What Were The Salem Witch Trials? (What Was?)

What Were The Salem Witch Trials? (What Was?)

Something wicked was brewing in the small town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. It started when two girls, Betty Parris and Abigail Williams, began having hysterical fits. Soon after, other local girls claimed they were being pricked with pins. With no scientific explanation available, the residents of Salem came to one conclusion: it was witchcraft! Over the next year and a half, nineteen people were convicted of witchcraft and hanged while more languished in prison as hysteria swept the colony. Author Joan Holub gives readers and inside look at this sinister chapter in history.About the AuthorJoan Holub is the author ofWhat Was the First Thanksgiving?,What Was the Gold Rush?, and otherWho Was...? titles, includingWho Was Marco Polo? andWho Was Babe Ruth? She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.Excerpt.