Twenty-five people dead, an entire village on the brink of insanity, and a gathering of young girls possessed by demons defined the year 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts. What began as a childish game metamorphosed itself into mass hysteria. A combination of irresponsibility and village politics led to the demise of innocence.It has been said that children will be children, as if to imply that the natural order of life begins with the immaturity and foolishness that goes along with childhood. In the case of the Salem Witch Trials, girlish childhood games escaladed into something far more severe and serious. It all began when an Indian slave woman, Tituba, claimed to be able to read the fortunes of her master’s children, Abigail and Betty. The children’s fascination grew and soon the children’s friends, Mary Warren, Susanna Walcott, and Mercy Lewis, were invited to join in the fun. One day, however, the minister and father of the two children stumbled onto their games and became outraged. As Salem was a strict Puritan community, it is easy to understand the fervent disgust felt by the minister. Instead of accepting the punishment sure to be given, the girls pretended that they had become bewitched because of their “satanic” games. The girls’ performances were so talented that they convinced an entire nation. It was not long before the people of Salem demanded names of the girls’ tormentors. In short, the girls’ inability to display a single shred of integrity and responsibility resulted in the wrongful accusations of innocent people.Salem was a community split into opposing forces. In 1689, the people of Salem village won the right to establish their own church and chose the reverend Samuel Parris, thus further widening the gap between Salem’s conflicting parties. One party supported reverend Parris while the other did not. Those who opposed the Reverend were of the first ...
