Episode #69 - Samuel Parris & The Salem Witch Trials

In this episode of The History in Motion Podcast, we explore one of colonial America’s most haunting and enduring episodes — the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. What began as strange behavior in a Puritan minister’s household quickly spiraled into mass panic, religious fervor, and judicial collapse in a small New England village.We trace how Reverend Samuel Parris’s household became the spark that ignited a wave of accusations, starting with his young daughter Betty and niece Abigail Williams. Their claims — supported by spiritual evidence and embraced by the community — led to over 200 people being accused, and 20 executed in just over a year.But beyond the familiar images of hysteria and hangings, this episode asks deeper questions: Why did Salem descend into such fear so quickly? How did Puritanism, power struggles, and social divisions set the stage for a tragedy? And what does Samuel Parris’s role tell us about the dangers of unchecked authority in a society shaped by belief?Join us as we unpack the real story behind the Salem Witch Trials — a story not just of superstition and panic, but of community fracture, spiritual anxiety, and the enduring consequences of fear-driven justice.

Om Podcasten

The History In Motion Podcast was created to explore history through the eyes of decision making. Looking at decisions that were made at critical junctions of human history and the leaders who made them. Our approach is to make history more engaging by putting ourselves in the shoes of politicians, governments, military leaders - to understand who they were and the world they lived in and how it all came together in the decisions they made.