As Paranoia Swept Through Europe And America During The Era Of Witch Trials, Brutal Tests Were Used To Determine Whether Those Accused Of Witchcraft Were Guilty Or Innocent
One of the most haunting chapters in human history has to be the era of witch trials. During this time, a wave of hysteria and paranoia swept through Europe and the American colonies. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, thousands of individuals were accused of witchcraft.
In order to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, a series of brutal “witch tests” were employed, ranging from the infamous swimming test to the practice of pricking the skin in search of the mark of the devil. Here are the main methods of torture that were used during this dark period of time.
Swimming Test
For the swimming test, accused witches had their hands and feet bound and were thrown into the nearest body of water to see if they would float or sink.
An innocent person would sink, but a witch would float on the water’s surface. Since it was believed that witches rejected the concept of baptism, they would not be able to stay submerged underwater.
Usually, the accused would have a rope tied around their waist so they could be dragged out of the water if they happened to sink. However, it was common for drowning to occur.
Witch’s Marks
Suspects were stripped of their clothing and publicly examined for the mark of the devil. Apparently, witches would receive such a mark after making a pact with Satan. The mark was said to be able to change shape and color. It was also numb and couldn’t feel pain.
Witch hunters would look for any blemish or imperfection to condemn their suspects. Birthmarks, moles, sores, and scars all counted as the “Devil’s Mark.”
Deyan – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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Pricking Test
If a suspect’s body was free from obvious marks, witch hunters would resort to using needles to repeatedly prick at the flesh of the accused. If the accused didn’t feel any pain, they were definitely a witch.
In England and Scotland, professional prickers were paid handsomely to carry out the task. But many of them were actually just con men who used dulled needlepoints to identify fake witch’s marks.
Touch Test
With the touch test, victims of witchcraft were thought to have a special reaction when they came into physical contact with the witch who possessed them.
For example, a suspected witch would be brought in to touch a possessed person who fell into fits. If the victim had no reaction, the suspect was innocent, but if the victim came out of their fit, that meant they had been under a spell.
Prayer Test
It was believed that witches could not speak scripture out loud, so the prayer test involved forcing the accused to recite passages from the Bible without making a mistake. If the speaker slipped up, that was proof they were in cahoots with the devil.
However, even a successful prayer test did not guarantee you would be cleared of guilt. During the Salem Witch Trials, a man accused of sorcery named George Burroughs recited the Lord’s Prayer without error. The flawless performance was declared a trick of the devil, and he was executed anyway.
Witch Cakes
This supernatural dessert consisted of a witchcraft victim’s urine, rye meal, and ashes, which were baked into a cake and fed to a dog. These animals were known as helpers of witches. It was hoped that the creature would fall under the concoction’s spell and reveal the name of the witch.
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