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Originally Posted by Cajungator26
He wasn't saying that all of the victims were women, but that the CAUSE of the witch trials was a bunch of old biddies.
Thanks for the info, though... I had no idea about the one that was pressed to death with rocks.  |
And again, he should do a little research-- not because I don't appreciate Timm's sense of humor (I do, Timm, very much!) but because the original accusers were nine-year-old girls, who fell into convulsive fits, and when prodded by their elders, accused a beggar, an old woman and a slave of being witches. It's actually really interesting stuff and worth reading about. Not for nothing Arthur Miller used the Salem Witch Trials in order to comment on McCarthyism in "The Crucible."
One of the theories now is that the hysteria might have begun as a result of a fungus that infected the rye crop that year-- some of the side effects of ingesting this fungus are hallucinations and convulsions.
Here's a link with a fairly brief summary of the trials. It's so-so on info, but reasonably accurate, though there were many more accusers than the three girls:
http://witches.monstrous.com/the_salem_witch_trial.htm