“The Salem witch trials burned people at the stake.”

While the Salem witch trials remain a dark chapter in American history, a pervasive misconception suggests that accused witches were burned at the stake. This is a myth. In colonial Massachusetts, nineteen individuals found guilty of witchcraft were executed by hanging. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea, and several others perished in prison due to harsh conditions. Burning at the stake was never a legal form of execution for witchcraft in the American colonies.

The origin of this common myth likely stems from the broader history of witch hunts in Europe. Across many parts of continental Europe, particularly during the medieval and early modern periods, burning was indeed a common method of execution for those convicted of witchcraft, often because witchcraft was considered a form of heresy, a crime against the church. However, the legal system in colonial Massachusetts was based on English law, which classified witchcraft as a felony, a crime against the state, punishable by hanging.

The persistent belief that Salem witches were burned is largely due to the conflation of European and American historical practices in popular imagination and media. Dramatic portrayals of witch burnings from Europe, such as the widely known story of Joan of Arc, have contributed to this imagery becoming synonymous with all witch trials. This powerful and horrific image often overshadows the specific legal and historical realities of the Salem witch trials, leading many to mistakenly believe that the same methods of execution were universally applied.