The Causes of the Salem Witchcraft Hysteria in 1692/ 93

There is no reason for the Salem Witch Craft Trials – at least no instantly understandable one from our modern point of view. The majority of Western civilisation, firstly, would certainly deny magic had any impact on their life and, secondly, would not tolerate such violence as a normal measure of justice. Thus, in order to understand the causes of the events we must try to walk in the villagers’ shoes, explore the historical background. In the seventeenth century, people were still confronted with much more basic threats than just the modern possible lack of self-actualisation.