Things, Ideas & People . . .

On this Halloween week, we found this interesting fact – according to historyfacts.com.

Myth: People Were Burned at the Stake During the Salem Witch Trials.

Though 20 different people were indeed convicted of witchcraft during the infamous Salem hearings of 1692 to 1693, none of them were burned at the stake. Nineteen of them - 14 women and 5 men - were hanged, five died in jail, and one man was pressed to death with stones after refusing to enter a plea. The confusion stems from the fact that those found guilty of witchcraft in Europe (where it was treated as heresy) were burned at the stake. “Burning was supposedly a way to purify the convict, and also as a threat to uncover conspiracies,” according t...