FRAUD/GRUDGE
Of all the possible causes of the Trials, this seems the most ridiculous and the most possible. Could these girls have been so bored to just start accusing their neighbors of witchcraft? Did they do it out of fear of being punished for playing with folk magic? Was there that much of a grudge between families that they would use their children to bring others down? Whatever the reason, it is absolutely horrible.
In Linnda Caporael's article about ergotism, she talks a little about other possibilities and fraud is one of them. Caporael has a hard time accepting it because she believes the symptoms are so severe. In Charles Upham's two volume book, Salem Witchcraft; With an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects, he talks about how it could have been fraud. He suggests that they were very good actresses. The girls could have practiced a long time on bring blood to their face and sending it back again (Upham, 395). He also tells of an incident where the court burned a puppet in front of the afflicted girls. The outcome was this: "A bit of one of the rags being set on fire (the afflicted) cried out dreadfully (that they were burned)" (Upham, 216). In the examinations and trials, the afflicted would convulse or cry out when the accused would perform certain behavior. This suggests that they were doing it on cue. It is suggested that the girls would take socials cues from each other, as well. One girl would say that she saw the specter of a witch and another girl would start having a fit. The fits would cease whenever a Biblical passage was read or the accused touched them (Spanos, 1391).
The possibility that this was based on grudges between families is possible, but hard to determine. There were pro-Parris and anti-Parris groups in Salem. I was under the impression that the Putnam's were in the anti-Parris group, but that has been questioned. Caporael states, "The difficulty with linking factionalism to the witch trials is that supporters of Parris were also prosecuted while some non-supporters were among the most vociferous accusers" (Caporael, 23). This is a topic that I will have to research further.
In Linnda Caporael's article about ergotism, she talks a little about other possibilities and fraud is one of them. Caporael has a hard time accepting it because she believes the symptoms are so severe. In Charles Upham's two volume book, Salem Witchcraft; With an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects, he talks about how it could have been fraud. He suggests that they were very good actresses. The girls could have practiced a long time on bring blood to their face and sending it back again (Upham, 395). He also tells of an incident where the court burned a puppet in front of the afflicted girls. The outcome was this: "A bit of one of the rags being set on fire (the afflicted) cried out dreadfully (that they were burned)" (Upham, 216). In the examinations and trials, the afflicted would convulse or cry out when the accused would perform certain behavior. This suggests that they were doing it on cue. It is suggested that the girls would take socials cues from each other, as well. One girl would say that she saw the specter of a witch and another girl would start having a fit. The fits would cease whenever a Biblical passage was read or the accused touched them (Spanos, 1391).
The possibility that this was based on grudges between families is possible, but hard to determine. There were pro-Parris and anti-Parris groups in Salem. I was under the impression that the Putnam's were in the anti-Parris group, but that has been questioned. Caporael states, "The difficulty with linking factionalism to the witch trials is that supporters of Parris were also prosecuted while some non-supporters were among the most vociferous accusers" (Caporael, 23). This is a topic that I will have to research further.