In early 1692 a little girl named Betty Parris fell ill in a Puritan colony. When the doctor examined her she had contortions, bursts of babbling and convulsions. These symptoms confused the other villagers. Other girls soon showed the same symptoms leading the doctor to believe that witchcraft was the cause of these girls' illness. This verdict triggered an investigation that cost the lives of 25 people and more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft; prisons filled with wrongfully accused people and affected the people of the community of Salem, Massachusetts. In the year 1692 a group of several young girls, some of whom were Bridget Bishop, Alice Parker, Mary Easty, Betty Parris, and Sarah Hubbard, were arrested, who other settlers claimed were possessed by the devil. Later, in February 1692, arrest warrants were issued for three women; all were accused by the group of girls with the symptoms of the disease, of having bewitched them. The names of these three women were a homeless beggar, Sarah Good, an elderly Sarah Osborn, and a Caribbean slave, Tituba. These three women were brought to court to be tried for using witchcraft. Both Good and Osborn denied the charges and said they were not guilty. Tituba, the Caribbean slave, confessed to accusations of being a witch. She tried to condemn other colonists, even accusing them of witchcraft, and serving with her to aid the devil against the Puritan colony of Massachusetts. The other "witches", accused by Tituba, also confessed and named other people with whom they worked in the devil's service. This caused an overwhelming atmosphere during the trials, sending the Massachusetts colony and surrounding settlements into hysterical panic. This pa...... half of the document ......ft, was the reason behind it all. This was why so many innocent lives were killed and their families' reputations and names were destroyed. Bibliography: Ziglen, Sara “National Geographic: Salem Witch Trials.” National Geographic: Salem Witch Hunt. Sara Ziglen, Winter 2007. Web Oct. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/salem/Salem Witch Museum “Information about the Salem Witch Trials.” Salem Witch Museum, 2012. Web October 24, 2013 http://salemwitchmuseum.com/education/faq.php A&E Television Networks, LLC. “Salem Witch Trials.” Story: A&E Television Network on the Salem Witch Trials, 1996-2013. Web October 24, 2013 http://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials Blumberg, Jess “A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials.” History and archaeology. Jess Blumberg Smithsonian Media, October 2007. Web October 24, 2013 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/brief-salem.html