Hysteria In The Salem Witch Trials

The Salem Witch Trials were a time of great distress for early America. Starting in spring of 1692, many people were believed to have been practicing witchcraft and for those who were put on trial, cruel and unusual punishments were often used in an attempt to prove the accused guilty. This went on for several long months, until the governor of Massachusetts dissolved the primary court used for these trials – the Court of Oyer and Terminer – in October 1692. The Salem Witch Trials had a large part in shaping today’s society, contributing to mass hysteria studies, today’s due process, and development of the idea of ‘separation between church and state’. There are a few different theories as to why the Salem Witch Trials occurred, including bad weather and stress. In 6 Logical Explanations For The Hysteria Behind The Salem Witch Trials, Bradley Sylvester writes, …show more content…
In “Hysteria: The History of a Disease,” Ilza Veith states, “…many, if not most, of the witches as well as a great number of their victims described therein were simply hysterics who suffered from partial anaesthesia, mutism, blindness and convulsions, and, above all, from a variety of sexual delusions.” In “The Role of Psychological Variables in Mass Hysteria,” Mareesa Dannielle explains that Veith’s idea “asserts that mass hysteria during the witch-hunts was individual hysteria expressed collectively.” Dannielle also explains, “Mass hysteria sometimes appears to be the last coping resource for a community in distress… Enclosed settings seem to be very favorable to outbreaks of hysteria, especially when rigid discipline… are imposed.” Salem was a relatively small and strict community that was mostly isolated from its neighbors. When combining these factors with superstition of natural disasters and large amount of stress, they manifest as mass hysteria, as claimed by both Veith and