saying, "An' it harm none, do what thou wilt". (Hansen, 32) This quote states that a witch has the opportunity to live without the burdens of sin when he/she gained their freedom. They also believed that man was not an important species. This caused confrontation with the Puritans because they felt that man was, by rank or importance, just below God but believed that man had power over all that God had created. The hatred that Puritans formed for witchcraft proved that they did in fact believe in it. A lot of the Puritan's knowledge of witchcraft came from a book called, Malleus Maleficarum, meaning "the hammer of witches", published in 1490 by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger. This book was also used as a guideline in the court when faced with a witch trial. Kramer and Sprenger described witches and Satan worshipers that could fly on broomsticks and cast evil spells.
             Because of this information, the church felt that it was justified to kill all witches that they encountered. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," (Exodus22:18) states the Old Testament. Ministers from nearby communities met in Salem Village "to lead a public day of fasting and prayer, and to question the afflicted girls about what had caused their disturbing behavior" (Linde, 183). Poppets, or voodoo dolls, and potions were used to arrest and try suspected witches. The most popular evidence was "spectral evidence", claims that ghosts of people were tormenting others. The accused sometimes confessed that "spectral images" would waken or attack them. Cotton Mather, one of Salem's clergymen, questioned whether "spectral evidence" should be used in trials (Encarta Online). Court officials disputed his arguments but the trial procedures remained the same. Because of this court and the Salem witch trials, 19 men and women were hung, 17 of which were innocent, one eighty year old m...