ESL, Napredni nivo
Salem Witch Trials
What began as a simple game of fortune-telling by reading shapes of egg whites dropped in a pan was the beginning of the Salem ......... of witchcraft accusations.
One child was frightened by what she thought was the shape of a coffin and began shaking, shouting ......... at the West Indian servant girl who had taught them the game.
When the village doctor had no explanation for the girl's ......... behavior, he declared it was the "evil hand of witchcraft." Consequently, the servant girl, Tituba was suspected of being a witch.
As time passed, other girls joined in the strange ......... pointing the finger of blame at three local women: Sarah Osborne, who had a poor record of attending church, Sarah Good who was a beggar and the servant Tituba.
Eventually, a warrant was issued for the women's arrest. At the same time, more and more people seem to have become afflicted, making ......... against neighbors and even a minister.
Finally, ......... court trials were held. The afflicted girls would writhe and scream. Some reported seeing spectral shapes under the accused control.
Since 1692, many psychologists and psychiatrists have given numerous possible explanations for the ......... of violence and hysteria that infected this village.
One theory said to be responsible for the mass hysteria was contributed to a wheat fungus that made the villagers .......... Still another explanation was that the village may have suffered from a viral sleeping sickness.
Historians have suggested another less ......... explanation when they uncovered an old map. The curious division of the village revealed all the accusations against those living in the more affluent east half of the village were made by those living in the western half.
After all the deadly accusations and their results were studied, historians now believe the Salem witch trials began because of a ......... village grudge match between the "haves" and the "have-nots."