Nineteen people were hanged as witches during the Salem witch trials. The executions took place in 1692, after colonial courts convicted people accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem and surrounding communities.
The first person hanged was Bridget Bishop on June 10, 1692. Five more people were executed in July, five in August, and eight on September 22, the final hanging date. Fourteen of those hanged were women and five were men, including John Proctor and George Burroughs.
The number 19 can be confusing because 20 people died as a direct result of the trials. Giles Corey, an accused farmer who refused to enter a plea, was pressed to death under heavy stones rather than hanged. In addition, several accused people died in jail from illness and poor conditions.
More than 200 people were accused, and 30 were convicted. The trials eventually ended when officials and influential clergy questioned the use of spectral evidence, which claimed that a person’s spirit had attacked victims.