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Four Enduring Myths About the Salem Witch Trials
Fire burn and cauldron bubble
Depending on who you are, the word “Salem” will bring different things to mind. A Bible scholar might think of the original name of Jerusalem in the book of Genesis. A horror novel fan might think of Stephen King’s book ’Salem’s Lot. A smoker who enjoys menthol may envision Salem cigarettes. But for most of us the word “Salem” immediately conjures (pun intended) the Salem Witch Trials.
The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are easily the most famous thing about the Massachusetts town 331 years later. But how much of what we know about them is history and how much is myth? Let’s look at four of the most common myths.
1. All the witches were burned. The first and most prevalent myth about the Salem Witch Trials is that the convicted so-called witches were all burned to death. This is a common misconception that even made it into the Neil Gaiman/Terry Pratchett novel Good Omens, but none of the alleged witches were ever executed by bonfire. This might have happened if the witch scare had happened in Quebec, which was a French colony, because in France at the time convicted witches were indeed burned. In England, however, witches were hanged, and Massachusetts was an English colony.
