The Salem Witch Trials

[@ShyOne1995]

“More weight” I still think that he has to be one of the most resolute and badass human beings ever.

[@Steve_V1066]

His big brass testicles bore much of the weight...

[@SeptemberMeadows]

Definitely metal

[@theangelbelow88]

Absolute legend, for sure 😎

[@elizabethmcglothlin5406]

If he'd confessed they would have seized all his money and property. He died unconfessed, so it went to his family. Truly a hero!

[@jverz9430]

I'm wondering how much of a beast that guy was to live to 80 back then in the first place.

[@Fenrir1]

If they really believed that a witch can not recite the lord's prayer, they could easily have had the accused recite it to prove their innocence. They didn't, which makes it seem more like a deliberate effort to get rid of certain people.

[@kylejacobson9587]

Sometimes they did, and the reciter was so nervous they'd flub something up

[@tomhenry897]

Had to do it perfect from memory. Like to see the judge do that

[@kylejacobson9587]

@@tomhenry897 it's fairly easy in normal conditions, it's only a couple lines

[@Maw0]

It was. They wanted to be rid of elderly women. I don't know if this is true, or something made up in the Crucible, but Ann Puntam tried to get Rebecca Nurse executed because all of her children and grandchildren survived and almost all of hers died.

[@skywalkerchick]

They did; but when you’re under pressure you can forget and mess up, and confirm their suspicions that you’re lying

[@joyceshiver6622]

Funny how it only ended when a politicians wife was accused 😒

[@swingshift.]

A sign of guilt!

[@soren9973]

That's how the world works tho, it's perfectly fine to accuse, and punish anyone you want. Of whatever you want. As long as the accused has no power, and no connections to those with power.

[@amandajones661]

Some things never change.

[@konradcurze939]

@@amandajones661 Fallout is right again

[@susanrobinson641]

Proof things haven’t changed much in 300+ years.

[@Dr.Stoeffloev]

Giles corey is an absolute badass and I can only applaud him for enduring this torture for the good of his sons.

[@SSNESS]

Increase & Cotton 😅

[@zion9344]

Ironic how the people who considered themselves the most pure went on to commit unparalleled sin and by their own logic would all have ended up in hell

[@TheLoneTerran]

It's projection. Keep the attention off of them as they assume the role of moral crusader.

[@jmchez]

French Revolutionaries, German National Socialists (Nazis), Soviet Communists, Chinese Maoists. They all had political witch hunts, "purifying" trials and massive excutions. All believed that they were 100% in the right.

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Judge Frollo ( Disney's!The Hunchback of Notr Dame, 1996 )

[@LegoBrosInc]

Poetic justice

[@JeantheSecond]

I don’t believe in hell, but if it existed, that’s where they’d go.

[@nickashton5242]

most of those accused were poor land holders on one side of town and most of the accusers were wealthy on the other, the convicted had their land confiscated, it was a land grab

[@onlyme219]

Agreed, you know the true history

[@DoloresJNurss]

Other way around, eventually, but yes, definitely a land grab. The accusers, aside from Parrish's daughter, had the poorest, swampiest land (most likely to breed ergot) often bordering better land at a higher elevation. The first three accused were even poorer, and the most vulnerable targets, but after that the accusers (or perhaps the parents whispering leading questions to suggestibly unbalanced girls) went for those who had better land, which the accused then had to sell at drastically reduced prices in order to pay for their own incarceration--and it was the parents of the accusers who closed in on the deals. The Nurses, I know for a fact, had prime real estate upslope of dank Putnam land--which the Putnams bought when the Nurses had to sell it. To be fair, Amy Putnam was the only girl to confess that she had allowed herself to be deceived, and apologized directly to the Nurse family (though, as a daughter, she was in no position to give back the land) and we forgave her--and moved away, and built a new home with a safe-room hidden by a chimney, later allegedly used as part of the Underground Railroad. We were never rich again, but that's okay; we're honest. (Yes, my last name is Nurss, not Nurse, but Rebecca signed it 16 different ways on the records, because in those days--before standardized spelling--the more ways you knew to spell the same sound the more literate you were considered, and this was her act of defiance and final dignity, though her greatest dignity was saying, when asked for a confession, "I will not meet my maker with a lie upon my conscience." Anyway, of the 16 options, my branch of the family got stuck with this spelling, while the history books picked the more recognizable one.)

[@svtinker]

Throughout history it’s always a land grab masquerading as good religion.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

@@DoloresJNurss So cool you can trace your lineage back that far! Wish I could say the same, but...my ancestors didn't arrive in this land as free people 😅.

[@DoloresJNurss]

@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley Well, half of my ancestors were already here before Columbus and got their freedom wrenched away, so I can relate. Fortunately for you, modern DNA tests can narrow down what part of Africa your folks came from, often even down to tribes. Then you can learn about the arts, philosophy and customs of those who went before you. Also, there are geneologists who specialize in tracking down slave sales records and the like and filling in the gaps for families disrupted by slavery, relocations and such. I saw an interesting video, in fact, showing the steps tracing J Edgar Hoover's roots back to his African slave ancestress, despite efforts to cover up the truth, so if they can do that when somebody's done everything in his power to hide his past (allegedly including murder) they can surely help you out. Best of luck to you, and God bless!

[@jeffashley5512]

Nathaniel Hawthorne the American writer changed his name by adding a 'w' from Hathorne to separate himself from the fact his forebear was a judge in the witch trials.

[@221b-l3t]

And the part of California is named after him? Like the place where SpaceX is headquartered?

[@jeffashley5512]

b Love Hawthorne's works particularly Young Goodman Brown. It was a 'three pipe problem'. Lol

[@puncheex2]

Err, the main judge was named Staughnton.

[@stars-and-clouds]

@@puncheex2 they said *a* judge lmao

[@sparkykitty6870]

Jeff, didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

[@thepyrokitten]

I am outraged. You didn't call Giles Corey a legend and he absolutely 100% was a certified legend.

[@liquidpaper1349]

SamOnella even did a bit on him

[@ridesq]

“More weight.”

[@puncheex2]

Do you have any evidence on that? I'd sure appreciate a link to it (that is, that his pressing did not really happen). There seems to be considerable eyewitness testimony.

[@MacabreQt888]

Indeed.

[@staytuned2L337]

@@puncheex2 i think the OP means "absolute legend" in the term of endearment way :)

[@kddicks5115]

My favorite justification for killing people is that "children wouldn't lie!!" Please... YES THEY DO!!!🤣🤣🤣

[@nashbullet3213]

All the time

[@cover_mystic545]

Yeah so extremely true! As much as I love my young cousins, I gotta admit that; holy smokes they are gremlin material! Kids are complicated, people and it makes sense why religions in the medieval times thought kids were born sinful

[@wanderer3004]

It sickens me on so many levels that someone with a very young child should be forced to beg for survival, in any era. The trials were of course horrible, but it continues to this today.

[@mattwilliam5522]

So sensual and so erotic

[@MeigetsuNoSeishin]

I was caught up by that bit about how one of them ended up being forced to give birth in prison while awaiting her trial/execution and that they didn't even bother trying to make sure her baby lived

[@davidsingh6944]

The Mass Hysteria of 1692 is the Blueprint for the Mass Hysteria of 2019.

[@kokorolex]

10:27 I can't believe they executed the local goth girl smh

[@stars-and-clouds]

Omg I thought the exact same

[@hannahlarocco4699]

That picture of bishop is the same one in a history book I have

[@lazarus8018]

I don't know why, but I feel like she was done with everyone's bullshit at that point.

[@Nerathul1]

I've seen quite a bit of content based on these trials and this is one of the few that really stresses the massive corruption in the legal system and the family feuds between accusers and accused.

[@kathyastrom1315]

I was glad to see those aspects highlighted as well. It didn’t just happen in Salem-Gloucester, MA also had several accusations of witchcraft in the fall of 1692. Many of them were made about the women in the family of Hugh Rowe, my 10th great grandfather. He apparently had several enemies in town who accused his daughters and daughters in law of witchcraft. Several were tossed into jail for a few weeks, but none of them were ever brought to court and the charges were dropped.

[@sparkykitty6870]

Nerathul1, watch Three Sovereigns for Sarah if you can find it. 1990s television movie that explains the land/pastor issues.

[@gordonfotheringham1599]

I grew up there. It is known to those of us who grew up there but always notice how it's often overlooked. It was a land grab by taking holdings of the accused with the side "benefit" of immediately killing the opposing argument.

[@cdeford]

@@sparkykitty6870 Good call. That's the best film on this subject that I've seen.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

It's so messed up that this occured because these ladies had temper tantrums like some high school drama queens who wanted to get back at those they disliked and gossiped about. Which led to all of this pain and suffering.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

#Believeallwomen - history repeats itself.

[@pullt]

I'm no Puritan, but I do advocate the "Thou shalt not kill" thing. Seems like a good rule of thumb, kind of like "Don't run with scissors"....

[@jenaf4208]

Im the effiecient type and use one rule "dont kill with siccors"

[@justaguyonyoutube4592]

@@jenaf4208 Unless you wanna get creative.

[@jenaf4208]

@@justaguyonyoutube4592 dont hug me im scared.

[@Nerathul1]

I mean god say thou shalt not kill but a few chapters later he says to stone people who gather firewood on the sabbat so clearly he's got exceptions to that rule

[@221b-l3t]

I mean you should have known that before hearing about it in church. Most people don't need the threat of eternal damnation to refrain from killing. That's what would generally be described as a violent psychopath, such as the wonderful people featured in Simon's podcast.

[@georgerevell5643]

Wow that guy who was slowly crushed to death over days without giving in to save his legal innocence and family estate that is some SERIOUS courage, I would have thought impossible.

[@imvexed9340]

My many times great grand mother Alice Lake was executed(murdered) for being a witch in 1651. She lost a child and in her grief, she said she saw her deceased child. They called her a witch because of that. They were killing people accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts even before the Salem witch trials.

[@NickMachado]

Its pretty funny that the settling of new england mainly happened because groups of people would leave their community to create a new, freer one. Then the cycle would repeat on and on, as they expanded.

[@jimtomo9207]

It's how all immigration works

[@scottsheehan446]

Most of the early New England settlers left their homes to practice their particular brand of Christianity in solitude.

[@trejrco]

Purging "undesirables" - that's never gone wrong. We humans are great at messing stuff up.

[@Warrior_Culture]

I would say it's more a matter of humans knowing the mess they're creating, but not caring until it directly effects us. Denial, apathy, and selfishness more than actual accidental failure. When we CARE and we WANT to do something, we excel incredibly.

[@1MrAngel1]

It goes great for the winners.....until the chickens come home to roost.

[@mschaefer4656]

My husband is from Massachusetts. Last time we visited MA, we toured the Salem Witch Museum ... which was pretty sanitized and leaning more into Spooky Halloween souvenirs than actual history. There were a few showcases of historical artifacts, but for the big show, you were led into a theatre and then left there, and then 1970's era animatronics and voice overs told the tale. A few workers in period garb answered questions and gave a few minutes' more of information. But no mention of Ergot, and just the barest mention of personality clashes or economic motives. TLDR: Salem Witch Museum is dated and somewhat sanitized.

[@JOEFABULOUS.]

Check out the pendle witch trials in England

[@HarlequinHeart16]

no shit. the town of Salem is a tourist trap nowadays

[@lostgirlcosplay14]

if you come back go visit The Rebecca Nurse Homestead in Danvers😄

[@pioneercynthia1]

Ergot poisoning was dismissed as a theory back in the mid-1970s. I'm surprised Simon mentioned it.

[@tiffanym1108]

Giles is my absolute hero! He stood up to tyranny and won! LEGEND!

[@eyespliced]

Heh. One of my ancestors was accused of being a witch in salem. He got carted off to jail in boston, then escaped a few months later before his "trial."

[@StaticImage]

A WITCH!!! I FOUND A WITCH!!! BURN THEM!!!!!!!

[@becky2235]

How did he escape do you know? Interesting history

[@eyespliced]

@@becky2235 I think a couple of friends broke him out of jail and he fled to NY where the authorities wouldn't extradite him to Mass. for "being a witch." There is a wikipedia page about him. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Alden_(sailor)#Scandals_and_Salem_Witch_Trials

[@Auditing102]

@@becky2235 easy. You use another inmates sperm to cause an infection inside your ass after lowering your immune system inner worldly by water fasting for 21 days and using the spores nearby to also use to look like your environment plus the inmate (target) body. The thing is, having someone else's instructions rewrites your instructions and literally kills "you" DNA wise.

[@schrisdellopoulos9244]

@@becky2235 he's making it up Becky. It's the internet.

[@katwalker07]

Rebecca Nurse was my 2nd Cousin 12 times removed on my Mom's side, and John Proctor was my 10th Great Uncle on my Dad's side. Both were hung as witches on Gallow's Hill.

[@hannahlarocco4699]

Do you even know what those words even

[@katwalker07]

@@hannahlarocco4699 I have been working on my family's ancestral genealogy for over 8 years now. I am on Ancestry, MyHeritage, Wikitree, FamilySearch, FamilyTree, and GedMatch. I have researched my genealogy as far back as the 1400's on some of my genealogical lines and my husband's genealogy as far back as the 1600's. So, yes. I believe that I do understand those terms. Do you?

[@katwalker07]

@@hannahlarocco4699 as a matter of fact, John Nicholas Graye Proctor, John Proctor's father, was my Father's 10th Great-Grandfather and John Clarke, Rebecca Nurse's Great-Grandfather, was my Mother's 12th Great-Grandfather. But, thanks for asking and giving me the opportunity to speak about my favorite subject.

[@Kim-mz8co]

You and I are related through the family of Rebecca Nurse.

[@vic5015]

I actually grew up in Eastern Massachusetts, so this was coveted in history class. We also read Arthur Miller's The Crucible in high school even though that uses the Salrm Witchcraft Trials as an allegory for the Red Scare and McCarthyixm.

[@lowman5893]

This is something that always bugged me. Before I begin though; yes, McCarthy was a zealot who got caught up in the moment and ruined a lot of innocent people's lives. I am not defending him here. But, unlike the witch trials, there actually were communist spies in the US on the payrole of the USSR. I just never liked the way the allegory seems to imply that it was all anti-communist hysteria when there was a credible threat. Both the US and USSR were actively trying to undermine one another at every turn.

[@MikkellTheImmortal]

It's quite a crazy thought to me that when I was in school they taught us that the people who came on the Mayflower were great people who settled America, invented Thanksgiving, made friends with the natives... The reality is that they were just the worst. It's a disturbing thought that they still do teach that in school in America

[@shawnr771]

We teach mythology not history.

[@tmclaug90]

Humans are all more or less the same.

[@jakeg3126]

Well they might have had something close to that, they landed around then and natives were friendly, maybe they dropped off food. I’m not sure how/ when/why they started to take out and expand.

[@willowthistle3648]

They came to this country to escape religious persecution then proceeded to persecute others they thought didn't follow their religion.... Sure. That sounds right.

[@goosewithagibus]

Growing up you realize that everyone sucks

[@Warlock11206]

"More Weight..." That is one heck of a father.

[@eliharper6616]

The painting at 2:50 is amazing, it captures so much detail, emotion and perspective... Who else pauses the still frames and really looks at them or is it just me?

[@furiouskaiser9914]

I remember reading The Crucible in English class way back in high school. My English teacher cracked a joke about Paris getting into trouble yet again as we had read the Iliad and Romeo & Juliet previously. He was a kickass teacher despite English class not being one of my strong suits (despite my love of reading, I just hated writing a lot lol) (also I was more of a science and math geek).

[@hoppytoad79]

The Crucible took enormous liberties with what happened in Salem. It was a commentary on McCarthyism more than what happened in Salem.

[@lowman5893]

@@hoppytoad79 And honestly not a very good commentary since there actually were USSR spies in the US at the time. Of course McCarthy being right about the existence of a threat doesn't excuse how he used flimsy evidence to ruin other's lives and advance his own career.

[@furiouskaiser9914]

@@hoppytoad79 True. IIRC that was one of the things we touched on. My English class teacher would have us read the stories, then have us watch movies of the same story, then have us look up other versions if available to show us how there can be many different versions of events (factual or fictional) to help nail home never trusting a single source of information.

[@jamesbest9038]

I love that you correctly recognized that the modern Salem is not the site of the trials

[@colinsullivan3687]

Salem's my favorite place to visit in Massachusetts, but the way they preserve the witch trials history is so strange. Tons of museums and even the "witch house" are standing, however the actual sites of incidents and executions and historical events are sadly lost to time and real estate development. For instance the actual spot where most executions and trials took place is just a parking lot of a big chain pharmacy now.

[@1MrAngel1]

Another example of land grab

[@jayess8714]

11:54 - 13:18 My man Giles Corey is a REAL ONE, respect

[@jmace2424]

Puritans: Children should be seen and not heard. Salem Puritans: WhO’s pIncHinG yOu ChIld?!

[@Fabala827]

Having been raised in Rhode Island and actually been to Salem many times, I’ve known both the rumored & more truthful versions of these stories most of my life. But somehow I never realized how old Giles Corey was?? Maybe I learned when I was little, and 45 seemed just as old as 81 or something, but wow. I had no clue.

[@amandajones661]

These young girls make "mean girls" look like angels.

[@Warrior_Culture]

I don't blame the girls one bit. Even IF the adults all genuinely believed in the accusations (which they clearly did not and were only using them for their own agenda) it is still their fault for literally killing people based on the words of children. Based on the words of children that they themselves believed were bewitched, no less. There's no one to blame here but adult selfishness, hypocrisy, and pettiness.

[@johnglennmercury7]

Every psychic epidemic has teen girls at its centre. Every one.

[@Warrior_Culture]

@John Glenn I beg to differ. If you've watched any of those psychic cringe compilations, some of the biggest and most famous frauds (and half the small-fry) are all full-grown men. I'd bet every penny I have their parents put them up to it, considering the religious and political strife of the town.

[@johnglennmercury7]

@@Warrior_Culture like what? Once offs, sure. But not mass psychoses. Tics. Anorexia. Multiple personalities. All young women.

[@Warrior_Culture]

@@johnglennmercury7 oh, I thought were referring to people pretending to by psychics, as it's fairly relevant to the video we're commenting under. So that was a misunderstanding. The rest... I think you're making statements without understanding the deeper facts. For example: Both anorexia and "multiple personalities" (dissociative identity disorder / DID) have a leading cause of physical/sexual abuse, and the victims of such are overwhelming women, regardless of which age bracket you look at. And 50-60% of non-environmental anorexia is genetic. So of course disorders like that are going to be primarily women and through no fault of their their own. As for "tics" and "mass psychoses", that has nothing to do with gender, not even statistically, so I don't know where you got that from.

[@Maceman486]

Jim Jefferies said it best when he joked about how you never see an Atheist wielding a machete, about to cut someone's head off, going "In The Name of Nothing!".

[@vic5015]

Ricky Gervais, a prominent atheist, has said similar things. He basically said that you don't see atheists fighting over which is the true God since they don't think there are any.

[@221b-l3t]

Oh god that made laugh way too much. I will now proclaim to do things in the name of nothing! Also I don't remember that. So I think it's been long enough to rewatch Jim's specials. :)

[@NekoArts]

This comment made me laugh so hard that I woke up my boyfriend.. in the name of nothing!

[@JohnGardnerAlhadis]

@@vic5015 Instead you see them grilling people on Reddit for saying stuff like "God bless you". 🤷‍♂️

[@felipeagado7943]

Pol Pot, Mao, Stalin and Hitler’s henchmen would strongly disagree with you.

[@WasabiSniffer]

I’m not sure Witch Hunts will ever go away. Not so much as religious crusades but personal vendettas under a righteous guise.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

metoo ?

[@nashbullet3213]

@@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391 Exactly

[@skycloud4802]

@@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391 I was going to mention this. #Metoo is the most prominent example today. Some voices are calling for the abolishing of innocent until proven guilty in criminal courts to speed up sexual assault convictions. Meaning that the mere word of a person or people without evidence, could put a innocent person in jail.

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

@@skycloud4802 But doesn't that happen already, not everyone is a rich and famous as Johnny Depp ( so can afford the lawyers and have enough evidence to prove his innocents), how many innocent men have gone to jail already? Ironically, the Salem witch trials were women making false alligations against women and men, funny how feminists don't tell it that way...

[@Dbag5000]

That's a really good photo of Sarah Good, especially when you consider she died 124 years before the camera was invented.

[@lovettdeleted]

perhaps witchcraft truly was involved

[@lowman5893]

​@@lovettdeleted It is a photograph by Fitz W. Guerin called "Puritan Woman Holding Book" from 1900-1910. For some reason it has been linked with Sarah Good on several websites to such an extent that it pops up as one of the top images when you search her name.

[@lovettdeleted]

@@lowman5893 i know my brother, we are merely joking

[@Maw0]

Don't look up the photo for Dorothy Good.

[@theroachden6195]

It absolutely sounds like they didn't want to get in trouble. When their families saw the punishment they used the girls as a means to take out the people they didn't like.

[@stimmymcgotems408]

It’s back! It got pulled half way through my viewing yesterday 😅

[@angelachouinard4581]

That's worse than me clicking to find it gone. How frustrating for you.

[@FLOWERSANDSUNSHINE22]

Good account of what happened. I grew up in Danvers, MA and everyone knows the stories and where everything took place. Danvers has a great Historical Society and there are several monuments and "still standing" homes protected in the Historical Register. The movies "The Crucible" and "Three Sovereigns for Sarah" are good movies that depict what happened.

[@theaverageliftingguy1993]

I loved “The Crucible” and it was one of my favorite units from 11th grade American Literature. Even now if the movie pops up on AMC I’ll watch it.

[@FLOWERSANDSUNSHINE22]

@@theaverageliftingguy1993 same. :)

[@greendeane1]

One of my ancestors -- Susannah North Martin -- was hanged there for witchcraft, 19 July 1692. She was among those in town who supported the creation of a second church, and personally was very neat, particularly in dressing.

[@stevensawicki9123]

After learning about how the puritans behaved in school I've grown up believing and still believe A) I understand completely why they were persecuted and B) they kinda deserved it

[@nine9whitepony526]

My god i just love this channel, I just discovered it and subscribed yesterday. These mini documentaries are so fascinating and insightful, and they are often delivered in an elegant and comedic manner.

[@Dank-gb6jn]

I read part of a book on the trials (something with an artist’s rendition of Abigail Williams, Tituba, and Elizabeth Parris going crazy before the court) and gained some valuable info on the whole ordeal. Wish I could’ve finished it. Edit: Actually, I think the Picture at 4:37 was the one I was thinking of.

[@pharos04]

Great Summary. I know your videos are about facts but with Giles Corey I wish you had touched upon his Curse on the Sheriff as well: how every Sheriff of Salem (and subsequently Essex County) suffered from some weird ailment until they moved the Headquarters to Middleton

[@FG-bn3qq]

Increase Mather sounds like a WoW spell.

[@puncheex2]

Having worked the area as a genealogist, I have a few more things to add. My wife is descended from the brother of Rebecca Towne-Nurse, Mary Towne-Estey and Sarah Towne-Cloyce. Rebecca (72) and Mary (58) were hanged; Sarah (53) was pregnant and remained in jail for a year and a half. She is also descended from Henry Kinne, one of the main accusers, because their grandchildren reconciled and intermarried. I was startled to know later that Capt. Thomas Fiske, his son Thomas Fiske and a third cousin Deacon William Fiske were members of the jury (the senior Thomas being the foreman), first exonerating the Townes (and the others on trial), and then, after a near riot, condemning them in "reconsideration". About four years later, the jury got together and wrote a confession about what had occurred and expressed their remorse at their roles, signed by the whole jury. Finally, she is also related to one of the other jurors, Ephraim Herrick, whose brother Joseph was the constable who arrest most of the witches. The ringleader of the girls, Ann Putnam, didn't do very well afterward either. Her rich parents died only a couple of years after the trial, and as the senior child, she was left to manage the household of younger siblings apparently without help from her aunts and uncles, which she also apparently managed well. She never married, and about ten years afterward she too begged forgiveness from the town. John Alden Jr, son of the Mayflower Alden/Mullins, was jailed in Boston, accused of being a witch, among a slew of others.

[@Kim-mz8co]

My 8th Great-Grandfather is Edmund Towne so I'm a relative of your wife. Thank you for posting the information.

[@westayedtrue497]

It's actually hard to breathe after thinking about that 80 year old man things don't usually get to me like that

[@JOEFABULOUS.]

Check out the pendle witch trials in England a 7 yr old child made to condemn her family including her mother to death

[@spackar2720]

I was born in Salem, MA and have been fascinated by witches since early childhood.

[@rommelrivera1186]

beautiful city. best vibe in the world!

[@andreaeray]

We need a show on the reasons for naming children Increase and other bizarre words.

[@Saline3]

giles corey was a badass bro was literally dying and he said “more weight”

[@TheImortalHTK]

Please follow this up with a video about the witch trials in england those were seriously messed up. i know you already covered the master witch hunter on biographics but it would be a good follow up

[@JOEFABULOUS.]

The pendle witch trials and Mathew Hopkins

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

And one on the werewolf trails.

[@garrettfields6972]

Good dig at the end. Thanks again Simon

[@shawnnewell4541]

This is the best telling of the Salem Witch Trials I've heard to date. Thank you Simon.

[@tophers3756]

Seriously? You apparently have seen very few.

[@canaanval]

Might be the best version Simon has released this week! (so far)

[@zburnham]

This is a personal area of knowledge for me. I grew up in the next city over from Salem, Beverly, which is just to the east and up the coast from Salem. (We played their football team on Thanksgiving. I was in the band. I always thought it was in questionable taste that their mascot was "The Witches".) Three members of my family from two generations, my direct ancestors on my father's side (the Puritan side, naturally), are mentioned in the record of the Salem Witch Hysteria (which I believe is the preferred term these days, as you couldn't really call them "trials", could you.) Lieutenant (in what service I don't know, all I've been able to find is that he made Lieutenant of the "Ipswich company" in 1863, and it's likely this was some kind of force that fought the Natives) Thomas Burnham, my 8th-great grandfather, who arrived on this continent in 1635, gave a deposition in 1690 as testimony against one of the accused. It is darkly hilarious to me that he complained about one of the accused stealing his beer. "Spectral evidence." John Burnham Sr. (my 7th-great grandfather) and his son John Jr. (a great-uncle of some kind, his brother Jacob was my 6th-great grandfather) signed a letter (available to see at minerdescent.com/2011/11/18/witch-trials-supporters/) in defense of the accused. It helps that there was a book written in the 1890s that consolidated all our family history in one place to that point. Also: Nobody burned at the stake in Salem. Everyone that died was hanged, except for the pressing described in the video. It's a common misconception.

[@allainawebb7090]

It’s a sad irony that the ones of refused to “confess” where sentenced to death and would go to heaven while those that accused and slandered would most likely go to hell for killing

[@AuroraPrusoff]

I don't know if its true but I heard on a tour that Bridgett Bishop was like one of the most badass woman ever. She was widow who owned an apple farm and aconialy at the dead of night would grab apples and throw them at a the judge's wooden house. Once the judge woke up she would yell all the swearwords that she new while still throwing fruit at 2:00 am. When she was triled the trial had theese amazing lines Brigget: How can I be a wich when I dont know what one is Same juge: How are you sure you're not one Brigget being cool af: If I was a witch, I ashure you, you would be the first to know. *and then she was killed*

[@corgi42069]

Aye there's the reupload

[@Khrad9]

Harsh winters and low supplies of food resulted in a lot of cases of ergotism from what I know. I'm not entirely sure what the reason might be, but it might come down to the readiness to consume and eat food which looks a bit more off than if it was in abundance. If you have less food to begin with you are more likely to just use and eat the sack if rye in the corner which looks a bit off.

[@luzukom213]

Having played Reverend Hale in The Crucible, I truly find all that happened sadly atrocious. Nonetheless, such an interesting true tale showing the shortcomings of human nature.

[@Chris-hx3om]

It's not a 'shortcoming'. It's what happens when people start believing in the giant sky fairy.

[@Theggman83]

I've visited Salem.. it's a nice vacation spot. Lots of witch and Halloween themed "things" going on.. pretty much all year. But it's really busy and extravagant during the holiday. Like right now, in October, Salem is a busy place.

[@Nivaik]

if you've not done this already, you should do the Pendle Witches trial next!

[@pranc236]

The pilgrims landed in Provincetown MA in 1620 stayed the winter and then went to Plymouth in 1621. There is a good indication of this because the largest building in Provincetown is the pilgrim monument. I have even seen graves of the pilgrims that are dated 1620.

[@grindcoreninja6527]

The effects of the puritans can still be felt in the United States to this day

[@Chris-hx3om]

Oh yeah!

[@JOEFABULOUS.]

Maga charlatans

[@redfalcons1325]

Yes. Specifically, our universities.

[@JeantheSecond]

Yes, and I hate it.

[@joellaz9836]

No it can’t. New England where they settled is the most atheist place in America.

[@Mike-iv3hy]

Many of the witches of Salem fled to Nova Scotia Canada , the town I lived in in Nova Scotia was notorious for witches , and there are many haunted houses in the area ! Nova Scotia was an easy escape for them and outside of Halifax the province was quite Isolated , no one would know who they were ! No one would know They were practicing witchcraft And was just 4 hr away by ship. When I was living there the streets of the town I lived were very dark at night and it rained constantly. Now add in the sound of the lighthouse horn sounding in the darkness . It made the town VERY spooky ! With it's many Gothic Churches and silent streets, as shadows chased behind you ! DML

[@cwhip9]

"We hope this dosent happen again" Breaths in then out, looks at 2020 Breaths in then out.......

[@DiodeMom]

Underrated comment

[@danielreuben1058]

"More weight, more weight", MIC DROP. What an awesome person.

[@Indyofthedead]

Because of this period of sheer human stupidity, "More weight," has been and still is one of the most chad statements I will ever hear.

[@mfrenchcazenovia]

How could there be a photograph of Sarah Good when photography didn't exist for another century?

[@pamelamays4186]

Suggestion: Medical experiments performed on the enslaved in America during the Antebellum era.

[@robinanderson8211]

Cool update of the trials. I grew up in the area and this was nicely done and I learned more details.

[@RAS_Squints]

'Moar weight' -Sam O'Nella

[@Dwendele]

There are states that still don't allow alcohol on Sunday. There's even "dry" counties where you can't buy it at all.

[@jrmckim]

If you've ever read the Outlander series than you know how terrifying it was from the "witches" pov

[@Mad_Possum]

being falsely accused of something is bad to begin with, let alone being falsely accused of something that doesn't even EXIST And then to be murdered or tortured because of it...humanity can be savage

[@VinnyUnion]

​@@Mad_Possum the reasonings were pretty absurd too, like normal moles and similar were s indication/evidence lol that's beyond stupid. but i guess this teaches us of how intelligence is basically only as useful as the wielder itself

[@Mad_Possum]

@@VinnyUnion I had to stop myself from posting a huge comment about this topic because I find it interesting, but youtube comments isn't the place to get that deep unfortunately. But yeah tldr humans can be fuckin wild lol

[@jackgibsxxx0750]

Jamie: __it would have been easier if you had just been a witch__

[@jackgibsxxx0750]

Most witches don't have "Leghair" 😂😂😂

[@stephenbutler6819]

I love neaely all simons vids i put on very good at speaking gives alot of info in a short space of time keep up the great work

[@codymr1974]

05:54 and 08:15 How is there a photograph of Sarah Good? She died in 1692. The first photograph was not taken until 1827.

[@misskate3815]

Probably through the same means that they uncovered her life story, bc I have never heard such malarkey in my life.

[@lowman5893]

The photo is from the early 1900s and has for some reason been linked heavily with the Sarah Good story.

[@codymr1974]

@@lowman5893 It seems strange to me that the production staff on this video would not have caught this anachronism.

[@lowman5893]

@@codymr1974 It really depends on who is doing it. There are different teams on the channels Simon narrates, so it is possible this one didn't catch that the dates didn't line up. It isn't the first time they have made a mistake and at least this time it was with the presentation and not the script itself.

[@OverKillionaire]

I was just in Salem, Massachusetts this past weekend!! Simon, I feel like you're putting out ITS videos on places I've been. lol

[@penobby1]

Funny I just left there today!

[@angelicaarroyo5222]

Wow in 57 seconds! Hahaha Awesome job as always!

[@graceatkins7486]

Sarah Good and her daughter Dorothy Good are ancestors of my family on my mother's side. Glad to see Simon covering them and the Salem trails

[@Rainbow_Pirate]

So the child lived? Is it known who cared for her after her mother's execution?

[@graceatkins7486]

@@Rainbow_Pirate Yeah Dorothy Good was only four at the time. She was also arrested but was released after her mothers deaths. A different family took her in, I believe it was one of the prisoners she was held with

[@Rainbow_Pirate]

@@graceatkins7486 I'm glad she was so "lucky", when I watched the video I assumed she died in prison, of negligence or abuse.

[@graceatkins7486]

@@Rainbow_Pirate Sadly one of Sarah's daughters did pass away. She was pregnant during her imprisonment (which postponed her execution) but her daughter "Mercy" passed away shortly after birth. Likely due to being very under weight because her mother had been kept in horrible conditions and malnutrition.

[@graceatkins7486]

The past was the worst

[@ignitionfrn2223]

4:30 - Chapter 1 - The 1st accusations 7:35 - Chapter 2 - The 1st trial 9:45 - Chapter 3 - The court of Oyer & Terminer 14:00 - Wrap up PS: "Mon dieu", ze french prononciation are "atroce"

[@StaticImage]

I always feel that these comments should be pinned. They're so helpful.

[@MrBudgues]

You are showing a photograph of Sarah Good as reference, while the trials have found place in 1692 and the first ever photographs are dated back to ~1850.

[@luzukom213]

The Crucible clearly covered the true events quite well. The play is a great ode to Arthur Miller's literary and dramatic brilliance.

[@alg11297]

He changed around a number of things for dramatic effect.

[@luzukom213]

@@alg11297 I'm sure he did, however, the overarching themes and events speak to the real life occurrences quite well.

[@alg11297]

@@luzukom213 yes but although there are no such things as witches with magical powers there ARE such things as Communists who have certain aims

[@Shemp6101]

It's back! Yay!!

[@GrandChessboard]

Uhh, is that supposed to be a photo of Sarah Good? I don't think they had cameras back then....

[@lowman5893]

No, it is a photo of a woman taken in the early 1900s that for some reason has been linked with Sarah Good on several websites. It has gotten to the point it is one of the top images when you search her name.

[@Joy-TheLazyCatLady2]

Great names and awesome hair dos. 😂 Did Cotton Mather get his name because of his wig?

[@darknessoftruth9314]

The Crucible by Arthur Miller used this unfortunate event as a warning against the Red Scare, and McCarthyism. Sadly, it seems his message has fallen on deaf ears, as hysteria grips the nation even now.

[@robertfindley921]

Shocking. I don't think we are too far today from that returning.

[@StarHeartsping]

As a Salem local 👍for the accuracy.

[@KM-go9ck]

My favorite short story is "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It gives a detailed description of just how "pure" and God fearing the Puritans were.

[@jessiesratrods1210]

Lucifer's Light! He brought it back! I wonder what happened?

[@breslinpt]

The song “Giles” by the band Unearth is such a powerful song about these things. “Peine forte et dure” are in them as well.

[@Hughginvaini]

I’m pretty sure the whole town was high from a shitty harvest we’re their crops all got ergot from an early frost. The whole town was literally high and hallucinating from their wheat supply.

[@adeleennis2255]

There is some belief that some of the children may have been “jumping at shadows” as some of them were survivors of the frontier wars with the natives. It would explain why Tituba and John Indian were among the first accused. I have read a lot on this subject as I am descended from the only woman hung the same day as George Burroughs. She never plead guilty, even though her two oldest boys were tortured and her youngest daughter was tricked into saying my great grandmother had put her hand on the book. The child was 5-6 years old at the time. Apparently, my great grandmother was not your typical, know-your-place female. She was said to be outspoken. She was outspoken at her trial and essentially said God would make her murderers pay when she was led to the hanging tree. Her family later moved to Connecticut where her husband lived to 109 years old. My great grandmother was Martha Allen Carrier and she died on August 19th, 1692.

[@terryenby2304]

Shout out everyone who started watching this yesterday lol

[@chitlitlah]

True fans finished watching it yesterday.

[@Scorcher505]

As a descendant of Giles Corey, I can say that loop hole finding attitude is alive and well in his family today

[@kristiskinner6485]

Perfect for Spooky Season! Thank you Simon and basement crew.

[@AlphaHorst]

"Were so religiously strict that until x shops had to remain closed on Sundays" Most of Europe to this day. "You have shops open on Sunday?"

[@WhuDhat]

Simon may well be today's greatest tutor for things you know about but don't really know

[@MyLifeAsErica]

I visit Salem every year (I’m about an hour away) and though during Halloween it is full of fun witch vibes, they do not stray away from the history of why the town is famous. Great tours, museums, etc go into great detail, that of being a lot of these women owned their land and people wanted it from them. One of the woman survived the entire time in jail and was almost hung before they finally stopped all of it because of the fact they wanted her land and she knew that was the reason and kept her innocence. Definitely recommend people to look up the story of how one lie and one action can cause so much in this country. Mass hysteria is very real.

[@frankboogaard88]

One of the girls actually admitted to it all being a fraud later in life. Simon? Spank your writer for not doing research at all...You don't want to become the next Watchmojo, right? No more money?

[@JatPhenshllem]

Watchmojo sucks

[@louieleon2988]

Source?

[@nobbynoris]

Name the source.

[@frankboogaard88]

@@nobbynoris In 1706, while seeking to join the Salem Village church, Ann offered the only known apology of any of the Salem accusers, stating that she had been deluded by the devil, and that she desired “to lie in the dust, and earnestly beg forgiveness from God and from all those unto whom I have given just cause of sorrow and offence.”

[@frankboogaard88]

@@nobbynoris You know how to use google I hope ;)

[@elpinchoPR]

Love this channel!!!

[@onlyme219]

Agreed