do you know what channel it is...off hand...or what they call it...there are so many frigging On Demand channels now and they are all over the place...channel 100. channel 309 channel 311...ya have to scroll through everything just to find out what we have...makes me crazier than I already am.
Witches in the dock: 10 of Britain's most infamous witch trials
- Thread starter Blackleaf
- Start date
Perhaps they were the most popular in lets say "popular culture". But there were plenty of witch trials around the world.
Witch trials in the early modern period - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's Wiki
I've read a number of books on the Salem Hysteria... or Salem Witch Trials. The Hysteria...that is what the NPS likes to call it. I go to Salem a few times a year. That era fascinates me.
And Salem Village... the place where the accusations took place is not even part of modern day Salem. The name was changed to Danvers in the mid-1700's. The trials took place in Salem proper.
And Salem High School... they're called The Witches.
And their police cars...
Lay on!
I must say... I suggested a name for my son's rock band...
Pressing Giles
Seven of the nineteen fatalities were men... one died while in prison and Giles of course was pressed.
Most of the hangings were of people who refused to plead guilty. (edit...I actually think that all of those that were hanged refused to plead guilty)
List of people of the Salem witch trials - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Well! burn me, or hang me, I will stand in the truth of Christ ..." George Jacobs, Sr. (May 10,1692. From the Rev. Parris account of the examination at Salem.)
"Amen. Amen. A false tongue will never make a guilty person." Susannah Martin (May 2, 1692. From the Rev. Parris account of the examination at Salem Village Meeting House.)
"I can say before my Eternal father I am innocent, & God will clear my innocency." Rebecca Nurse (March 24, 1692. From the Rev. Parris account of the examination at Salem Village Meeting House.)
Cut and pastes from here...
Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial
Interesting, I never realized there were so many males accused. Of course, if it was a land grab on the part of the courts it would make sense to go after male landowners.
Yes that was a huge part as the accusations wore on. The Sherriff of Salem was nasty and seized property and livestock and sold them even before trial... which was against the law. You forfeit property on conviction or pleading guilty. He seized property and goods on arrest.
Gosh if you read any of the books on the Salem Hysteria you'll want to rip your hair out at the unfairness of it all.
I could well imagine. It's bad enough to get caught up in ridiculous superstitions that ruin peoples lives (sometimes literally given some were executed) but for others to take advantage of that, there must a special circle of hell of those people.
I have to agree. Only one accuser is recorded as showing remorse and asking for forgiveness.
At one point in the trial one of the accusers accused a sitting judge and he said ...
"Now now... enough of that... let's stick to the evidence."
She moved on and her accusation was over looked.
The evidence was all spectral vision evidence. Nothing solid just hysterical visions that only the girls could see.
The Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (now known simply as Massachusetts) finally stepped in with the ruling that no longer can spectral evidence be used... by then the girls accused his wife of being a witch. He put a stop to that real quick. After that accusation and ruling spectral evidence could no longer be used... that was the end.
At one point in the trial one of the accusers accused a sitting judge and he said ...
"Now now... enough of that... let's stick to the evidence."
She moved on and her accusation was over looked.
The evidence was all spectral vision evidence. Nothing solid just hysterical visions that only the girls could see.
The Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (now known simply as Massachusetts) finally stepped in with the ruling that no longer can spectral evidence be used... by then the girls accused his wife of being a witch. He put a stop to that real quick. After that accusation and ruling spectral evidence could no longer be used... that was the end.
Only in America.
In Britain, by far the most famous witch trials were the Pendle Witch Trials.
I also honsetly can't believe that there are people here who thought that the Salem Witch Trials, in a young country like America, were the only people there were. Some Yanks are just so insular it's terrifying.
There were hundreds, if not thousands, of witch trials in Britain over centuries, with Scotland being far more prone to try and execute people for witchcraft than England. England, in fact, did not get into the witchcraft craze as much as many of its neighbours.
Germany was also a place where witchcraft trials and executions were very popular.
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Canada is the only country I know that charges people for PRETENDING to practise witchcraft (Gustavo Gomez, 2012).
Then there was the case of Rene Besnard, a soldier who was accused of cursing a marriage couple into sterility in 1658 in what is now Canada. He wasn't seriously punished.
Then in the 1680s there was another witchcraft accusation against a labourer, but he was acquitted due to "insufficient evidence".
Daniel Voil was accused of sorcery against a girl he was harassing, but was jailed for heresy, not witchcraft as such, and eventually executed on charges of trafficking liquor to Indians.
Nobody was ever executed for witchcraft in New France or later on in Canada.
Oh yeah. I admit it. I'm jealous. If only we here in Britain had the amount of history that you have in North America.
We're a younger nation. More exciting. Brits are so boring... lame... bad teeth.
It killed you seeing all the talk on the Salem Witch Trials didn't it? LMAO
If "more history" is a reason for jealousy, you must be green with envy of the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Chinese, &c., eh, Blackloaf?
As if native Americans had no history. They have thriving civilizations long before Europe that rivaled Egypt, Babylon or Greece. Just because they didn't write it down, doesn't make it any less significant.
In the 125 years my family has been in SK and Canada we've done amazing things and never killed or harmed anyone.