The Crucible
Using the subject of the Salem Witch trials, Arthur Miller'splay The Crucible (1953), presents events in contemporary America. The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, and were based on the accusations of a twelve-year-old girl named Anne Putnam. Anne Putnam claimed that she had witnessed or saw a number of Salem's residents holding black sabbaths and consorting with Satan. Based on her accusations, a clergyman named Samuel Parris spearheaded the prosecution of dozens of witches in the Massachusetts colony. Nineteen people were hanged and one pressed to death over the following two years.