A growing outcry.

The suspected witches, including several men, were held in jail under appalling conditions. Dozens were chained and starved. One man died after others piled rocks on him so that he would confess. Such methods caused many innocent villagers to issue false confessions--and to accuse others falsely.

Arguing against this injustice proved to be dangerous. John Proctor, a local farmer and tavern owner, had openly criticized the witch-hunt from the beginning. After protesting his wife Elizabeth's arrest, he too was charged, and convicted. In August 1692, Proctor was hanged.

As the accusations and hangings increased, the community became alarmed at the mounting toll (number lost) of respectable citizens. More people began to doubt the truth of the girls' stories. On October 19, Increase Mather, a minister from Boston who had himself overseen witch trials, visited the Salem jail. Many of the imprisoned individuals disowned their earlier confessions.

Mather insisted that the trials be stopped. "It were better that 10 suspected witches should escape than that 1 innocent person should be condemned," he said.

Later that month, Governor Phips prohibited any further jailing and dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer. By then, 19 people had been executed, and 5 had died in jail. Within months, most of the accused were set free. Tituba, whose life had been spared, was held in jail for 18 more months and then sold to another family.

In time, people began to show remorse (regret) for their actions. Judge Samuel Sewall stood up in church and confessed his shame to the congregation. In 1706, Ann Putnam publicly asked forgiveness of "all those I have given just cause of sorrow and offense."

Historians, sociologists, and psychologists have since searched for ways to explain the hysteria of the trials. Some scientists now see a possible clue in the Puritans' food. A certain kind of fungus present in rye grain, the chief crop consumed in Salem, has been known at times to produce ergot (UR gut) poisoning. This can cause hallucinations, paranoia, spasms, and the feeling of being bitten or pinched--symptoms that were all exhibited in 1692.

The Salem witchcraft trials are still considered a shameful part of American history. In 1957, the state of Massachusetts formally apologized for the executions of innocent settlers. Salem Village had already renamed itself Danvers. On the 300th anniversary of the trials, a memorial was raised there to ensure that Americans would never forget the tragedy. JS