36 The Pseudoscience Behind Witch Trials

Introduction

Tens of thousands of people, the majority women, were tried and executed under the false claim of being a witch from 1450-1750 in Europe (Brand, 2022). These witch hunts persecuted women and other ostracized individuals and exploited groupthink. This trend spread across the globe and into The United States in the particularly cold and wet winter of 1962 and 1963 with The Salem Witch Trials. In a time of starvation and despair claims of women acting crazy spread like wildfire and they became the scapegoats of society. These and other witch trials use pseudoscience to validate their persecution of women as witches and control the public.

The tests that condemned witches

Swimming of a Witch: One of the most known tests to determine who was a witch is the “swimming” of a witch. This was used across Europe and America during a period when religion was closely intertwined with science (Dorn, 2022). The prosecutors believed if the witch floated, God was interfering and creating a miracle to tell them she was guilty. This trial was used for multiple types of crimes that could not have a fair trial for reasons such as no witnesses.

Witches Cake: The witches cake is a tricky test. A cake is made using a victim’s urine and rye meal. This is then fed to a dog who will also become afflicted with “fits” if the victim is possessed by a witch (Caporael, 1976). Pictured in the infographic is Tituba, an enslaved Native American living in Salem in 1692 (Boomer, 2024). She was asked by a church member to bake this witches cake and was later prosecuted as a witch and murdered for following the church members orders.

Prayer Test:  Another test commonly used was the Prayer Test. This was famously used in 1664 England to persecute Amy Denny and Rose Cullender. Amy and Rose were responsible for the care of children who kept having “fits”. The test involved the children reading an excerpt from the New testament. When either of the girls came across the word Lord, Jesus, or Christ they fell into a fit. When they came across the words Satan or Devil they would say, “This bites but makes me speak right well”. We would now blame this on autosuggestion- a type of self hypnosis due to the placebo effect (Riddell, 1926). At this time however, it was the clear sign of possession and witchcraft by Amy Denny and Rose Cullender and led them to being hanged on March 17, 1665.

Witches Mark: The witches mark were “physical marks on witches clearly visible to the naked human eye” (Dunn, 2017). In the early modern period of Europe, the church used this test to verify with physical evidence that the accused was in fact a witch. They believed this provided non disputable evidence. The marks, also well known as “Devil’s Marks” could be anything from a freckle or mole, to an extra nipple or tattoo.

Conclusion and connection to Sts

Witch Trials are a prime example of the effect science and technology can have on society. All of the tests explained in this chapter can be regarded as technology during the aforementioned time periods. At the time the public believed they were based off of science. We now know they were truly based off of fear and the need for control. When the public is scared, starving, or in any type of turmoil, the people in charge will be quick to blame a victim other than themselves. This science and technology was used to control society and propagate the people in power’s rule.

Citations

Boomer, L. (2024, February 27). Life story: Tituba. Women & the American Story. https://wams.nyhistory.org/early-encounters/english-colonies/tituba/#resource

Brand, C. (2022, October 19). The malleus maleficarum: A 15th century treatise on Witchcraft – University Libraries: Washington University in St. Louis. University Libraries | Washington University in St. Louis. https://library.wustl.edu/news/the-malleus-maleficarum-a-15th-century-treatise-on-witchcraft/#:~:text=Scholars%20estimate%20that%20approximately%20110%2C000,the%20trials%20ending%20with%20execution.

Caporael, L. (1976) Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem. Science, New Series, Vol. 192, No. 4234 (Apr. 2, 1976), pp. 21-26 DOI:10.1126/science.769159

Dunn, S. (2017). “The mark of the Devil : medical proof in witchcraft trials.” . Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2804.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2804

Dorn, N. (2022). Swimming a witch: Evidence in 17th-century English witchcraft trials: In Custodia legis. https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2022/02/swimming-a-witch-evidence-in-17th-century-english-witchcraft-trials/#:~:text=Witch%20swimming%20was%20the%20practice,floating%20indicated%20a%20guilty%20verdict.

Riddell, W. R. (1926). Sir Matthew Hale and Witchcraft. Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, 17(1), 5–12. https://doi.org/10.2307/1134305

Image Citations

Ehninger, J.W. (1902) Tituba [Illustration]. The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tituba-Longfellow-Corey_(cropped).jpg

Matteson, T. (1853) The Examination of a Witch [Painting]. UChicago Library. https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/about/news/the-salem-witch-trials-a-legal-bibliography-for-halloween/

United Church of God. (2011) The New Testament [Image] UCG. https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/the-ten-commandments/the-ten-commandments-in-the-new-testament

Unknown (1615) The Swimming of Mary Sutton [English Woodcut Print]. Witches Apprehended. How Lyme Disease Created Witches and Changed History.