Salem Witch Trials

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inner vision" (Miller 1082). and would immediately accuse some individual seen with the devil. At times the afflicted and the accused became so numerous thatno one was safe from suspicion and its consequences. Even those who were active in the prosecutions became objects of suspicion.
Revenge often impelled persons to accuse others who were innocent and when some statement of the accused would move the court and audience in favor of the prisoner. "I saw Goody Osborn with the devil" (Miller 1060). The accuser would declare that they saw the devil standing beside the victim whispering the words in his or her ear. The absurd statement would be believed by the judges. Some, terrified and with the hope of saving their lives or avoiding the horrors of imprisonment, would falsely accuse their friends and relatives, while others moved by the same hopes, would falsely confess themselves to be witches. Many of the accusers and witnesses came forward and published denials of the truth of ...

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