With the number of cities in the United States called Salem, finding the one in which the infamous witch trials occurred can be confusing. Well, if you live in a Massachusetts Salem zip, then you are living at the very epicenter of one of the most famous incidents in American history. It was here that several people were tried and convicted of the practice of witchcraft. Were these people guilty of evil, or were they simply wise in the ways of herbs, as any person employed at a nursery supply store today would be?

Today, we tend to dismiss the entire incident of the trials as mass hysteria. We sit comfortably in a new home in Ontario or even right in Salem unperturbed by fears of witches, warlocks, fairies, and other legends of the woods. We tend to forget that for people living in an age where they could be easily tricked, where instant death and sickness were a constant fear, jumping to hasty conclusions about anything was not uncommon.

In fact, the witch trials in Salem were but one famous incident in the long history of humankind, a history which involves scapegoating and blame to a large degree. Most modern historians agree that there was unlikely any evil deeds committed by the women and one man tried and executed for the crime of witchcraft in colonial Salem. Instead, it is more likely that these individuals were convicted out of spite by their neighbors, in a time when there was no local paper and very little printing. Toronto and other cities were just as susceptible to this type of hysteria.

One thing that stands out when one examines the witch trials of Salem is the difference between the people who were put on trial and those actually executed. Contrary to popular belief, not every person tried for witchcraft during that time was executed. In fact, many of the people who were tried, and who were found to have the suction diffusers called the devil's teat, confessed under pressure to the crime of witchcraft. These people were actually released, instead of executed.

The people actually executed were unanimously the ones who were accused, but refused to say they were involved in witchcraft. This included the person first accused in the hysteria, thought to be responsible for the lead castings which led to misfortune in the neighborhood. Looking at that fact, one might conclude that stubbornness, not actual witchcraft, was the main crime for people living in Salem in those days.

The witch trials are an important part of Salem history, a part which we will be exploring further. Make sure to come back as we take a look at the trials in depth in future articles.