The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.
Related terms
Puritanism: A religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late sixteenth century aiming to "purify" it from its Catholic practices.
McCarthyism: A period during the Cold War where there was intense suspicion and investigations into alleged communist infiltration in U.S institutions, similar to how people were unjustly accused during the Salem Witch Trials.
Hysteria: An uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping which was prevalent during the Salem Witch Trials.