Sales, Plays, and Witches

Before I get into my main news of this week, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are coming up. You can get 15% off at my Esty Store with this code: BLACKFRIDAYWEEKEND

This code lasts from Thursday, November 23 (for you early birds) through Monday, November 27. I’ll be dropping a direct link on the night of the 22^nd.

On with the rest:

I’m in a play!

It’s called the Crucible, and for those of you who don’t know, it’s historical fiction based on the events of the Salem witch trials, a disturbing yet fascinating tragedy. I’m one of the village girls.

I’ve done a bit of research on these witch trials that were occurring in the world, and it’s interesting. Specifically, the time-line of events in Europe and America. Witch hunts have occurred in other parts of the world (and some today, sadly, mostly focused on women, especially poor ones), but Europe and America were particularly odd stories, given the overall craze that went on.  Like other hunts, there was a pattern of attacking poorer women and children.

At the time of the witch trials, people Europe had a particular method of storing their food that caused a particular type of fungus to grow – an edible one, but one that is an ingredient similar to those in LSD. Basically, it causes hallucinations.

It’s not an excuse for the actions of this time, but it does explain how it was that a large group of countries, each with their own culture and ideas, became caught up in a single mass delusion. Imagine, if you will, a people that is largely uneducated, and someone influential makes a reference to being cautious of those called ‘witches’, the importance of removing them from society, and superstitions old and new. Also, at the time, obeying and believing one’s superiors was considered extremely important.

Certainly, there were incident of people accusing others in an attempt to get rid of them (for revenge or to take their property), but for the most part, the hysteria seemed to be rooted in what could be considered honest fear of witchcraft.

It was these stories of witches that the hallucinations focused on. Curiously, the mythology of werewolves was also around, but no one was killed for the crime of being a werewolf. Instead, people who claimed to be werewolves were considered to be in need of mental help. (Therapy for the mentally ill, rather than locking them away (or worse), really wasn’t in existent at the time, but this does appear to be one of its early appearances. I haven’t really researched into this, though.)

The worst part is that the accused basically had no defense – it’s a crime that can’t be physically seen. It makes one appreciate the theory of ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ that’s spread through Western culture.

If one was accused, one was guilty. Refusing to confess and proclaiming that one was innocent was taken as a sign that they were, indeed, a witch, and had to be tortured into confessing. (This type of process wasn’t exclusively for witch trials, it was basically a way of life for anyone accused of a crime.) Naturally, confession was a death sentence.

America’s inclusion into the witch hunts came as the hunts were heading towards their end in Europe, curiously enough. Looking at it, it almost appears like they were merely trying to imitate the events in Europe. The hallucination-causing fungus did exist in America, but it wasn’t as common. Fewer people died, and confession was taken as a sign that one wanted to repent, and they were allowed to live. Accusing others was encouraged during this confession. However, confession did mean that one was saying they had been a witch, and as a result they would lose their property.

But there were far fewer signs of the mass hysteria that had gripped Europe. A witch hunt could be ordered stopped by officials. An event could happen that would make a handful of people suffer, and then it would stop.

Like I said – a disturbingly fascinating tragedy.

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