You Would Have Been Hanged in Salem. Here’s Why

In 1692, a village in Massachusetts tried to find a witch by feeding a cake to a dog. Within a year, 19 people were hanged, one man was crushed under stones, and around 200 were accused. The evidence included dreams, screams and moles. Confessing could save your life, and telling the truth could end it. The last conviction was overturned only in 2022. This video looks at how justice worked before "innocent until proven guilty". Chapters 0:00 The witch cake 0:15 A sick house in Salem Village 1:21 The first three accused 3:03 Four kinds of "evidence" 4:29 What if you were accused? 5:54 The court of Oyer and Terminer 7:48 The test that failed, and Giles Corey 9:06 How it ended 9:56 What happened to the girls? 10:16 Apologies, 1711 and 2022 11:49 Justice then and now Which of Salem's four tests would you have failed first? Tell me in the comments. Sources: Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive (University of Virginia); Mary Beth Norton, "In the Devil's Snare"; Stacy Schiff, "The Witches"; Robert Calef, "More Wonders of the Invisible World"; John Hale, "A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft"