I am writing this entry right around Halloween, so it seems fitting that I should talk about the “witch hunt”. In our trip to the Northeast a few weeks ago we made a stop in Salem, Massachusetts, which most people have heard about because of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Although the town is now basically a suburb of Boston, it was definitely doing its best to promote its history, especially during the month of October. Unfortunately, this well-known history is rather sad, considering around 20 to 25 people lost their lives because of the trials.
Ever since we have been in Salem I have been thinking a lot about the trials and about witch hunting in general. I have read about witch hunting through thousands of years, and I am saddened but also incredibly intrigued about why they happened. There are, of course, many theories out there – changes in the religious, political, or economic climate at the time, questions about mental illness in the parties involved, and a need for control by certain individuals are just a few of the ideas put out for consideration.
All of these theories are interesting, but to me the mental illness question stands out because of my interest in it. Were any of the people accused of witchcraft mentally ill? Were any of the victims and/or accusers of witchcraft mentally ill? Of course, it is hard to look back and understand how it would have felt to live in those times, but part of me thinks that some of these witch hunts involved some type of mental illness that was not understood at the time. Of course, today we use “witch hunt” for a lot of things, and unfortunately some people still suffer as a result of them. Are the mentally ill still targeted and/or a part of the accusations? My guess is yes, and we need to better understand why and how it happens. In general, it would be amazing to get rid of all types of “witch hunts”, but I especially would like to make sure that a person’s mental well-being is taken into consideration of the events at hand.