Salem witch trials
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]
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The execution of Bridget Bishop
Appearances[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
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