What Really Happened in Salem 300 Years Ago?

Follow Thoughty2

About Thoughty2
Thoughty2 (Arran) is a British YouTuber and gatekeeper of useless facts. Thoughty2 creates mind-blowing factual videos about science, tech, history, opinion and just about everything else.
#Thoughty2

Writing: Alice Cuninghame
Editing: Giselle Hannah Santos

[steveross]

"She's mad that one..!"
"Which?"
"Yes, she must be!"

[lastmanstanding]

I always thought it was funny the way it ended.

"The governor's wife is a witch!"
"Yea no. That's it we're done. No more hangings."

[Sonshine]

Sarah Osborn was my 8x great grandmother and one of the first accused. She died in prison. She was already sickly when her trial occurred and her health only worsened during her incarceration. There are many ideas about why she was accused but I lean toward her sons wanting the farm when their father, Robert Price, died. Sarah immediately married her farm foreman in order to protect her interest in her property, hence the name Osborn. She died in prison in May of 1693 and Alexander Osborn died suspiciously less than a year later.

[deannagiuliani]

My personal favorite Salem witch trial is my families story. Mary English was accused of witchcraft and arrested, Phillip English wasn't happy about it and ended up accused himself. They were wealthy so they got sent to Boston to await trial where they paid off the guard and escaped just to return to Salem after the witch trials were a thing if the past, regain a lot of their wealth and help built Salem into a more prosperous settlement.

[Steven-zezk]

This is what YouTube was made for. It was made to allow talented content creators like the people behind this channel an opportunity to have a lucrative career. Were it not for the internet we would never see these videos.

[nickywht]

Giles Corey wasn’t crushed to death because he was a witch (or believed witch). He was pressed because he wouldn’t plead innocent or guilty, as he deemed it a ludicrous accusation, not worthy of an answer, and they were trying to force him into saying one or the other. Apparently, they asked him three times for his plea, each time he would only answer “more weight” the guy was a badass!

Little trivia - pressing people who wouldn’t talk is where we now get the phrase “I’m going to have to press you for an answer”.

[AwokenEntertainment]

I can't even imagine living in a time like that.. oh wait..

[FuSD]

This is the first time in years that someone has correctly used the word "hanged" instead of the incorrect "hung". You have a better grasp of the English language than anyone who works in ordinary TV, Thank you!

[Ghost_]

One of the most disturbing and interesting take about these sudden "witchcraft" plague is that many of the female accusers have the history of being so bored they simply accused anyone that they don't like or agree with (first of the Karens I guessed). I forgot the infamous 2 ladies that started this bored shenanigans and got the whole town into chaos.

[baltosimpson]

My mother's side of the family had ancestors that were hung during the trials we visited every year to pay our respects to our family and I thank you Aaron for doing this it means alot

[MrXaniss]

What confuses me is the point of a witch trial is if they're a witch they'll save themselves, but since none of them ever saved themselves they should have noticed that maybe they were morons.

[izzymcdermott]

The first story about Tituba is a book! It's called " I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem" by Maryse Conde. I read it a few years ago, it was really good!

[Youtube-handles-are-stupid]

"Why do witches burn? Because they're made of wood, and wood floats. And what else also floats, a duck. Therefore, logically, if she weighs the same as a duck, she's a witch."

[RamielEdits]

so this is what cancel culture looked like back then..

[amandajenkins]

For anyone interested in the Salem witch trials, I highly recommend the book “I, Tituba”. It’s a novel about the trials from her perspective, and I think the author presents some really interesting ideas behind the accusations and Tituba’s confession

[kivrin]

The Ergots thing only happens during specific weather patterns in the growing season. That's where that theory comes from because based on the information we have, the season previous was a perfect season for Ergots, not so perfect for the plants.

[panathaninf]

Random peasant: “who’s next in my hate list? Oh the girl I smiled at this morning and didn’t smile back! A Witch!!! “

[stevenpape]

Those first two girls sound like my three year old when he doesn't get what he wants. Lol

[HexagonNightmare]

The dog levitating while shitting made me spit out my mountain dew.

[brittlemons]

I’ve been to Salem many many times. One of my favorite places to visit. You can feel death surrounding you as you walk the streets. When you go into the cemetery, it’s so incredibly eerie.