Historical+Connections

**Historical Connections**


 * Giles Corey
 * Corey was the husband of accused Martha Corey, and he originally testified against her in court. He later wanted to recant his testimony which caused greater suspicion of his involvement in witchcraft. When he was on trial, he would not enter a plea and refused to put himself on the court. Corey wasn't willing to partake in a trial where the jury had already determined his fate. Since he would not speak, the Judge sentenced him to peine forte et dure. This meant that heavy stones would be placed on on Corey until he gave a plea or until he was crushed to death. He died on September 19, 1692.


 * The "Afflicted" Girls
 * The two original afflicted girls were Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail Williams. Not long before the girls fell ill, they were dabbling in fortune telling with some of the other girls in Salem Village. There was one fortune that scarred a few of the girls. When Betty and Abigail fell ill, Doctor Griggs found no signs of physical symptoms and Reverend Parris soon determined it must be a result of witchcraft. In an article in Science magazine in 1976, Linda Caporael said that Betty could have been suffering form convulsive ergotism which is caused by ingesting rye infected with ergot. However, there is no way to determine this for sure.
 * Betty Parris
 * Betty is the daughter of the Reverend of Salem Village, Samuel Parris. She was one of the first girls to become afflicted. Betty only accused a few townspeople of witchcraft. She never testified in any of the trials. Her father sent Betty to live with his friend Stephen Sewall hoping she would get better.


 * The Accusations
 * The girls who were afflicted were not the only people to accuse others of being witches. Many of the other townspeople accused others of being witches or wizards. People were accused for many reasons. It could be anything from someone not going to church, to standing up for someone already accused, to a personal grudge from the accuser. If people were accused, they were put on trial and they could either plea guilty or innocent. If someone plead innocent, they would be hung. If they plead guilty, they weren't sentenced to death but they were jailed and used in court for other testimonies.