Comparing the Salem Witch Trials and Modern Satanic Trials Essay

The capital of Oregon Witch Trials and new-made Satanic Trials Cotton Mather, in his The Wonders of the Invisible World, hold for posterity a very dark period in squeamish American society through his account of the Salem spellbind trials in 1692. His description is immediately recognizable as being of the same sales booth as those who were swept up in the hysteria of the moment. Mather viewed Salem as a battleground between the devil and the Puritans. The stark naked Englanders ar a people of God settled in those which were once the devils territories. . . . The devil gum olibanum irritated, immediately tried all sorts of methods to overturn this poor plantation (Mather 421). hither Mather is alluding to the Native Americans as being a people associated with the devil quite an than with their God, a common point of view held towards all savage people. Mather motto the witches of Salem as being his the devils incarnate legions sent to Salem to pervert us. . . (Mather 4 21). The Salem witch trials have become a part of American mythology which has been passed down to each succeeding gen seasontion for over 300 eld after the village of Salem sent its last witch to the gallows. However, it is the witch trials relevance to modern society more than any other cipher that has contributed to its legendary place in American history and mythology. The witch trials that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts, are the precursor to the modern trials where adults are accused of crimes including ritualistic versed molestation of children. These types of ritualized abuse are commonly linked to Satanic cults. new-fangled beliefs in Satanists mirror similar beliefs held of colonial witches. However comforting it is to cipher back at the Salem witch trials as a ... ...ct that the same social forces that were in place in Salem in 1692 are still present and at work in modern era courtrooms across the country where innocent people stand accused of fearful acts. Wor ks Cited Mather, Cotton. The Wonders of the Invisible World. The Heath Anthology Of American Literature. Third Edition. Vol I. ed. Paul Lauter. New York Houghton Mifflin Co. 1997, 421-424. Rosenthal. Bernard. Salem Story Reading the Witch Trials of 1692. Cambridge Mass Cambridge University Press, 1995. Sebald, Hans, Ph.D. Witch-Children from Salem Witch-Hunts to Modern Courtrooms. New York Prometheus Books, 1995. Starkey, Marion L. The Devil In Massachusetts A Modern query Into The Salem Witch Trials. London Robert Hale Limited. Victor, Jeffrey S. Satanic Panic The establishment of a Contemporary Legend. Chicago Open Court, 1993.