Theories about the causes of the Salem witch trials include hallucinogenic mushrooms, mental disorders, and economic pressures.
However, a fresh scientific one test could identify the true cause of the infamous events in Massachusetts that over 300 years ago resulted in the trial of over 200 people and the execution of 19 by hanging.
The study pointed to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century as a decisive factor. By greatly increasing the dissemination of information, the press helped spread books on “demonology” that fueled fear of witchcraft.
One such book, Malleus Maleficarum (or “The Hammer of Villains”), portrayed witchcraft as a sinister conspiracy against pious society, in contrast to earlier views of witches as isolated rural figures or unwitting peasants.
As the first printed guide for witch hunters, the Malleus Maleficarum made a huge impression. Between 1486 and 1669, 36 editions were printed in Germany alone, sparking witch hunts across Europe. Although the book itself never reached the United States, its ideas spread among European colonists who settled in Massachusetts.
Scientists believe that the message of the Malleus Maleficarum spread quickly through the “spread of ideals” – the adoption of fresh ideas that led people to rethink the world and change their behavior.
This was made possible thanks to the invention of the printing press in 1440 by the German inventor Johann Gutenberg. His work accelerated the spread of knowledge and skills, sparking an intellectual revolution that transformed societies around the world.
Written by Dominican monk Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum was first printed in 1486 and quickly became one of the most widely read books on witchcraft, representing an early form of mass media. Her teachings initially reached educated Europeans, but soon spread to illiterate people through conversation and social interaction.
Eventually, the influence of the Malleus Maleficarum spread to the United States, creating an increased fear of witchcraft that led to widespread persecution.
Although witches have been part of folklore since archaic times, this book's theological explanation of witchcraft, combined with practical advice on investigating, interrogating, and convicting witches, has created unprecedented fear. The result was tens of thousands of deaths worldwide.
According to a study published in Theory and Society, researchers mapped witch hunts in Central Europe from 1400 to 1679 and compared them to where and when the Malleus Maleficarum was printed and distributed. They found that cities closer in time and space to the book's publication were more likely to initiate witchcraft trials.
This study highlights the role of the printing press in spreading fresh perceptions of witchcraft, indirectly contributing to the witch hunts that culminated in the Salem Trials. These trials began when a group of newborn girls from Salem, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.
The resulting hysteria gripped colonial Massachusetts, leading to the first trial in 1692. Bridget Bishop, the first to be convicted, was executed by hanging in June of that year. Within a few months, over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 19 were executed.
Years later, several accusers, mostly teenagers, admitted that they had fabricated the accusations. In 1702, the Massachusetts General Court declared the trials illegal, and by 1711 it had overturned the convictions of 22 victims.
Today, the Salem Witch Trials remain one of the most notorious cases of mass hysteria in colonial America.
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