Salem Witch Trials
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There, Parris's nine-year-old daughter Betty and his niece Abigail Williams had taken strangely ill, claiming that they had been "bitten and pinched by invisible agents; their arms, necks, and backs turned this way and that way, and returned back againbeyond the power of any Epileptick Fits, or natural Disease to effect." (Davidson & Lytle 25) Were these young women really being attacked and tortured by invisible agents? Were they creating these occurrences in their heads? How do we know if these unreliable children weren't just making these things up? Can we rely on such superficial evidence when talking about witches, wizards, and magic? These questions are what many historians struggle with when it comes to the historical past of Salem, Massachusetts. With very little physical and striking evidence, it is difficult for historians to recreate the world of Salem without actually being there. No one truly has any clue what in the world was going through the heads of those villagers during the time of the Salem witch scare. However, it is the job of historians to find out to the best of their abilities, what occurred and why it did. Even with modern notions of science and the widespread belief that witchcraft is nonexistent, it is possible for historians to recreate the invisible world of Salem...