Halloween in Downtown Salem
The thing that I was most excited about coming to Salem State University was because of Halloween night. I heard a lot of stories about how crazy Salem was in October and how thousands of people come to celebrate Halloween. I had a ton of expectations for the whole month of October and especially Halloween night. I was not disappointed when I went into downtown Salem and saw all of the people who had come to see this historic city on Halloween night. My favorite part about Salem in October is Halloween night because of all the costumes, the music, my friends.
The atmosphere was electric on the night of Halloween. While we were downtown I saw so many different costumes from scary clowns to bananas . The costumes were so cool and the creativity of some people is amazing. I never saw a sight quite like it before. There was not one person who wasn’t dressed up in a costume and it made the atmosphere so much better. Although I liked all the costumes and the People in them, some of the preachers were yelling at everyone. My friends and I walked by where they were set up and we were told that we were going to hell because we were dressed up. Luckily nobody in the group was dressed up as the devil. Regardless of those comments we were having a great time and we weren’t going to let them ruin our night. Salem didn’t disappoint with all the great costumes.
When you go to any party or gathering there is always music playing. Downtown Salem was a giant party with all the music playing. My friends and I hung out by the live music for most of the night. The bands did covers of popular songs and they got the crowd into it and everyone was dancing. The people around us were loud and energetic which made the music so much better. Nobody cared how well or bad you were dancing you just cared that you were having a good time. We were singing at the top of our lungs and dancing our hearts out. The music livened the crowd and made the night so much fun. Music is what brings people together and it defiantly brought everyone in that crowd closer together.
Halloween night was the most fun that I have had so far here at Salem State. The history of the city really helped with the atmosphere of the night and how people dressed up. Everybody who told me that Halloween night was going to be crazy was right. They blocked off main streets of downtown because not everyone could fit on the sidewalks.There were people from all over the world who came to celebrate in Salem. I was asked to be in so many pictures from strangers who didn’t speak English and it was a really cool experience. I can’t wait for next Halloween and do it all over again.
The atmosphere was electric on the night of Halloween. While we were downtown I saw so many different costumes from scary clowns to bananas . The costumes were so cool and the creativity of some people is amazing. I never saw a sight quite like it before. There was not one person who wasn’t dressed up in a costume and it made the atmosphere so much better. Although I liked all the costumes and the People in them, some of the preachers were yelling at everyone. My friends and I walked by where they were set up and we were told that we were going to hell because we were dressed up. Luckily nobody in the group was dressed up as the devil. Regardless of those comments we were having a great time and we weren’t going to let them ruin our night. Salem didn’t disappoint with all the great costumes.
When you go to any party or gathering there is always music playing. Downtown Salem was a giant party with all the music playing. My friends and I hung out by the live music for most of the night. The bands did covers of popular songs and they got the crowd into it and everyone was dancing. The people around us were loud and energetic which made the music so much better. Nobody cared how well or bad you were dancing you just cared that you were having a good time. We were singing at the top of our lungs and dancing our hearts out. The music livened the crowd and made the night so much fun. Music is what brings people together and it defiantly brought everyone in that crowd closer together.
Halloween night was the most fun that I have had so far here at Salem State. The history of the city really helped with the atmosphere of the night and how people dressed up. Everybody who told me that Halloween night was going to be crazy was right. They blocked off main streets of downtown because not everyone could fit on the sidewalks.There were people from all over the world who came to celebrate in Salem. I was asked to be in so many pictures from strangers who didn’t speak English and it was a really cool experience. I can’t wait for next Halloween and do it all over again.
|
|
|
The Witch Tests
The Salem witch hunts started on March 1, 1692. By the end of the witch hunts there were more than two hundred people who were accused of Witch Craft. Out of the two hundred accused twenty of them were hung. They were all wrongfully accused of witch craft and had no say it the matter, but have you ever wondered how they were accused? There were seven tests that they used when they were trying to find out who were witches. These cruel and unfair tests were the beginning of the Salem Witch Trials.
1. The Swimming Test
The swimming test was one of the more dangerous tests to practice during the witch hunts. They would tie a weight to the accused witch's leg and throw them into the water. If they floated back up to the top then they were considered a witch. If they didn't float back up then they were considered innocent. Most of the innocent drowned during this test because they weren't able to pull them out of the water in time. This test was eventually banned because of all the innocent lives that were lost.
1. The Swimming Test
The swimming test was one of the more dangerous tests to practice during the witch hunts. They would tie a weight to the accused witch's leg and throw them into the water. If they floated back up to the top then they were considered a witch. If they didn't float back up then they were considered innocent. Most of the innocent drowned during this test because they weren't able to pull them out of the water in time. This test was eventually banned because of all the innocent lives that were lost.
2. The Prayer Test
The Prayer Test was another test that they would use during the witch hunt. They believed that if you were a witch you wouldn't be able to read a prayer from the bible. The prayer that they had to recite was the Lord's Prayer. This test was performed in court in front of the judge and a jury. If they mispronounced a word, stuttered or thought for to long then they would be guilty. A lot of the reasons why people failed this test was because of nerves. Even if you recited it correctly with no mistakes you still weren't considered innocent.
The Prayer Test was another test that they would use during the witch hunt. They believed that if you were a witch you wouldn't be able to read a prayer from the bible. The prayer that they had to recite was the Lord's Prayer. This test was performed in court in front of the judge and a jury. If they mispronounced a word, stuttered or thought for to long then they would be guilty. A lot of the reasons why people failed this test was because of nerves. Even if you recited it correctly with no mistakes you still weren't considered innocent.
3. The Touch Test
The touch test was another test that they used to detect witch craft. They believed that if the accused witch touched their victim they would start screaming in horror. A lot of the victims pretended to scream in horror just to put the accused witch in jail. Towards the end of the trials they would blind fold victims so they couldn't see who was touching them. A lot of people were proven innocent once they did this.
The touch test was another test that they used to detect witch craft. They believed that if the accused witch touched their victim they would start screaming in horror. A lot of the victims pretended to scream in horror just to put the accused witch in jail. Towards the end of the trials they would blind fold victims so they couldn't see who was touching them. A lot of people were proven innocent once they did this.
4. Witch Marks
.They would make an accused witch undress so that they could search for witch marks on their body. A witch mark is a mark such as a beauty mark, birth mark or a mole. There are a ton of people that have these kinds of marks who are not witches.
.They would make an accused witch undress so that they could search for witch marks on their body. A witch mark is a mark such as a beauty mark, birth mark or a mole. There are a ton of people that have these kinds of marks who are not witches.
5. Witch Cakes
žThey would take urine from the victim and make it into a cake.They would feed the cake to an animal that was close to the accused witch.They believed that the animal would indicate that the accused witch was guilty by friendly to them. For example, if they fed the cake to their dog and the dog was friendly to them then they would be considered a witch. Obviously your dog will be friendly towards you know matter what so this was a very unfair test.
žThey would take urine from the victim and make it into a cake.They would feed the cake to an animal that was close to the accused witch.They believed that the animal would indicate that the accused witch was guilty by friendly to them. For example, if they fed the cake to their dog and the dog was friendly to them then they would be considered a witch. Obviously your dog will be friendly towards you know matter what so this was a very unfair test.
6. The Pricking and Scratching Test
žThis was one of the more cruel tests that they practiced.žIf they couldn’t find witch marks on an accused person they would prick them with needles until one appeared.Also they would have the victims scratch their “bewitchers” until they started to bleed.
7. Inactions
žIt is also called charging.žThey would have the accused person order the devil to come out of the victim.When they order the devil to come out and the victim recovers they find the accused guilty.
žThis was one of the more cruel tests that they practiced.žIf they couldn’t find witch marks on an accused person they would prick them with needles until one appeared.Also they would have the victims scratch their “bewitchers” until they started to bleed.
7. Inactions
žIt is also called charging.žThey would have the accused person order the devil to come out of the victim.When they order the devil to come out and the victim recovers they find the accused guilty.
Work Cited
Andrews, Evan. "7 Bizarre Witch Trial Tests." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Concradt, Stacy. "10 Ways to Identify a Witch." Mental Floss. N.p., 1 Mar.
2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
FTK Editors. "7 Bizarre Salem Witch Trial Tests Prove That Humans Were
Dumb." First to Know. N.p., 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Andrews, Evan. "7 Bizarre Witch Trial Tests." History.com. A&E Television
Networks, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Concradt, Stacy. "10 Ways to Identify a Witch." Mental Floss. N.p., 1 Mar.
2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2015
FTK Editors. "7 Bizarre Salem Witch Trial Tests Prove That Humans Were
Dumb." First to Know. N.p., 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
