What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?

In the year of 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, the devil took the souls of weak-willed people, which were wizards and witches. This event was called the Salem Witch Trials, which consisted of numerous people allegedly practicing witchcraft. To prevent the witchcraft they hunted and tried the accused. The punishment for practicing witchcraft was death. Every historian had a different thought on what caused the event. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum suggested that the most reliable form of evidence was supernatural strengths, weaknesses or unusual physical characteristics. The Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 was caused by Puritans belief of the devil, Bridget Bishop spreading the practice of witchcraft to others, and Cotton Mather’s story of the sermon and manuscript.
One cause of the witch trial …show more content…
“These evil spirits are all around” (Doc C). This piece of evidence shows that the spirits roamed freely on the streets. “The house of Christian, where our God has had his constant worship, have undergone the annoyance of evil spirits” (Doc C). This second piece of evidence is showing that even those who God told to come to Heaven were becoming some of Satan’s projects. This evidence help explain the hysteria because Mather’s was a Puritan Church leader, which made all who follow his footsteps become to believe.
The three main causes of the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692 were the Puritans belief against the devil, Bridget Bishop spreading the practice of witchcraft to others, and Cotton Mather’s story of the sermon and manuscript. Puritans were devoted to to fundamentalist. Bridget Bishop was a young lady who thought she could spread the evil to everyone. Cotton Mather made the Puritans freak out about the evil spirits roaming freely on the