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We began our witch-hunt by typing "witchcraft trials" into the Yahoo! Search box. This led us to the Salem Witch Trials category in the Yahoo! Directory, as well as numerous web results about the infamous witchcraft trials of Salem, Massachusetts. Undoubtedly, the last famous witch trials in America were those of Salem 1692. During this frenzied time in the Massachusetts colony, 20 women and men were executed on counts related to witchcraft, and nearly 150 others were imprisoned on similar accusations. The colonial legislators later annulled the convictions and apologized for the tragedy.
We wanted to know if these witch trials were indeed the last ones in the U.S., so we used the advanced search feature to narrow our search. In the Show results with section of the page, we typed "witchcraft trials" in the one of these words box. Next, we typed "salem" in the none of these words box, and then clicked the "Search" button. This gave us the search results for witchcraft trials other than those in Salem. Our results turned up a few brief mentions of trials. Around 1800 in Bethel,
Ohio, neighbors accused an elderly widow, Nancy Evans, of being a witch. The local Justice of the Peace proclaimed Mrs. Evans innocent after a simple trial, and townsfolk ridiculed the accusers. Pennsylvania's Allegheny Valley was home to a witchcraft trial in the early 19th century. The town's Justice of the Peace didn't believe in witchcraft, and when he postponed the hearing, the accused woman disappeared. And finally, the Salem, Massachusetts, area also hosted the Ipswich Witchcraft Case of 1878. One Daniel Spofford was accused of witchcraft, but the case seems to have been thrown out.
Other lesser-known witchcraft trials may exist, but we couldn't find evidence online. In more recent times, a few violent crimes have been linked to witchcraft and Satanism. However, experts note that so-called black magic usually isn't to blame for these acts. The perpetrators tend to be disturbed, dysfunctional people who use occult symbols as window dressing or excuses for their actions.
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