Explain How The Massachusetts Bay Colony Became A Site Of Mass Hysteria

In 1692, Massachusetts Bay Colony became a site of mass hysteria, defined by Merriam-Webster, as a situation in which a myriad of people behave or react in an extreme or uncontrolled manner as a result of fear or anger. This mass hysteria dispersed itself throughout the region of Salem, involving witchcraft accusations that ushered in a period of trials, torture, imprisonment, and executions. By the time the trials came to a halt, an astonishing 20 people were executed, while an additional 162 were accused of practicing witchcraft. All of this erupted on January 20, 1692, when the reverend Samuel Paris’ daughter, Betty, and niece Abigail Williams were labeled oddities. Some historians, such as Dr. Alan Woolf, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard