Witches and Witch Hunts

Witches are often heard of during the month of October when hollows eve takes place on the 31st. Often the question comes up, what are witches and where do they come from?

The word "witch" comes from the word "wicca" which are male and female members of the religion paganism. Paganism is a religion that preaches the earthy aspects of god instead of the traditional christian ways. Anyone male or female that practiced paganism was automatically accused by the catholic church of being a witch.All the accusations lead to a witch hunt. The witch hunt took place in the countries Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts other wise known as " The Salem witch trials". 385 people all from England, in total were convicted of practicing paganism and were accused of using blackmagic. 150 of those people were from Salem. All members of paganism were sentenced to be hung, and anyone who did not admit they were apart of it or pleaded guilty were crushed to death under heavy stones in attempt to force them to please guilty. During these times the accusations became even stricter. It went from anyone who practiced paganism to anyone who acted sort of "weird" or wasn't like "everyone else" in the community. All this being said anyone who was different or practiced a different religion was stereotyped into being a witch and having relations with the devil and demons and were condemned to death. Back then if you dared to be unique or followed different beliefs you were labeled by the church, a witch.