Salem Witch Trials

In episode 456 of Kate's Podcast, Abigail Williams calls to talk about the Salem Witch Trials. Abigail feels guilty for causing John Proctor's death. Kate decides to study the trials and learns that over 200 people were accused of witchcraft in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Abigail, Reverend Parris's niece and John Proctor's servant, denies participating in witchcraft but suspects Parris questions her due to her affair with Proctor. Betty accuses Abigail of witchcraft, leading to more accusations. Elizabeth Proctor is accused after Parris finds a needle in an Abigail puppet. A trial is held, and Proctor admits to witchcraft and is hung. Kate is unsure who is to blame and questions the authenticity of the possessed claims. Welcome back to episode 456 of Kate's Podcast. I got a call from Abigail Williams in 1701 to do a podcast on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. I didn't know anything about the trials, nor anything about Abigail Williams, but she said that she felt bad for a man named John Proctor that was hung and killed because of her. I had lots of time on my hands, so I decided to study this interesting case of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. I learned a little background information about the Salem Witch Trials. I learned that the Salem Witch Trials occurred in Massachusetts between early 1692 and mid-1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, which meant they were practicing the devil's magic. Before I get to everything with Abigail Williams, let me give you a little background information about Abigail and her relationships. Keep this in the back of your head. Abigail is a 17-year-old girl who is the niece of Reverend Parris and cousin of Betty Parris. Abigail was also John and Elizabeth Proctor's servant, two very important relationships. I called Abigail to hear how it all started. Well, it all started when my uncle, Reverend Parris, found me and Betty and Tituba dancing in the forest outside of Salem at midnight. Betty became ill after this night, and the town doctor, Griggs, thought that witchcraft might have been why she was sick. What I got from this was that Parris said that he saw her and Betty dancing like sinners. Tituba, who was Parris's slave, was casting spells over a fire. He said he also saw a female running naked through the forest. Abigail, did you say that you were participating in witchcraft? No, I didn't say that. I denied it. But Parris thought I was lying. Well, why does he think this? I don't know. It must be because I had an affair with John Proctor while being a servant for him and his wife. John would never admit to it, but it definitely happened. Pause right there. Elizabeth Proctor was a very respected woman in Salem, and she didn't let Abigail work for them, so that must be why Parris questioned Abigail. I would be suspicious of her, too. We couldn't dance in Salem, so we had to show our love and desire in the woods. We're not allowed to embrace our sexuality and desire inside Salem, so we're forced to do it somewhere else. Betty ended up waking up, and she accused me of drinking chicken blood and casting a spell on Elizabeth Proctor. I told them to say that they had only danced, that Tituba raised Ruth's sisters from the dead, and that nothing else happened. It took many people to wake her. Hale, who's another reverend, had to examine her and tell people that the devil may not be within her. She couldn't have been just sick. Throughout all this, I only wanted John Proctor. He knows what he did, and he knew that he loved me. He would never admit to it. He was messing with my brain. We then really didn't want to be accused, so we started naming off all the people we saw with the devil. Elizabeth Proctor freaked out as well, because she was accused. So I figured out that Reverend Parris came into the Proctor's house and found a needle in the abdomen of a puppet of Abigail Williams, and this led Abigail to accuse Elizabeth of witchcraft. Elizabeth then brought Mary Warren downstairs to see Reverend Parris. Mary Warren told the reverend that she made the doll while in court and stuck the needle in it herself. I decided to call someone whose name I kept hearing, Elizabeth Proctor. I hate Abigail Williams. Abigail charged me with murder, and she only wanted to take my man. Abigail accused my spirit of stabbing a needle into a puppet's back. How dare she? She's full of lies and is the reason for my husband's death. She couldn't accuse me of witchcraft because I was pregnant at the time. They had to at least give me my nine months so my baby could live. That did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong either. Elizabeth seemed to play a very important role in the story. After finding a puppet, Elizabeth being accused of murder, and the girls being accused of witchcraft, a trial was held to figure out this nonsense. I can't believe all this happened. People were being accused left and right of witchcraft. If people didn't want to be accused, they could be let go if they said they saw someone else dancing with the devil. If you can't already tell, there are lots of layers to this story. Many people thought that we were faking being with the devil. They thought that we were just girls dancing in the forest having fun. I denied the charge of Mary Warren. You don't really need to know her. She's not important. All you need to know is that she was lying. I didn't want to be hung. I didn't want to admit to witchcraft. And I didn't want to die. After all the trials and all the accusations was when the reason why Abigail called me came to be. John Proctor admitted to witchcraft. He was hung because of me. I should have admitted to it. It was all my fault. He was the hero. He was the most loyal. And he didn't want to lie to kill more people. I am the cause of many murders. What are my thoughts on this? I truly don't know. I think that Abigail should have admitted to what she had done. But I really don't think it's all her fault. I think John Proctor should have strongly admitted to the relationship that the two of them had while Abigail was a servant. I think it was all fake though. How can one self believe that they are possessed by the devil?