How the Salem witch hunts of 1692 began is unclear. Many historians believe that it was in the house of the Reverend Samuel Parris, as his twelve-year-old granddaughter and nine-year-old daughter delighted in fortune-telling. A coffin was formed when the girls dropped a raw egg into a glass of water. Both girls suffered a nervous breakdown and an illness that could not be medically explained by Dr. William Griggs, who then attributed everything to witchcraft. "The contagion would sweep through at least twenty-two villages in Massachusetts, culminating in the arrest of over one hundred and fifty people. Fifty-nine were tried, thirty-one convicted, and nineteen hanged (Foulds vi-vii).” Women were the majority of the accused, because at that time witchcraft was mostly a female perversity. The more than one hundred and fifty accused in 1692 came from all backgrounds, ages and genders. "People who scoffed at witchcraft accusations risked become the target of accusations themselves (Linder)." Documents tracing the origins of the witch hunts led to one individual, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, daughter of the Reverend Samuel Parris. After delivering one of his lively sermons, Betty and her cousin Abigail Williams began to behave strangely, crying loudly, hiding under chairs and twisting her arms and legs in unnatural positions. Dr. Griggs said it was a spell, the reverend asked to find out who the was torturing. To calm the turmoil and confusion, Betty named Tituba, a dark-skinned native, as the cause of her bizarre illness. The first witch of Salem to break down and confess was Tituba. She was brought to Boston from Barbados in 1680 as one of the Reverend Samuel Parris' slaves. Tituba told stories of spells, covens and confessed… middle of paper……“If they confessed to the charges, it was because most were scared, hungry and emotionally drained. Others were plagued by feelings of unworthiness or pressured by panicked family members who feared its impact on the rest of the family (Foulds 42).” Many assumed that witchcraft was hereditary, so spouses, siblings, and even children of accused witches were brought in. On September 22, 1692, the court of Oyer & Terminer had adjourned. The executions were over, but the witch trials continued in other courts until 1693. The colonists finally had enough. In the summer of 1693, several prominent colonists condemned the issuing of death sentences based on spectral evidence. Works Cited Foulds, Diane E. Death in Salem: The Privates Lives Behind the 1692 Witch Hunt. 2010.Linder, Douglas O. An Account of Events in Salem. September 2009.