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Abigail Williams (July 12, 1680 – c. late 1692) was one of the initial accusers in the Salem witch trials of 1692, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of more than 150 accused witches. ==Salem Witch Trials== Abigail and her cousin, Betty Parris, were the first two accusers in the Salem Witch trials of 1692. Williams was eleven years old at the time and she was living with her uncle Samuel Parris in Salem after a raid by Native Americans resulted in the killing of her parents. According to Rev Deodat Lawson, an eyewitness, she and Elizabeth began to have fits in which they ran around rooms flailing their arms, ducking under chairs and trying to climb up the chimney. It is claimed that her body contorted into apparently impossible positions. This troubled many of the villagers of Salem. Rev. Samuel Parris, the local minister, decided to call in a doctor to determine whether or not these afflictions were medical. The physician, William Griggs, had difficulties understanding the actions of the two young girls. Griggs believed it was not a medical issue, rather, he suggested it must be witchcraft. One of Parris’ slaves, Tituba, was then asked to bake a ''witch cake'' — rye mixed with the afflicted girls' urine— and feed the mixture to a dog. The theory was that if Abigail and Elizabeth were bewitched, the dog would exhibit similar symptoms and prove that witchcraft was indeed present and being practiced.〔Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, ''Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974 (pp. 2-3)〕 Due to Abigail and Elizabeth's claims to be possessed, false accusations would soon be made, resulting in 20 deaths. On February 29, 1692, three women were arrested for suspicion of witchcraft: Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba herself.〔Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, ''Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1974 (p. 3).〕 They were all found guilty, but the only one to confess was Tituba. Since the other two women did not confess, Good was hanged, and Osborne died in prison. Tituba was released from jail a year later, when an unknown person paid her fees for release.〔Games, Alison. ''Witchcraft in Early North America''. Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2010 (p. 176)〕 Abigail and Elizabeth's accusations rapidly spread throughout Salem and nearby villages (especially Andover), leading to the imprisonment of many people and the deaths of 19 during that period (1692–93) alone.〔Hall, David. ''Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth-Century New England''. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1999 (pp. 280-81)〕 In 1976, Linnda R. Caporael〔(Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? ) - ''Science'', vol. 192, April 1976〕 put forward the theory that these strange symptoms may have been caused by ergotism, the ingestion of fungus-infected rye. This explanation has not been widely accepted.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Were the witches of Salem a result of poisoning with ergot fungus? )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abigail Williams (Salem witch trials)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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