Between January and October 1692, the Salem witch trials produced how many deaths — and by what methods?
Nineteen people were hanged on Gallows Hill between 10 June and 22 September 1692. **Giles Corey**, the only American ever to die under *peine forte et dure* (heavy stones laid on the chest until death), was pressed to death on 19 September after refusing to enter a plea — he wanted his property to pass to his sons rather than be forfeit to the colony. Several additional accused died in prison awaiting trial. **No one was burned at the stake**: burning was a European punishment for witchcraft and heresy; the English-American colonial courts hanged. The trials ended in October 1692 when Governor William Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
Read the full story →The standard 17th-century explanation for the Salem witch trials was demonic possession. The standard modern alternative is ergot poisoning from contaminated rye. Both theories have problems. The 1976 paper that revived the ergot theory has been argued about ever since.