Venus Glass

Shortly after Parris Samuel affairs with the church in 1692, his daughter Elizabeth Parris and niece Abigail Williams seemed to go missing for short periods of time. "...along with other New England youth, '[Elizabeth and Abigail] had been led away with little Sorceries" (105).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Graggbook-3">[3]</a> Elizabeth, Abigail, and the girls attempted fortune-telling methods during their missing periods in hopes of discovering future husbands and social statuses. They used an object called a "Venus glass", which allowed them to observe the shape of an egg white as it floated in a glass of water. In the water, the egg white would resemble a shape or symbol depicting their futures.In one instance, a girl found a coffin shape inside her glass and became quite frightened after the incident according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hale_(Beverly_minister)" class="mw-redirect" title="John Hale (Beverly minister)">John Hale</a>'s A Modest Enquiry Into the Nature of Witchcraft.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Brooks-1">[1]</a>

In February 1692, strange illnesses appeared after the girls tinkered with fortune-telling. Elizabeth acted abnormal by hiding "...under furniture, complained of fever, barked like a dog, and screamed and cried out of pain"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Brooks-1">[1]</a> and her body convulsed into un-human-like positions.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Johnson-2">[2]</a> Abigail complained of similar symptoms shortly after Betty's episodes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Brooks-1">[1]</a> John Hale claimed to have personally seen the harm being done to Elizabeth and Abigail, writing in A Quest for Security that "These Children ... were bitten and pinched by invisible agents; their arms, necks, and backs turned this way and that way and returned back again, so it was impossible for them to do of themselves" (106).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Graggbook-3">[3]</a> Betty's father tried prayer and home remedies as a cure but nothing helped. Soon enough, he called in physician William Griggs and minister John Hale for a diagnosis. Both agreed that Elizabeth (Betty) and Abigail were suffering from witchcraft.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Johnson-2">[2]</a>

There are more logical reasons the girls fell under these illnesses. One thought was concluded as a compilation of disorders such as asthma, stress, epilepsy, and even boredom. Others believe it was caused by ergots in the rye, which have been known to cause similar symptoms.

Elizabeth's other friends were also beginning to show similar symptoms of bewitching. Griggs found it difficult to key in on an exact cure and noticed the victims were only children. This enabled other villagers to believe that this event was indeed brought on by witchcraft.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Linder-4">[4]</a> A neighbor, Mary Sibley, recommended a witch's cake to reveal the names of the witches.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Johnson-2">[2]</a> She instructed Tituba to bake a rye cake with the victim's urine and feed the cake to a dog. Dogs were believed to support witches and their super natural powers by following the witches' requests.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Linder-4">[4]</a> Without alleviation of the illness, Betty eventually named Tituba as one of the 'Evil Hands'.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Johnson-2">[2]</a> Linder suggests Elizabeth and Abigail wrote their story before making any accusations allowing their scenario to be more realistic.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Linder-4">[4]</a> In the meantime, Tituba underwent questioning and other victims, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Putnam_Jr." class="mw-redirect" title="Ann Putnam Jr.">Ann Putnam Jr.</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth(Betty)Hubbard" class="mw-redirect" title="Elizabeth (Betty) Hubbard">Elizabeth (Betty) Hubbard</a>, began to name their culprits as well. Other specified witches included <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Osborne" title="Sarah Osborne">Sarah Osborne</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Good" title="Sarah Good">Sarah Good</a> were questioned. All three would likely have had few if any advocates on their behalf due to their low social status in Salem. During their trials, Tituba confessed as well as turning in the other two women.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Parris#cite_note-Johnson-2">[2]</a>