10 ways Salem witch hunters spotted the "guilty"

Prosecutors began interrogating the first accused witches in the infamous Salem Witch Trials this week in 1692. How does one go about proving the guilt of a witch? Basically, any way you feel like doing it. Or, at least, that's the impression I get from this mental_floss 10 list.

Maggie Koerth-Baker is the science editor at BoingBoing.net. She writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine and is the author of Before the Lights Go Out, a book about electricity, infrastructure, and the future of energy. You can find Maggie on Twitter and Facebook.

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adonai

All a witch needs is to stuff her petticoats with gunpowder & shrapnel.

A Pyrrhic victory, sure, but at least you’d go out with a bang.
Dom

Wasn’t it all caused by the stuff that LSD is made of?

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/previous_seasons/case_salem/clues.html
Kent

Nice article about medieval just and “Trail by Ordeal” http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/01/31/justice_medieval_style/ which doesn’t cover all the excesses of the Salem Witch Trails.
Gary61

“Throw her into the pond! If she floats, she’s made of wood … and therefore …. A WITCH!”
Anonymous

What foolery! One need not prove the guiltiness of a witch. The witch must instead prove her innocence.
zikzak

Protip: these methods work for identifying terrorist photographers as well!
_OM_

…it’s a fair cop!
nanuq

It’s hard to say what guided the Salem witchhunters in testing for witches but European inquisitors had the benefit of that essential manual: the Malleus Maleficarum (the Witches’ Hammer) which guided witch hunters for centuries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum

http://drvitelli.typepad.com/providentia/2009/07/a-tale-of-two-books.html
Kaleberg

It was just like all those child abuse day care trials back in the 1980s, except that the folks in Salem realized their error and prayed for forgiveness for the evil they had done. (Check out the book Satan’s Silence for a good rundown.)
Waltb555

She turned me into a newt!

(Sorry, had to do it)
- abstract_reg
  
  (I got better!)
Anonymous

Burning Angel by Arch Enemy

Dark shadows from above
Ravens fly, obliterate the sun
“It’s a sign of the devil.
He will come for his servant tonight”
These are dark times
Suspicious minds breed like rats
Guardians of corrupt morality
Spread their filthy lies

Am I to burn
I have not sinned!
Burnt at the stake.
Innocent blood that can never be washed clean

The flames of ignorance
Grow higher and higher
Licking my flesh – burning my soul
The raven laughing in the moon

These are dark times
Suspicious minds breed like rats.
Guardians of corrupt morality
Spread their filthy lies again…

Am I to burn
I have not sinned!
Burnt at the stake.
Innocent blood that can never be washed clean
Orky

James Morrow
The Last Witchfinder

Excellent book, even if you’re not into witches. Especially if you’re not into witches, actually.
- I less than three mermaids
  
  +1 Last Witchfinder, although I sort of thought the Ben Franklin tie-in was a bit silly.
  
  Oh, and also- BUILD A BRIDGE OUT OF HER!
Sparrow

If she weighs the same as a duck…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU
Felton

The Witchsmeller Pursuivant has a lot more tricks than that.
Anonymous

Enhanced interrogation