It all started at the beginning of 1692, when Reverend Samuel Parris’ daughter and niece began acting strangely, having fits, screaming, throwing things, and contorting themselves in bizarre positions, in Salem, colonial Massachusetts. The doctor came up with a the explanation that it was the Devil’s work. The girls blamed three women for their behavior: a slave, a beggar, and an old lady. They all fitted the descriptions of an outcast, the perfect scapegoats for such an accusation.
After interrogation, the slave confessed to having dealt with the Devil, and also claimed that there were other witches in town seeking to hurt the Puritans. Hysteria soon took over. Bridget Bishop was the first woman to be executed as a result of the Witch Trials. Soon, 18 others followed on Salem’s Gallow’s Hill. More than 200 persons were accused of witchcraft, at least 19 of which were executed by hanging, while others died in prison. The infamous trial became a synonym for paranoia and injustice.
And this is certainly why playwright Arthur Miller wrote his play--to illustrate the horrors of a the witch hunt that was going on in America in the 1950s. He and his ilk were being persecuted by a paranoia that gripped the some in the government and were unjustly being accused of actual crimes and having their names smeared simply by associating with some that were accused.
Here is an audiobook performance of THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller...
Miller, himself, being interviewed by Christopher Hitchens...
And now, our music selection of the night...
CocoRosie's song below is pretty and haunting and, well, you be the judge...
"Gallows"
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