Just because the witch trials ended, the suffering never ended

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
November 18, 2024

There are some things no one can take away from you. No enemy on this earth can take away your free will. No one has the power to remove your thoughts. No one can control what you believe. No one can force you to surrender all hope. You are the only one in control of all of that.

What you think can only be changed by you. Do you realize how much power you have to change other people's thoughts? If you dare to speak to those you disagree with, and both of you are willing to listen, you can stop seeing one another as the enemy.

Many things divide us because people seem too focused on our differences. Contemplate how some people use their free religious choice in an attempt to control what you make the free will choice to believe. That isn't new. Nothing we see is new.

I find myself shaking my head so many times during the day I need IcyHot to ease the pain in my neck.

Writing the First Witch of Salem, the fourth book in the Ministers Of The Mystery Series, it became clear how people used fear to gain power. Once they figured that out, the added hatred provided someone to blame for their miseries. 

Harsh winter; blame a witch. Crops fail; blame a witch. If someone gets sick or dies, blame a witch. It worked out so well for those in charge; they put 300 people in prison and took their possessions. They had an enemy list. When they couldn't get someone to point fingers at their enemies, they tortured and threatened people until they received the testimony they sought.

What a master plan! It twisted and corrupted the Puritans' faith, coupled with fear of retribution to prevent anyone from speaking the truth, and it worked.

One wonders what would have happened if the people of Salem Village and the town of Salem had stood up against all of it when the witch accusations began.

It wasn't as if they had no example of how wrong it was to do what they were doing. Connecticut beat them to it. They hung Alse Young in 1647. It took them until 1669 to change their minds.

John Winthrop Jr. became Connecticut's governor and chief magistrate in 1657 and a few years thereafter was given the critically important assignment of attaining an official royal charter from King Charles II. This charter established Connecticut as an independent colony and amongst other privileges, granted Winthrop the right to pardon offenders. Winthrop was able to overturn the conviction of Elizabeth Seager of Hartford at her third witchcraft trial in 1666 and save Katherine Harrison from a death sentence in 1669. Harrison's trial was notable in that it changed the way evidence is used in Connecticut, including determining that there should be a plurality of witnesses, at least two for every event. Additionally, Winthrop lead the way in determining that the burden of proof should be on the accusers rather than the accused and he lobbied to dismiss the use of spectral evidence (evidence based on dreams or visions). Over time Winthrop used his alchemist background to challenge the ideas of "diabolical magic".

Some courageous people in Massachusetts were willing to speak the truth, but there were so few that retaliation with accusations against them silenced others. Rev. Francis Dane was a preacher from Andover. His bravery in opposing the witch trials caused members of his family to be charged, and two of them were executed. The people of Salem should have considered what he said, especially since he preached against it long before it happened in Salem.

The sad truth about what happened in Salem was that none of it had to happen. If the people practiced their Christian faith and believed what they claimed they did, they would or should have been willing to do whatever it took to defend those wrongfully charged.

Many aspects of what occurred in Massachusetts over 300 years ago can be associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One that never seems to be noticed is the guilt they felt when the trials stopped, and those held in prison were again among them. They would have spoken about the terror they experienced while being tortured, including children as young as four years old being terrorized.

You may ask how guilt can cause #PTSD. Some only associate it with survivor guilt, but there is a difference. It is also a moral injury. Remorse over what was done to others is powerful.

There is a great deal of overlap between moral injury and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both begin with an event that is often life threatening or harmful to self or others. Guilt and shame are core features of moral injury and are also symptoms of PTSD. The betrayal and loss of trust that could be experienced with moral injury are also common features of PTSD. For example, someone who was assaulted by a loved one may feel betrayed and have difficulty trusting others, whether or not they also suffered moral injury or PTSD.

Think about what they went through watching 19 women and men hanging from ropes on Proctor's Ledge. Think about what they went through when they heard what happened to those who were forgotten while held in four different prisons. Then, think about what it was like for the accusers to have to see those they accused walking freely again while knowing the lies they told came back to haunt them. 

While some remained guilt-free because they had no conscience, many would have felt it in their guilt deeply in their spirits. It was too late to change what they allowed to happen. They made a lame attempt to atone for it by having a day of prayer and repentance. Still, no one was held accountable for what they did to so many innocent people.  Just because the witch trials ended, the suffering never ended.