Salem witch trials: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:22, 14 May 2026

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft, in and around the town of Salem in Massachusetts, British America, during the period between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the deaths of 20 people, men and women alike of varying ages.

History[edit | edit source]

Start of the trials[edit | edit source]

In February 1692, a young girl, Dorothy Osborne, inexplicably became sick with an illness no one could explain, having extremely disturbing symptoms. This situation attracted the attention of Samuel Parris, the Village Minister of Salem and a British Templar, who believed that the illness was the result of exposure to an unidentified Piece of Eden.^[1]

For unknown reasons, Parris then pushed his daughter Betty and niece Abigail Williams to fake having the same seizures, which started a mass hysteria in the town as other women also became "ill". The Puritan Church declared that the illness was the work of the Devil and witches. Neighbors began accusing each other of witchcraft, and people were arrested and tortured, often for something as futile as a wrong look towards someone else.^[1]

Assassin involvement[edit | edit source]

In June, the Templar William Stoughton was appointed as the chief magistrate of the court tasked with judging the individuals accused of being witches.^[1] On 10 June, the British Assassin Tom Stoddard arrived in Salem, having been sent by the Brotherhood to investigate the rumors of a Piece of Eden in the area, and witnessed the hanging of Bridget Bishop, the first victim of the witch trials.^[2]

Stoddard soon met Jennifer Querry, a nurse and Assassin present in Salem to gather information on the situation. She informed Stoddard of the Templars' involvement in the witch trials, after which the two infiltrated a warehouse where the Templars kept the people accused of witchcraft, hoping one of them would lead them to the Piece of Eden. The two Assassins found the prisoners, including Dorothy and a mute boy named David, the former of whom offered to tell them the location of the artifact.^[1]

Stoddard freed Dorothy and David from their cells, but then threatened the former with a knife. This caused the girl to briefly become possessed by an unknown entity, which led the Assassins to realize that there was no Piece of Eden in Salem; Dorothy herself was the "artifact" they had been looking for.^[1]

Unfortunately, the Templars had expected Stoddard's arrival and planned to use his legendary tracking skills to find the Piece of Eden for their own ends. Against Parris' protests, Stoughton manipulated a crowd of Puritan villagers into thinking Stoddard was the Devil incarnate and ordered them to find and capture the Assassin.^[1] After fending off several villagers at the warehouse, Stoddard, Querry, Dorothy, and David fled into the swamp, but Querry was shot during their escape, slowing her down and allowing the Templars to follow her to find the others.^[3]

Departure of the Assassins and Templars[edit | edit source]

Once captured, Stoddard and Querry were taken to be tortured and interrogated by the Templars, who wanted to know whether Dorothy or David was the "oracle". When Stoughton threatened to torture David, Querry became concerned and offered to give the Templars the information they wanted.^[4]

At that moment, however, Dorothy was possessed by the Isu Consus, who delivered a cryptic message. Querry took advantage of the distraction to break free and strangle a guard, only for Stoughton to fatally shoot her moments later.^[4]

As Stoughton announced his plans to use Dorothy to create more "oracles", the girl, overcome with guilt for Querry's death, killed herself by walking into a fire. Enraged, Stoughton tried to kill Stoddard, blaming him for the loss of his "oracle" and ranting that he would find another one even if he had to persecute every woman in the colonies. However, before he could shoot the Assassin, Parris interfered and shot Stoughton in the shoulder.^[4]

Disagreeing with his fellow Templar's ways of violence, which clashed with the Order's goals, Parris declared that there had been enough bloodshed and that their mission in Salem was done. He then released Stoddard and David, and gave the Assassin the keys to the cells holding the captive women so he could free them. Stoddard did so, after which he and David departed Salem and buried Querry and Dorothy.^[4]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

The execution of Bridget Bishop

Appearances[edit | edit source]

Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)

References[edit | edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Assassin's Creed – Issue #2
↑ Assassin's Creed – Issue #1
↑ Assassin's Creed – Issue #3
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Assassin's Creed – Issue #4

[AC_2-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 ^1.4 ^1.5 Assassin's Creed – Issue #2

[AC_1-2] Assassin's Creed – Issue #1

[AC_3-3] Assassin's Creed – Issue #3

[AC_4-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Assassin's Creed – Issue #4

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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-{{Era|CS}}
+{{Era|Timeline}}{{WP-REAL}}
-{{WP-REAL}}
-{{Stub}}
 {{Event Infobox
-|prev = [[English Civil War]]
+|prev = [[Great Fire of London]]
-|next = [[War of the Spanish Succession]] / [[Golden Age of Piracy]]
+|next = [[Great Recoinage of 1696]]
-|image = AC2015 Bridgetbishopdeath.png
+|image = AC - Salem witch trials.jpg
-|timeframe = 1692 – 1693
+|timeframe = [[Age of Enlightenment]]
-|place = [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|British America]]
+|date = February 1692 – May 1693
+|place = [[Salem]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|British America]]
+|outcome = Executions of 20 people accused of witchcraft
+|participants= *[[Samuel Parris]]
+*[[William Stoughton]]
+*[[Thomas Stoddard]]
+*[[Jennifer Querry]]
+*[[Dorothy Osborne]]
+*[[David (Salem)|David]]
+*{{Wiki|Betty Parris}}
+*[[Abigail Williams]]
+*[[Bridget Bishop]]
+*[[Sarah Good]]
+*[[Sarah Wildes]]
+*{{Wiki|Elizabeth Howe}}
+*[[Rebecca Nurse]]
+*{{Wiki|Susannah Martin}}
 }}
-The '''Salem witch trials''' were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women, and all but one by hanging. Five others (including two infant children) died in prison.
+The '''Salem witch trials''' were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft, in and around the town of [[Salem]] in [[Massachusetts]], [[United States|British America]], during the period between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the deaths of 20 people, men and women alike of varying ages.
-== Context & Origins of the Trials ==
+==History==
-Belief in the supernatural–and specifically in the devil’s practice of giving certain humans (witches) the power to harm others in return for their loyalty–had emerged in Europe as early as the 14th century, and was widespread in colonial New England. In addition, the harsh realities of life in the rural Puritan community of Salem Village (which is the site of present-day Danvers, Massachusetts) at the time included the after-effects of a British war with France in the American colonies in 1689, a recent smallpox epidemic, fears of attacks from neighboring Native American tribes and a longstanding rivalry with the more affluent community of Salem Town (which is the site of present-day Salem). Amid these simmering tensions, the Salem witch trials would be fueled by residents’ suspicions of and resentment toward their neighbors, as well as their fear of outsiders.
+===Start of the trials===
+In February 1692, a young girl, [[Dorothy Osborne]], inexplicably became sick with an illness no one could explain, having extremely disturbing symptoms. This situation attracted the attention of [[Samuel Parris]], the Village Minister of Salem and a [[British Rite of the Templar Order|British Templar]], who believed that the illness was the result of exposure to an unidentified [[Piece of Eden]].<ref name="AC 2">''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 2 (issue)|Issue #2]]</ref>
-The first known incident began in January of 1692, when nine-year-old Elizabeth “Betty” Parris and eleven- year-old Abigail Williams, who were the daughter and niece of Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem Village began having fits, including violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming. After a local doctor, William Griggs, diagnosed both girls with casss of bewitchment, other young girls in the community began to exhibit similar symptoms. These girls included  Ann Putnam Jr., Mercy Lewis, Elizabeth Hubbard, Mary Walcott and Mary Warren. By February, there were arrest warrants were issued for the Parris’ Caribbean slave, Tituba, along with two other women–the homeless beggar Sarah Good and the poor, elderly Sarah Osborn–whom the girls accused of bewitching them.
+For unknown reasons, Parris then pushed his daughter {{Wiki|Betty Parris|Betty}} and niece [[Abigail Williams]] to fake having the same seizures, which started a mass hysteria in the town as other women also became "ill". The [[Puritans|Puritan]] Church declared that the illness was the work of the Devil and witches. Neighbors began accusing each other of witchcraft, and people were arrested and tortured, often for something as futile as a wrong look towards someone else.<ref name="AC 2"/>
-== The Hysteria Spreads ==
+===Assassin involvement===
-The three accused witches were brought before the magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne and questioned, even as their accusers appeared in the courtroom in a grand display of spasms, contortions, screaming and writhing. Though Good and Osborn denied their guilt, Tituba confessed. Likely seeking to save herself from certain conviction by acting as an informer, she claimed there were other witches acting alongside her in service of the devil against the Puritans. As hysteria spread through the community and beyond into the rest of Massachusetts, a number of others were accused, including Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse–both regarded as upstanding members of church and community–and the four-year-old daughter of Sarah Good.
+In June, the [[Templars|Templar]] [[William Stoughton]] was appointed as the chief magistrate of the court tasked with judging the individuals accused of being witches.<ref name="AC 2"/> On 10 June, the [[British Brotherhood of Assassins|British Assassin]] [[Thomas Stoddard|Tom Stoddard]] arrived in Salem, having been sent by the Brotherhood to investigate the rumors of a Piece of Eden in the area, and witnessed the hanging of [[Bridget Bishop]], the first victim of the witch trials.<ref name="AC 1">''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 1|Issue #1]]</ref>
-Like Tituba, several accused “witches” confessed and named still others, and the trials soon began to overwhelm the local justice system. In May 1692, the newly appointed governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) on witchcraft cases for Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties. Presided over by judges including Hathorne, Samuel Sewall and William Stoughton, the court handed down its first conviction, against Bridget Bishop, on June 2; she was hanged eight days later on what would become known as Gallows Hill in Salem Town. Five more people were hanged that July; five in August and eight more in September. In addition, seven other accused witches died in jail, while the elderly Giles Corey, who was Martha’s husband, was pressed to death by stones after he refused to plead guilty after being accused of witchcraft.
+[[File:ACComic Salem Prisoners.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Stoddard and Querry finding the people imprisoned by the Templars]]
+Stoddard soon met [[Jennifer Querry]], a nurse and [[Assassins|Assassin]] present in Salem to gather information on the situation. She informed Stoddard of the Templars' involvement in the witch trials, after which the two infiltrated a warehouse where the Templars kept the people accused of witchcraft, hoping one of them would lead them to the Piece of Eden. The two Assassins found the prisoners, including Dorothy and a mute boy named [[David (Salem)|David]], the former of whom offered to tell them the location of the artifact.<ref name="AC 2" />
-In June of 1692, another Templar [[William Stoughton]] was appointed as the chief magistrate of the court tasked with judging the individuals accused of being witches. On 10 June, the [[Assassins|Assassin]] [[Thomas Stoddard|Tom Stoddard]], who had just arrived in Salem, witnessed the execution of [[Bridget Bishop]], the first victim of the witch trials and the Templars. With [[Jennifer Querry]], a nurse and Assassin present in Salem to gather information on the situation, Stoddard infiltrated the place where the Templar kept the people accused of practicing witchcraft, to discover if one of them had a clue on the location of the Piece of Eden. The two Assassins found the prisoners and Dorothy, who told them that she knew where the artifact was, but they later discovered that there were no artifact and that the young girl was the one with special psychic abilities.
+Stoddard freed Dorothy and David from their cells, but then threatened the former with a [[Short blade|knife]]. This caused the girl to briefly become possessed by an unknown entity, which led the Assassins to realize that there was no Piece of Eden in Salem; Dorothy herself was the "artifact" they had been looking for.<ref name="AC 2" />
-Unfortunately, the arrival of Stoddard had been forseen by the Templars, who planned to use his legendary skills as an artifact hunter, by letting him find the artifact before taking it from him. Stoughton then used the mass hysteria he created with Parris to counter the Assassins, by sending a crowd after Stoddard, by branding him as the Devil in flesh and telling the populace to bring the man back to him.
+Unfortunately, the Templars had expected Stoddard's arrival and planned to use his legendary tracking skills to find the Piece of Eden for their own ends. Against Parris' protests, Stoughton manipulated a crowd of Puritan villagers into thinking Stoddard was the Devil incarnate and ordered them to find and capture the Assassin.<ref name="AC 2" /> After fending off several villagers at the warehouse, Stoddard, Querry, Dorothy, and David fled into the swamp, but Querry was shot during their escape, slowing her down and allowing the Templars to follow her to find the others.<ref name="AC 3">''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 3 (issue)|Issue #3]]</ref>
-They eventually caught up to the Assassins in a swamp and Stoughton later tortured the Assassins for information and threatened to hurt the mute boy [[David (Salem)|David]], secretly Querry's son. The worried Querry then offered to give them information when [[Consus]] once again possessed Dorothy, much to the glee of Stoughton. After he killed Querry who was trying to escape, the Templar threatened Stoddard and revealed that he was planning to experiment on the captured women to create more oracles.
+===Departure of the Assassins and Templars===
+[[File:AC - Templars torturing Tom and Jennifer.png|thumb|240px|The Templars torturing Stoddard and Querry]]
+Once captured, Stoddard and Querry were taken to be tortured and interrogated by the Templars, who wanted to know whether Dorothy or David was the "oracle". When Stoughton threatened to torture David, Querry became concerned and offered to give the Templars the information they wanted.<ref name="AC 4">''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|Assassin's Creed]]'' – [[Assassin's Creed 4 (issue)|Issue #4]]</ref>
-However, Dorothy, hearing Stoughton's words and overcome with guilt, killed herself in the fire. The enraged Stoughton tried to kill Stoddard, blaming him for the loss of his oracle and ranted on that he will find another even if he would try every woman in the colonies as a witch when his fellow Templar Samuel Parris interfered and shot Stoughton in the shoulder. Parris then freed David and Stoddard as he clearly objected Stoughton's ways of violence.
+At that moment, however, Dorothy was possessed by the [[Isu]] [[Consus]], who delivered a cryptic message. Querry took advantage of the distraction to break free and strangle a [[Soldier|guard]], only for Stoughton to fatally shoot her moments later.<ref name="AC 4"/>
-== Conclusion of the Trials ==
+As Stoughton announced his plans to use Dorothy to create more "oracles", the girl, overcome with guilt for Querry's death, killed herself by walking into a fire. Enraged, Stoughton tried to kill Stoddard, blaming him for the loss of his "oracle" and ranting that he would find another one even if he had to persecute every woman in the colonies. However, before he could shoot the Assassin, Parris interfered and shot Stoughton in the shoulder.<ref name="AC 4"/>
-Though the respected minister Cotton Mather had warned of the dubious value of spectral evidence (or testimony about dreams and visions), his concerns went largely unheeded during the Salem witch trials. Increase Mather, president of Harvard College (and Cotton’s father) later joined his son in urging that the standards of evidence for witchcraft must be equal to those for any other crime, concluding that “It would better that ten suspected witches may escape than one innocent person be condemned.” Amid waning public support for the trials, Governor Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October and mandated that its successor disregard spectral evidence. Trials continued with dwindling intensity until early 1693, and by that May Phips had pardoned and released all those in prison on witchcraft charges.
-In January 1697, the Massachusetts General Court declared a day of fasting for the tragedy of the Salem witch trials; the court later deemed the trials unlawful, and the leading justice Samuel Sewall publicly apologized for his role in the process. The damage to the community lingered, however, even after Massachusetts Colony passed legislation restoring the good names of the condemned and providing financial restitution to their heirs in 1711. Indeed, the vivid and painful legacy of the Salem witch trials endured well into the 20th century, when Arthur Miller dramatized the events of 1692 in his play “The Crucible” in 1953, using them as an allegory for the anti-Communist “witch hunts” led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s.
+[[File:AC - Samuel releases Tom and David.png|thumb|250px|left|Parris releasing Stoddard and David]]
+Disagreeing with his fellow Templar's ways of violence, which clashed with the Order's [[New World Order|goals]], Parris declared that there had been enough bloodshed and that their mission in Salem was done. He then released Stoddard and David, and gave the Assassin the keys to the cells holding the captive women so he could free them. Stoddard did so, after which he and David departed Salem and buried Querry and Dorothy.<ref name="AC 4"/>
 ==Gallery==
-<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" spacing="small" widths="180">
+<gallery captionalign="center" position="center" widths="180">
-Salem witch trials.jpg|An 1876 illustration of a court proceeding during the trials
+AC - Execution of Bridget Bishop.png|The execution of Bridget Bishop
 </gallery>
-==Reference==
+==Appearances==
-*''[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)]]''
+*[[Assassin's Creed (Titan Comics)|''Assassin's Creed'' (Titan Comics)]]
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
 {{Timeline}}
-{{TitanComics}}
+{{ACComic}}
+<!--[zh:塞勒姆审巫案]-->
 [[Category:Timeline]]
 [[Category:Templar conspiracies]]
+[[Category:Assassin-Templar War]]

Salem witch trials: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:22, 14 May 2026

Contents

History[edit | edit source]

Start of the trials[edit | edit source]

Assassin involvement[edit | edit source]

Departure of the Assassins and Templars[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Appearances[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Navigation menu

Salem witch trials: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:22, 14 May 2026

History[edit | edit source]

Start of the trials[edit | edit source]

Assassin involvement[edit | edit source]

Departure of the Assassins and Templars[edit | edit source]

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Appearances[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

Navigation menu

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