The townsfolk, in their puritanical mania immediately saw Satan as a reason for the children's behavior. The children quickly found that their words were sharper than knives and strong enough to kill anyone they didn't like. It was like a violent, psychological game for them. As the number of people targeted increased, the remaining townsfolk knew that it was a matter of time before these children targeted them.

As more people were arrested in that small little town, even the accusers had turned against each other. People were afraid to be seen by the girls. They would point out the people they did not like and accuse them of being witches Satan is a mythical figure that was invented by one particular religion to keep its followers perpetually petrified and unable to even consider any other way of life. However, this case shows how such a hoax can backfire and cause people to kill each other.

Although many people assumed that the dark ages were over, there are still pockets of the world where man turns against his brother or sister with hate in his heart and fear in his mind. Recently, this year (2008) we have had incidents in Africa, Saudi Arabia where someone accusesothers of witchcraft and the people immediately respond by arresting them!

As we can see, it was the fear of the people and the lack of real faith in each other that led to this macabre plot that killed so many innocent women and children. Even though Anne Putnam, one of the accusers later recanted her story and blamed it all on the Devil (of course!J), most of the accused who were jailed either did not survive or lived the rest of t heir live in poverty, sickness and mediocrity.

These incidents increase the importance of having a faith that believes in the goodness of people and the common thread that runs through all of humanity. It is up to each one of us to personally take that as a goal and work towards bringing the world together with love and joy.

Just Reading about the Salem Witch trials makes my heart weep for the loss of those innocent souls who were killed in various ways by those who claimed to be righteous and on God's side. Only the ones who have true faith know that God doesn't condone killing his creation for any reason. Unfortunately, however, there are many who claim to know God and act like they do not even have a soul.

To get the full "Salem Witchcraft Trials" article you'll need to download it here.