Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at
2:36 pm
Halloween has many iconic figures such as witches, cats, pumpkins and vampires. Tales of witches have been around for years and years. Witches were said to have used their magical broomsticks to attend parties hosted by the devil on Halloween night.
Superstition & Witch Craft
Years ago people were quite superstitious about things such as black cats and witches. One such tale involves placing your clothing on backwards and then walking backwards on All Hallows Eve which might lead to you seeing a witch at the stroke of midnight on Halloween. Years ago it was thought that witches had the power to cast evil spells on the unsuspecting that could cause great harm and misfortune. Legend also has it that witches worshiped the devil.
Also, one superstition said that one way to tell if someone were a witch was to throw them into the water. If they floated, then they were a witch. If they drowned, then they were not.
Witch Persecutions
History involving witchcraft has had a long, bloody history, probably from man’s earliest history to the late 1700’s. The amount of deaths estimated range from a few hundred thousand to several million. Most of the persecutions were in Europe but also spread to the New World.
The accused were often the old, unattractive and the disliked. Most, but not all, were women.
When someone in a village fell under bad circumstances, they would oftentimes find someone to blame. They sometimes believed that the person had cast a spell upon them and caused them grief. Another reason someone might have accused another person of witchcraft would be that they were trying to save themselves from being accused.
In some circumstances, the accusations were so widespread that the populations of entire villages were nearly wiped out. Sometimes, entire families were killed as well.
Once accused of witchcraft, victims were usually tried in court and/or tortured so that a confession could be obtained. They could also be banished, imprisoned, and executed for their “crimes.” Although many victims were executed by methods such as decapitation and fire, some died during torture. These practices varied according to the time period and region.
In the New World from 1647 to 1768, thirty-seven people were brought before the court for charges of witchcraft, 25 of which died during the infamous Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Nineteen were executed for the crime of witchcraft and one person was crushed to death for refusing to enter a plea of guilty.
