This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In Salem, Mass., around 1692, a slave girl named Tituba told voodoo stories to Betty and Abigail Williams, which sparked a period of witch-hunts. In 2008, in San Angelo, Texas, someone received an anonymous phone call, which ignited a series of unprecedented and, some say, illegal hunts. In New England, 350 people were accused and sought out. The number of people in Texas is considerably larger.
The Rev. Increase Mather defended the Salem judges and trials but strongly denounced the use of spectral evidence, saying, "It were better that 10 suspected witches should escape, than that one innocent person should be condemned."
In 1693, all of those accused were acquitted, putting an end to that situation. Fast forward to 2008 - the law enforcement in San Angelo continues its separation, testing and interrogation of mothers and children in an effort to prove an enormous moral threat.
The tragedy of this event will similarly haunt many for years to come.
Vern Gorzitze
Salt Lake City
