Trials of a Witch

by Riley Church

I awoke suddenly to the sounds of screaming outside. I leapt from my bed and made my way over to my window only to see a mob of people surrounding my neighbor’s home. I made my way towards the door quickly, throwing on my coat in the process. I swung the door open and made my way out of my front yard. Just ahead of me I could see my friend Elizabeth.“Elizabeth!” I shouted, “Elizabeth!”

Elizabeth turned to see me and made her way over to me. “My dear Ann,” she said, “You gave me a fright. I thought something was the matter.”

“Something is the matter,” I replied, “What is going on here?” I flung my hand up, gesturing to the large crowd beginning to surround my neighbor’s home.

“Did you not hear?” she whispered, “Sarah and Dorcus have been accused of witchcraft.”

I froze with my eyes widened. How could this have happened? “Who in their right mind would accuse them of such a thing?” I asked.

“Apparently Abigail Williams and Betty Parris claim they were bewitched by Samuel Parris’s slave woman, Tituba,” Elizabeth said in a hushed tone. “They got a confession out of her not too long ago, but she said there are other women in the village who have been conspiring with the devil and practicing witchcraft.”

The reverend looked them both up and down as if he were God himself judging them before sending them to their fate.

At that moment, a loud bang came from next door as the reverend yelled,“Sarah, answer this door this instant!” The door opened quickly, and a terrified Sarah and her young daughter Dorcas stood in the doorway.

“What is the meaning of all this?” she asked. “It is well past sunset and you lot are causing such a commotion out here that my poor Dorcus cannot sleep. Please, what is your business here at this hour?’’ your daughter have been accused of the worst crime,” he said, “You are both to be arrested and held in a cell until your fate is decided by a jury.”

“And what crime have we committed?” she shrieked. “Surely it is a misuderstanding.’’

“Witchcraft is the crime,” the reverend bellowed, as he made a grab for the child cowering behind her mother, “You have both been accused of bewitching children in the village and conspiring with the devil himself. ’’ Suddenly, two men grabbed Sarah and her daughter by their arms and dragged them out of their home. The only thing I heard over the crowd talking was Dorcus screaming in fear for her mother. I turned back to Elizabeth and said, “How could this have come about? What made those two girls accuse Tituba of witchcraft?”

“Well,” Elizabeth started, “a few days ago the two girls came home and felt ill. They were quite irritable, and were throwing such fits that something had to have been wrong with them.” She paused, looking around worriedly. The crowd has dissipated and followed the reverend towards the village cells where the two girls would surely be held. She leaned in closer to me and said, “ The two girls had been hidden from the rest of us for a few days; I heard they had been locked in the attic of the Parris’s home. The doctor went there early yesterday morning and diagnosed them as being bewitched. The girls came right out and said Tituba’s name, instantly accusing her.” As if reading my mind, she continued answering the many questions I had. “Tituba confessed not long ago, but she told them she was not the only witch hiding among us. A group of the men had been watching over people all day to look for suspicious activity. According to someone, they saw Sarah and her daughter in the woods, alone, doing odd activities. People are saying they were performing a sacrifice or at least preparing for one.” I glanced back towards where they had taken the two girls. “These accusations are dangerous,” I said to myself, “If you will excuse me, I’ll be heading back inside. You should do so too, Elizabeth.” Turning to her, I waved goodbye and made my way to my bedroom, where I lay in silence until the sleep overtook my body.

I was awakened by the sound of roosters crowing outside my window. I got out of my bed and began to make a small meal for myself. While cooking, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sarah and Dorcus. “How could this have happened?” I asked myself, “They are such sweet girls. I don’t think I have even seen them harm a chicken, let alone other people.” As I finished making my food, my mind wandered. What would become of the two? Will there be a trial for them? If they are truly guilty then what will happen? Just as I was about to eat I heard a knock on the door. “One moment,” I shouted, and made my way towards the door. Upon opening it, I saw Eliza standing before me with her golden hair tied back in a neat bun and her eyes seeming to hide a secret in them. “Hello, Eliza, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked. “Good morning, Ann, I was just wanting to come over and ask if you perhaps...” she paused and seemed to lose her thoughts altogether.

“Eliza,” I said as I snapped in front of her face and she appeared to regain her composure.

“Sorry,” she said “I wanted to know if you would like to go find berries in the woods today with me. I would hate to go alone, given the news.”

I could tell that she had something more to say so I said “Of course, just let me grab a few things and we shall be on our way.”

I went to gather a small basket and put on my shoes then followed Eliza out the door and into the woods beyond the outskirts of the village. The morning sun had risen and gave us the perfect amount of warmth and sunlight to make our journey. “Eliza,” I said, “Why have you asked me to accompany you on this walk? Wouldn’t you rather have the company of the village boys?” Eliza looked around, appearing to be listening for something before she spoke, “I’m worried about what happened with Sarah and Dorcus,” she said swiftly in a hushed tone. My eyes widened as I grabbed her hand and pulled her farther into the woods.

“Look here, Eliza,” I held her face in my hands, “You need to forget about that night. Nothing bad happened.”

“But what if someone saw something and they thought we were...” I slapped her across the face before she could utter another word.

“No,” I said, “No one saw us and no one knows anything about me, you, Sarah, or Dorcus. Those accusations were false and made by someone who knows as much as a newborn fawn.”

I kept walking ahead of her and said “Now, are we going to pick some berries, or not?” The sun had set and the sunset lit my living room ablaze with its orange color. I picked up my sewing that needed to be finished just as there was a loud pounding on my door. I placed it down on the chair and slowly made my way to the door. My heartbeat was pounding in my ears and I felt my face begin to heat up. I knew there was danger on the other side of the door, so I made my way to the back of my home to the other door instead. When I opened it, I was instantly grabbed by two sets of hands and thrown to the ground before a sack was placed over my head.

“Unhand me,” I screamed. “Let me go this instant. What is going on?” I kicked and attempted to fight off whoever was holding me. I felt something hard hit my head, then everything went black. When I came to, I was sitting on a chair, it seemed. There was still a bag over my head but I could sense people watching me as well as people sitting next to me.

“People of Salem,” I heard the reverend speak, “these women have been accused of the highest crime and the biggest disgrace to our father in heaven.” I struggled hard against my restraints before I felt the sack ripped off my head. As my eyes adjusted I could see the village people surrounding me. I looked to my left and right and saw my friends. Sarah and Dorcas, Bridgett and Mary--however the one person I expected to see, Eliza, was not there. Looking back to the crowd I saw her, in the back, hidden under a dark cloak. She lifted her hood and disappeared into the dark of the night. “Here we have five witches,” the reverend continued. “Each one has been accused of bewitching the children of Salem. For this crime, the punishment is death.” The crowd cheered. It was then that I noticed we all had ropes around our necks.

Frantically, I looked back and forth. All I could hear were the cheers of the crowd and the screams of the women next to me.

“Stop!” I screamed with the power of a hundred men. I looked at the women around me and nodded. They all looked at me, teary-eyed and scared, then back to the gathering of people in front of us. We spoke in unison.

“We curse thee.

We curse your soil to be infertile.

We curse your faith to be in question.”

We heard screams coming from frightened people but did not stop.

“We curse your cattle, your sheep, your crops in the name of the dark one.”

It was then that the reverend began to hang us one by one. As the others fell, I kept repeating to myself,

“In the name of the dark one, I curse thee and this town from now till forever.”

I felt my body drop.

I was struggling for air. My eyes were burning, and I felt my chest light up with flames. I could not help myself. Then my veins turned cold as ice, and the world turned to darkness.

by Marina Powell