The Witch Trials in Salem
Another man, 80 year old
Giles Corey was pressed to death. He was accused of being a witch but before the trial could proceed
he had to plead guilty or not guilty. Corey bravely refused to plead. To try and force him heavy
weights were placed on him. The unfortunate man eventually died from this torture. (At one point his
tongue was forced out of his mouth and the sheriff, George Corwin, pushed it back in with a cane).
Furthermore four people died in prison while awaiting trial (Lyndia Dustin, Ann Foster, Sarah
Osborne and Roger Toothaker).
The witch mania began when two girls, 9 year old Betty Parris and her 11 year old cousin
Abigail Williams tried fortune telling. The two were staying with Betty's father, Reverend Samuel
Parris. During the winter they and their friends dabbled with fortune telling by cracking eggs into a
glass and interpreting the shapes that were formed.
The family owned a slave called Tituba. She was an Arawak Indian
annaabi.ee 
