She's a witch! Burn her!

Sir Bedevere: What makes you think she's a witch?
 Peasant 3:Well, she turned me into a newt!
 Sir Bedevere: A newt?
 Peasant 3: [meekly after a long pause] ... I got better.
Crowd: [shouts] Burn her anyway!
         -Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1974


Talk about educating America and people for that matter. Where was that philosophy in 1692 (or 1940 for that matter)?

This book was a fascinating mix of fact and illustrations. Rosalyn Schanzer did a great job of finding out the facts and statistics of the events and victims (on both sides) of this horrible misfortune. Her illustrations add a creativity to the story that pulls a reader into the descriptions of abuse from the accusers.

Dramatic courtroom scenes are described throughout the book, like this dramatization, "Oh minister, she wanted me to sign the devil's book, and she's pinching me now!" (while at the same time, the child is pinching herself). Accusers were also found to have pins to prick themselves tucked into their sleeves.

What kills me about this story is that real people were stupid enough to believe the words (lies) of children. Like people actually turned into spirit form and mounted poles just to poke and pinch people. As a result 200 people were accused, 20 were executed, and 4 died in jail awaiting trial, sentencing, or just because they couldn't pay their way out. One girl came forward to admit she had lied and she was accused of being a witch in league with the devil.

Sounds a little familiar doesn't it? By the time World War II had ended as estimated 8,861,800 Jews had lost their lives in the holocaust. All because of someone's lies, propaganda, and personal agenda.

Or maybe today when people (still) discriminate because of another person's race, color, religion, or sexual orientation, need I go on?

Anyway, moving on. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fact. you get a lot of background on the accusers and the accused, as well as their fates. This would also make for a great book report for a middle school reader. Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did and if not, happy 'hunting' for a new one.