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The Salem Witch trials was a period of time in Salem, Massachusetts, where people were accused and prosecuted for witchcraft. The accused were taken to court, and the ones found guilty would be condemned to death.

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The Salem Witch trials had over 200 accused, 30 of which were found guilty, and 19 sent to execution. The trials lasted for 15 months, starting from February 1692 and ending May 1693.

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The youngest to be prosecuted for witchcraft was four year old Dorothy Good. She was jailed for eight months while her mother, Sarah Good, was convicted to death by hanging.

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During the trials, there were many "tests" bestowed upon the ones suspected of witchcraft. The tests they used were based on the witch trials in Europe during the medieval era. However, the accused would go through many tests, and said tests did not stop until they got one wrong. There was essentially no way to prove yourself innocent.

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The witch cake test, for example, had the accused bake a cake laced with bodily fluids, and then feed it to a dog. If the dog became ill, they were guilty. The touch test had the accused witch touch the victim, and if the victim felt pain, the accused was guilty. Accusers took this test to their advantage by lying. The weight test was the easiest to pass. If you were heavier than a bible, you were innocent. However, if you passed this test, you were just given a new one.

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Since evidence against the witches were so little, Spectral evidence was implemented. This was when victims reported seeing the accused in their spirit form. They could say that they were harmed spiritually. This was the most used evidence in trials, as the "spiritual attacks" against the victim was used as proof. Eventually, this form of evidence was outlawed, pardoning those convicted who had not already been hanged.

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Many of the victims and the accusers were children. The first accusers, Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, were 9 and 11 years old. The oldest accuser was 20 years old. Many accused also turned on each other, as they believed they would be spared if someone else took the blame.

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The Governor at the time, William Phips, did not indulge in the Salem trials very much. His Lieutenant Governor, William Stoughton, had been in charge while Phips was defending Maine against the French and Native American incursion. When Phips returned from Maine, he found out that 20 had been executed, and his wife had been accused of witchcraft. Because of this, he discontinued the use of spectral evidence in court. This pardoned and released all the condemned witches by May 1693.

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If you go to Salem today, there is a memorial to the 20 victims who were killed in the Witch Trials. On the memorial, you can find the names, the method of execution, the date of the execution, and transcripts taken from the court, in which they express their innocence. 