Witch trials like those described in Arthur Miller's classic play The Crucible sound absurd to most of us today.
However, although the play is fictionalized, it is based on real cases that occurred in Salem during the late 1600s. Those accused of using evil spirits were put through various tests that authorities seemed to make up on the spot. More often than not, they were designed to find the so-called witch guilty regardless of any logic.
There have been countless studies of the types of tests used back during those chaotic time, but I hadn't heard of more than half of the crazy examples listed below. It's mind-blowing to know they were actually used during witch trials to determine a person's fate.
Take a look back at the most bizarre tests people were subjected to during these witch trials, and be sure to SHARE this look back at history with all of your friends on Facebook!
1. Baking A Witch Cake
Girls who were supposedly afflicted by a witch's wrath would urinate in the rye mixture for this cake, then feed it to a dog.
According to a report on ThoughtCo., the idea was similar to voodoo dolls. They believed a guilty witch would scream out in pain as her essence was transferred to the girls and then to the dogs chowing down on the cake's special ingredient.
2. Examining A "Witch's Teat"
The phrase "cold as a witch's teat" actually refers to any unusual moles or markings on an accused witch's body.
Investigators would poke the spot with a needle and if the subject didn't react, it was seen as evidence they were unnatural, or "cold and unfeeling."
3. Having Animals In Their Presence
Not only could anyone with a house pet be accused of using those animals as their "familiars," but if a rat or even a fly wandered into their cell while they awaited trial, it could be seen as them using dark forces to summon the critter by their side to do their bidding.
4. Reciting The Lord's Prayer
The accused witch would have to remember the whole thing and utter it flawlessly when given this test.
Even the smallest stutter could have been considered enough to convict someone of witchcraft.
5. The Touch Test
Someone claiming to be afflicted by a spell cast on them would often exhibit physical twitches and fits as proof.
If they happened to calm down when the accused witch touched them, it could be seen as the evil spirit returning to its original source.
6. The Swimming Test
There wasn't actually any swimming involved in this test. Instead, the accused witch would be bound by her hands and feet and tossed into a nearby body of water.
The idea was that an evil spirit would reject the baptismal action and therefore float to the top. They occasionally tied a rope around the person's midsection to prevent actual drowning.
7. Forcing To Recite Incantations
This was most infamously used in the case of the "Witches of Warboys," when the Throckmorton family accused a woman named Alice Samuel of casting spells on them.
After Alice was forced to recite "As I am a witch… so I charge the devil to let Mistress Throckmorton come out of her fit at this present," the family was "cured" and she was deemed guilty.
8. Weighing Against Stack Of Bibles
This very unreliable and easily swayed method pitted accused witches against a random number of Bibles.
If they weighed more or less than the stack placed on the opposite side of a scale, they would be found guilty.
9. Being Married More Than Once
Several older women with two or more husbands were accused of bewitching their deceased spouses, regardless of any actual cause of death, in order to marry again.
Were you surprised by any of the methods people actually used during witch trials back in the day?
Be sure to SHARE the shocking look back at history with your friends on Facebook.
