The Salem Witch Trials on This Day in History

This Day in History: Bridget Bishop was hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for "certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries" on this day in 1692. Bridget Bishop was considered a woman of loose morals as she was married several times. After her second husband died, Bishop was accused of bewitching him to death. She was in fact the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials. Altogether, about 200 people would be tried, and 18 others were executed, including 5 men and a 6 year old girl. During the trials, two dogs were killed on suspicions of witchcraft.

"The town of Oudewater, Netherlands, used to sell certificates to suspected witches (in the 16th century). These certificates 'officially' proved the women were heavier than air (according to their town scales) and as a result were unable to fly. Women who couldn't fly were less likely to be considered witches.

Women would travel long distances to purchase these certificates, since the usual test of whether a person was a witch was to throw her in deep water. If she drowned, she was innocent of witchcraft. If she didn't drown, she was considered to be a witch and put to death." ~Mary Schons

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

The most famous witch in history was a German woman named Merga Bien in the early 17th century. "Marga Bien was a wealthy German heiress. She murdered her second husband and her children with him, and attended Sabbaths held by Satan. Or at least that's what she was forced to confess while being tortured in prison. She was pregnant, but that didn't save her from execution, as the court believed she was carrying a baby fathered by the Devil. The Fulda Witch Trials led to the execution of 250 suspects over three years. Merga Bien was the most famous of them all, and the first to be burned alive at the stake."~Octavia Drughi

Belief in witchcraft is still widespread. A 2005 poll of Canadians and people from the United Kingdom found that 13 percent believed in witches. For Americans, that number was 21 percent. Witch trials still occur, particularly in places like Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea.

Back to Bridget Bishop: An examination during sentencing discovered a third nipple on Bridget Bishop's body (a sure sign of witchcraft). If you have such a mark on your body, please turn yourself into the proper authorities. Moles, scars, birthmarks, sores and tattoos also quality as marks of witchery. Please do the proper thing...we're all in this together.

Exodus 22:18

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Heinz Schmitz