 Salem to create plots that explore societies in which people are thought to be witches by their neighbors. The House of the Seven Gables, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1851, is set in 19th-century Salem, Massachusetts, but it includes flash- backs to 1692 and the witch trials. Colonel Pyncheon, desiring a piece of land owned by Matthew Maule, accuses Maule of witchcraft and sees that he is hanged. Before he dies, Maule curses the Pyncheon family. Pyncheon then builds a seven-gabled house on the land he seized from Maule. The story follows the fate of the 19th-century residents of the house, which appears to be haunted. published , a fictionalized play based on the Salem witch trials, in 1953. Miller wrote it during the McCarthy era, to draw parallels between Salem’s historic witch trials and the modern- day witch-hunt being led by Senator Joseph McCarthy to identify Communists in the United States. In The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written by Elizabeth George Speare in 1958, teenager Kit Tyler arrives in colonial Connecticut in 1687 after living a freer life in Barbados. She imme- diately is set apart from her new community by her strange dress and ways. She befriends an elderly Quaker woman, who is thought to

Perhaps the most horrible fairy tale witch is the one who tries to cook and eat Hansel and Gretel!

36 be a witch because of her different beliefs. These works explore the fear of witchcraft and how some people use the hysteria that comes with fear to injure others. In The Lord of the Rings, Two British authors created works that put a new spin on Gandalf emerges as a witches and wizards for readers of all ages. J.R.R. Tolkien’s powerful wizard who fights The Lord of the Rings fantasy trilogy was published in 1954. on the side of good. Gandalf the wizard plays an important role in the battle to save Middle-earth from the evil Sauron. As Gandalf’s powers increase, he confronts Saruman, a once-good wizard who has switched his alle- giance to Sauron. Like Tolkien, J.K. Rowling invented an entire magical world in her seven-book series published between 1997 and 2007. Rowling’s stories pit armies of witches and wizards against one another in a fight between good and evil. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley and their large fam- ily, Professor Albus Dumbledore, and Professor Minerva McGonagall are just a few of the good witches, while Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Dolores Umbridge, and Draco Malfoy and his parents use their magic for evil. Witches and what witches represent add drama to any plot and serve writers and storytellers well. From classic literature to modern fantasy, some of our favorite stories would not be the same without them! t

Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger are a few of the most powerful good “wizards” and “witches” in the 21st century!

37 All About Salem Crossword Puzzle by Will Bremen

an you solve this puzzle about the Salem witch trials? All the Cinformation can be found in this issue. Answers on page 48. ACROSS DOWN 2. The Reverend Increase _____ was 1. Bridget _____ was the first person an influential and respected Boston to be hanged as a witch. minister who weighed in on the trials. 3. The Salem Witch Trials _____ is a 4. _____ evidence, or claims by the small park with 20 rough-cut stone accusers of seeing the spirits of the benches, one for each person killed accused “witches” doing evil things, in 1692. was allowed at the trials. 5. The Parris family slave, _____, may 6. Without a royal _____, the Puritans have tried to demonstrate magic to living in Massachusetts Bay felt the Salem Village girls. politically adrift. 7. Justice John _____ used forceful 11. One reason that residents of Salem methods of questioning during the were on edge in the late 1600s was witch trials to get convictions. fear of random attacks by _____ 8. Former Salem Village minister George _____. _____ found himself accused of being 12. The Court of _____ and Terminer a witch. was set up in the spring of 1692 to 9. The family of the Reverend Samuel hear the witchcraft cases. _____ was at the center of the initial 13. Chief Justice William _____ outbreak of witchcraft hysteria. aggressively led the hunt for witches 10. Residents of Salem _____ wanted in Massachusetts Bay. their own, separate church from 14. The witch hysteria began in _____, Salem Town, but they argued about but it spread to more than 20 other how it should be supported. settlements.

38 1

2 3

5 4

6 7 8

9 10

11

12

13

14

39 GoING

GLoBAL o Bad Witches d g n a eet some classic international L an witches, whose actions range ry by B M from mischievous to plain evil!

CIRCE In Greek mythology, Circe is a powerful witch who specializes in herbs and magical potions. She appears in Homer’s Odyssey, when Odysseus and his men stop on her island during their long journey home. Wolves and lions—controlled by Circe’s magic—surround her house while she sings and works at her loom. She invites Odysseus’s men to a feast and, after slipping a potion into their drinks, turns them into swine. With help from the god Hermes, Odysseus resists Circe’s magic. He convinces the witch to undo the spell and then remains with Circe for a year, feasting and living a life of luxury until his men convince him to continue the journey home.

40 Baba Yaga Unlike some witches, Baba Yaga doesn’t fly on a broom. This witch from Russian folklore zooms through the air in a mortar, using a pestle to steer and a broom to erase her tracks. Deep in the forest, she lives in a hut that walks on chicken legs. A fence made of human bones and topped with skulls surrounds the hut. Despite her intimidating home, Baba Yaga is extremely wise, and people sometimes go to her for help. But any visitor must be polite and do what the witch says. When Vasilisa the Beautiful asks Baba Yaga for light, the witch makes the young woman sort corn kernels and separate poppy seeds from soil. Vasilisa is aided in the task by her magic doll and returns home with the light, but many who enter Baba Yaga’s hut never leave. The old woman has been known to eat people—especially children!

The White Witch Also known as Jadis, the White Witch is the main villain in two of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia books. In The Magician’s Nephew, she destroys all life in her home world except for her own. When she arrives in Narnia, she eats an apple that will make her live forever. The apple, however, turns her entirely white and makes her miserable. She goes into hiding and practices magic for a thousand years. Backed by an army of wolves, giants, and other magical creatures, the White Witch terrorizes Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. She casts a spell that plunges the world into endless winter and uses her wand to turn her enemies into stone.

41 I didn’t know there was going to be BRAIN a quiz! TICKLERS

Give your brain a little tickle to see how well you read and understood this issue on the Salem witch trials. If you believe an answer to be false, see if you can explain why. Answers below.

1. New England Puritans believed that witches with magic powers existed. ¨ False ¨ True

2. The slave Tituba accused the children in the Parris house of engaging in witchcraft. ¨ False ¨ True

3. The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established to hear the witch trials in May 1692. ¨ False ¨ True

4. During the trials, Chief Justice William Stoughton was inclined to let accused people go free if they had a good reference. ¨ False ¨ True

5. Spectral evidence was permitted in the court and used to convict the accused “witches.” ¨ False ¨ True

6. All of the people accused of witchcraft during the Salem trials I got were women. them all ¨ True ¨ False right!

7. The people who were convicted and executed in 1692 were eventually declared innocent of any crime in 2001. ¨ False

¨ True

7. True. 7. men were accused of witchcraft, too. too. witchcraft, of accused were men

5. True. 6. False. False. 6. True. 5. to find, prosecute, and execute all witches. witches. all execute and prosecute, find, to

3. True. 4. False. 4. True. 3. Stoughton was determined determined was Stoughton them. bewitching of Tituba accused Williams, Abigail and Parris Most of the accused were women, but some some but women, were accused the of Most

Answers to Brain Ticklers from above: 1. True. 2. False. 2. True. 1. above: from Ticklers Brain to Answers Two young girls in the household, Elizabeth “Betty” “Betty” Elizabeth household, the in girls young Two

42 YoUR Beautiful Girl LETTERS

Loved Ones The ones that aren’t here are here. The ones that are gone aren’t gone. Look deep inside yourself, and you will find strength of the ones that have been here all along. Grace Calfee, age 10 Santa Clara, California

Meghan Holmes, age 9 Furlong, Pennsylvania

Chicago The Transcontinental Railroad Helen Keller

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43 Dr. D’s JUST Mystery g r e FoR Fun Hero b n e en D is nn by De Hey, Kids!

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44 www.facebook.com/cricketmedia Dr. D’s Mystery

g r e Hero b n e A Witch en D is nn by De With a Heart

ithout a doubt, this month’s mys- tery hero is the most recognized W movie witch. Her character per- fectly captures how most of us picture what a wicked witch should look like! The actress who played this famous witch, however, had an angelic side in real life. Little information is available about our mystery hero’s childhood. She was born in 1902 and grew up in Ohio. After attending a public school, she earned a degree at Wheelock College. She loved acting, but her parents insisted that she have a “back-up” career. Our hero taught kindergarten classes until she found success as a stage actress and then a movie actress. Her appearance as the evil witch in a now-classic 1939 movie forever shaped her fame. While our hero was on screen for only 13 minutes, her acting and cackling were so powerful that her scenes made a deep impression on viewers, especially children. According to the American Film Institute, out of 100 movie villains, our hero’s charac- ter was ranked fourth scariest of all time! One of her most famous lines in the film was, “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too.” In real life, our mys- tery hero loved children and animals. She became a major supporter for animal rights and protecting pets. She appeared with her cat in public service ads on television to remind people to prevent unwanted, homeless animals by spaying and neutering their pets. It was a cause to which she devoted many hours. So, follow the yellow brick road to learn the name of this month’s mystery hero. Answer on page 48.

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“Dr. D”—also known as Dr. Dennis Denenberg loves history and real heroes. For more than 20 years, he’s been writing, teaching, and speaking about heroes all over America. Visit www.heroes4us .com to learn all about his award-winning book and his Hero-Virtue trading cards. 45 SpotlIght on... r ze The Salem e en Eb by Witch Museum

he story of the 1692 Salem witch trials Tcan be experienced in 21st-century Salem, Massachusetts. Since it first opened in 1972, the Salem Witch Museum has worked to offer visitors an experience that educates and provides an opportunity to understand the famous trials. Using historic trial documents from 1692, the museum presents more than a dozen staged scenes that re-create the terrible events that occurred in the area more than 300 years ago. The site also explores the meaning of the word witch over the years, and it shares examples of contemporary witch-hunts, making connections between the past and the present. Check it out on-line at salemwitchmuseum.com.

46 Every hour is the hour when you read

Enchanting poetry, stories, folktales, and art will cast a spell on all who enter the world of CRICKET Magazine. Subscribe now. Shop.CricketMedia.com/Try-Cricket art © 2015 by Violeta Dabija

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Say s d r WHaT? o Goodman and Goodwife w f o e ns xp igi loring the or ntil the mid-1700s, “goodman” or “goodwife” was commonly used with Ua married man’s or a married woman’s last name to reflect his or her role as the head of a household. Their use indicated that the person was not of noble birth. They were meant to address someone courteously, similar to how we use “mister” and “misses” today. “Goody” was an abbreviation for “goodwife.” “Master” and “mistress” were used to address upper-class members of society.

Answers to All About Salem Crossword Puzzle from page 38:

1 B

I Answer to Dr. D’s Mystery Hero from page 45: Margaret Hamilton S Picture Credits: Cover, 5 (T), 17 (B), 36 (BR) Sarin Images/Granger, NYC—All rights reserved; i (UR,), 45 AF archive/ 2 M A T H E R Alamy Stock Photo; i (BL), 26–29 (BKGD), 26 (C), 27 (T), 27 (B), 28 (T), 28 (B) Meg Chorlian; ii (R), 3 (T), 4 (T), 6 (L), 7 (C), 8 (L), 3 10 (T), 12 (UL), 13 (BR), 14, 18 (T), 19 (B), 21 (BR), 22 (BL), 23 (BR), 48 (T) © North Wind Picture Archives—All rights reserved; O M 5 2–6 (BKGD) © guy harrop/Alamy Stock Photo; 2 (UL) © Oleksiy Maksymenko Photography/Alamy Stock Photo; 4 S P E C T R A L E 5 (B) Elena Schweitzer/Shutterstock.com; 6–10 (BKGD) andreiuc88/Shutterstock.com; 11–13 (border), 32–33 (BKGD) AlexHliv/Shutterstock.com; 11 (T), 31 (B) Everett Collection Historical /Alamy Stock Photo; 14–15 (BKGD) eurobanks/ I M Shutterstock.com; 16–20 (BKGD) M. Unal Ozmen/Shutterstock.com; 16 (T), 22 (TR), 33 (BR) LOC; 20 (T), 46 Courtesy 6 C H A R T E R O Salem Witch Museum; 21–23 (BKGD) murengstockphoto/Shutterstock.com; 29 (B) Irina Kozorog/Shutterstock.com; 7 8 30–31 (BKGD) Pavlenko Volodymyr/Shutterstock.com; 30 (TL) vchal/Shutterstock.com; 30 (R) Courtesy Joyce Kelly; H U B R 9 10 34–37 (BKGD) Romolo Tavani/Shutterstock.com; 37 (T) ©Topham/The Image Works; 37 (B) ©Warner Bros. Pictures/ A P V B U I Topham/The Image Works; 38–39 (BKGD) Fona/Shutterstock.com; 39 (cauldrons), 48 (BL) Paul Crash/Shutterstock. com; 44 (TL) Howard Klaaste/Shutterstock.com; 44 (BR) Sarah Cates/Shutterstock.com; 50 Valeri Potapova/ T 11 N A T I V E A M E R I C A N S Shutterstock.com H R L R L Editorial office: COBBLESTONE, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: 312-701-1720. 12 O Y E R L O COBBLESTONE (ISSN 0199-5197) (USPS 520-350) is published 9 times a year, monthly except for combined May/June, July/August, and November/December issues, by Cricket Media, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601. Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and at additional mailing offices. One-year subscription (9 issues) $33.95; $15.00 R I A 13 S T O U G H T O N additional per year outside the U.S. (includes Canadian GST/HST). Please remit in U.S. funds (GST # 30428204). Prices subject to change. Back issue prices available on request. For SUBSCRIPTIONS, CHANGE OF ADDRESS, and ADJUSTMENTS, write to COBBLESTONE, P.O. Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-6395. Please give both new address and old address as N S G G printed on last label. Allow six to eight weeks for change of address. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to COBBLESTONE, P.O. Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-6395. Copyright © 2016 Carus Publishing dba Cricket Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the content is illegal without written permission from the E E H publisher. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other material. All letters assumed for publication become the property of Cricket Media. For information regarding our privacy policy and compliance with the Children’s On-line Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), please visit our Web site at www.shop.cricketmedia.com or write to Cricket 14 S A L E M Media, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601. Editorial correspondence: COBBLESTONE, 70 East Lake Street, Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60601. Printed in the United States of America. 48 1st Printing Quad/Graphics Midland, Michigan August 2016

Creature Feature

September 2016 Volume 37 Number 7 cricketmedia.com $4.95

Lucky or Not?

hat’s a witch without a sidekick? The close association between witches and black cats probably Wdates to the Middle Ages. People developed a fear of witches and their evil nighttime activities. Black cats—with their nocturnal habits and their dark coats allowing them to move unseen in the shadows—became linked with witches. Sometimes, cats were viewed as servants doing the witch’s bidding. Other times, black cats were believed to be witches or the Devil—evil beings who had transformed themselves into feline form. Interestingly, depending on where you are from, a black cat can mean opposite things. In Great Britain and Japan, a black cat is considered a sign of good luck or good fortune. In other parts of the world, crossing paths with a black cat is believed to bring bad luck. Still another superstition claims that a black cat walking toward you brings good luck, but a black cat walking away from you is taking the good luck away!