The Salem Witch Trials and The North Berwick Trials Were Exactly The Same In Nature
During the trials in Salem, there was only one that was tortured, which was Giles Corey. The community and neighbors added rocks to his chest in order to gain a confession, but died in the process, never to give a false confession of witchcraft. Torture in Scotland during the 1590s was King James’ favorite method of gaining confessions. Other than “swimming” a witch, he also used a witches’ bridle. James himself presided over the North Berwick Trials, personally condemning the three accused witches to death.
James then started to condemn his own subjects of witchcraft, torturing them into confession and resulting in execution. The North Berwick Trials are the most famous because this was the first trial to involve James directly, and the first major scale trial of witchcraft accusations. Throughout history, many others in Scotland were condemned to death, with only one surviving for pleading pregnancy.
In his book Daemonologie, James expresses his ideas of witchcraft and his misgivings of the subject. It’s said the Salem Witch Trials are more “severe” became of the time-span the executions took place. The Salem Trials and accusations actually started late in 1691, spanning into the end of 1692. Majority of the accusations and executions were held in July and September of 1692. Over a time period of about two decades, the massive witch-hunts and executions in Scotland took place. In Salem, over 19 were executed within a span of one year, making it more gruesome though torture was not involved.
The similarities are also prominent, for both regions are largely Protestant and Puritans. The same types of accusations made in Scotland were also made over a century later in Salem. But during the Salem Witch Trials, there was hard, physical evidence to condemn the witches. The people of the community found what’s known today as “voodoo dolls” in the Proctor household, and also the physical symptoms of the girls affected (which today historians believe their symptoms was a result of bad grain forming ergot poisoning).
Today the witch trials are also seen in a different light in each area. America thrives on its tourist business from Salem, including tours and special “magickal” shops for witchcraft which is nothing but a fake gimmick. Scotland prides itself on its history, keeping old records and documents for the sake of historic action, thriving on the knowledge of the past. There isn’t much difference between Scotland and America, with them both being of Protestant faith and the accusations made were quite similar. More people were killed during this witch-hunt in a single period, than in Scotland over a few decades. The Salem Trials was the single largest witch-hunt in America, as King James’ personal attacks on witches were the second-largest witch-hunt in Scotland.