Salem Witch Trials Escape Room

Escaping the Salem Witch Trials

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Can you escape before it’s too late?

Instructions

It's 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts, and the town is in chaos. Accusations of witchcraft are flying, and you’ve been named as one of the suspects! To avoid trial and punishment, you must gather evidence, solve historical puzzles, and uncover the truth behind the witch trials.

Lesson 01

Haunted Forest: venture forth and reach the end of the path to learn how the trials began.

Magical Progress

The accusations begin

It begins in the house of a minister...Samuel Parris’ 9-year-old daughter, Betty, begins to exhibit strange symptoms. The doctor watched her violent fits and suggested supernatural causes. Stranger still, the illness seemed to be contagious. Parris’ 11-year-old niece, Abigail Williams, was beset by fits, followed by two others: 12-year-old Ann Putnam and 17-year-old Elizabeth Hubbard.

The accusations begin

By March 1, 1692, three women were accused of witchcraft: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indigenous woman from Barbados, who was enslaved by Parris. Thus began the Salem witch hunt, one of the stranger episodes in American history. By its close, 10 girls and young women claimed to be afflicted by witchcraft, resulting in the deaths of 20 people, one of whom was accidentally killed during torture.

The accusations begin

The year 1692 was one of general unrest. “Just to make it even more complicated, part of the political conflict that’s occurring on the brink of the Salem outbreak involves a loss of autonomy in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,” says [Professor Kathleen M.] Brown. In 1689, the British crown inserts its own appointee as colonial governor, and the colony ejects the appointee on the grounds that he doesn’t represent their Puritan leadership.

Passcode 1/5

The end of the path through the haunted forest is just ahead. Type in the 4 digit passcode found in the background information to keep going!

Type in the number found in the background information and keep going!

4 digit passcode

You fell!

Back

Lesson 02

Potions. decode the recipe to find out why the community is so afraid of witches

Magical progress

The role of religion

[Professor Kathleen Brown] says that the idea that the devil had a hand in human affairs and could “insinuate himself into your heart and your thinking and try to seduce you away from God,” was a very normative belief. “You can never be so certain that you’re on the right side of things” in Puritan culture, Brown says. There was a sense that it “would be very easy to slip into some kind of really harmful—in the sense of your own soul and in the sense of your larger community—relationship with Satan.” Idle hands do the devil’s work, as the saying goes.

The role of religion

Religion played a huge role in the Salem Witch Trials. You need to decode the message left by a local Puritan minister. The code is hidden in a Bible verse commonly cited during the trials.

Exodus

22

18

Drag the circle and findthe clue.

"Thou shall not suffer a ________ to _______."

lowercase, space between words

What was used to justify the trials?

5 letters, all caps

Lesson 03

Spectral Evidence. Sift through the evidence to find out how some of the claims were unreliable

Magical Progress

The evidence is flawed

During the Salem Witch Trials, many accusers claimed they could see the “specters” or spirits of the accused committing witchcraft, even when the accused were miles away, asleep, or otherwise occupied. This "spectral evidence" was used in court to convict people of witchcraft. The accused had no control over their "specter" or how it appeared, and there was no physical proof to verify the accusers' claims.

The evidence is flawed

Passcode 3/5

"I am said to do harm, though I’m far from the scene,I can work my dark magic while asleep or serene. Though others swear they’ve seen me fly, My feet are planted and my hands are dry. What am I, who brings guilt without proof, Where truth fades away under my roof?"

The answer to the riddle is a ________

7 letters, lowercase

Bad omen!

Back

Lesson 04

Enchantments Uncover the role of the courts and who presided over them.

Magical progress

The Court of Oyer and Terminer

The Court of Oyer and Terminer was established in 1692 to oversee the witchcraft trials in Salem. The name "Oyer and Terminer" means "to hear and determine," which reflects the court's role in quickly processing accusations of witchcraft. The court was responsible for convicting and sentencing individuals based on the evidence presented, including spectral evidence (visions of spirits or ghosts). The court’s actions resulted in the execution of 19 people and the imprisonment of many others.

The Salem Witch Trials involved legal practices that presumed guilt, accepted specific types of evidence, and followed unique judicial procedures, marking a dark chapter in American history. Click below for more information.

The Court of Oyer and Terminer

Info

• conviction
• court
• death
• determine
• evidence
• hear

• justice
• nineteen
• salem
• spectral
• testimony
• witch

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .

Passcode 4/5

First find all the words in the list. Click on the pencil in the top right corner to circle or mark through. Words can go in any direction and share letters as well as cross over each other. Once you find all the words, copy the unused letters starting in the top left corner into the blanks to reveal the hidden message.

Who presided over the trials?

2 words, all caps and a space

Lesson 05

Cursed Thicket: search the wilderness for an ally to help end the trials!

Magical Progress

The use of spectral evidence in Stoughton’s court sparked significant debate. An anonymous document called the “Return of Several Ministers,” found in Increase Mather’s Cases of Conscience, was the court's response after asking Massachusetts clergy about its validity. The clergy's answer was complex and hard to understand. Cotton Mather, possibly the author of this document, summarized their views in a letter to Judge John Richards on May 31, 1692. In this letter, Mather warned that while spectral evidence could be used, it should not be overly trusted since the Devil could take on the appearance of an innocent person. Mather implied that spectral evidence could lead to an indictment but was not enough for a conviction. One scholar notes that no one was executed solely based on spectral evidence by the time the governor put a stop to its use.

The End of the Trials

Click Here Second

Click Here First

Drag the circle and findthe clue.

Passcode 5/5

Who can clear your name by saying spectral evidence is unreliable?

First and Last name

Badchoice!

Back

The trials are over and your name has been cleared! Congratulations!

Are you sure you want to exit?

Your progress will be lost and you will lose your trial.

Exit

Continue

Become an expertin witchcraft!

To do this, you must complete the wizardry manual by overcoming each of the 4 lessons you will find: · Bewitched Forest· Potions· Divination· Enchantments. Test your magical skills and try not to fail or you will have to retakethe test.

Become an expertin witchcraft!

To do this, you must complete the wizardry manual by overcoming each of the 4 lessons you will find: · Bewitched Forest· Potions· Divination· Enchantments. Test your magical skills and try not to fail or you will have to retakethe test.

First find all the words in the list. Words can go in any direction and share letters as well as cross over each other. Once you find all the words, copy the unused letters starting in the top left corner into the blanks to reveal the hidden message.

• conviction
• court
• death
• determine
• evidence
• hear

• justice
• nineteen
• salem
• spectral
• testimony
• witch

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ .

The Court of Oyer and Terminer