In the winter of 1692, a wave of witch hysteria surrounded the settlement of Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The allegations began with two little girls acting strangely. There are many factors behind why these thoughts of witchcraft began to manifest. These problems occurred before that winter of 1692. The winter of 1692 was the beginning of the hysteria behind the witchcraft trials. To understand the reasons behind the hysteria, you need to know a little about the people who settled in the Salem Village area. . Mainly Puritans inhabited the village of Salem. At that time there were very few other religions. The Puritans left England to escape religious persecution. The Puritans wanted to purify the national church by eliminating what they saw as Catholic influence. They believed in the total sovereignty of God and the absolute sinfulness of man. They wanted to establish a union between church and state. The Puritans believed they were making a sacred covenant with God by founding the colony of Massachusetts. They agreed to live according to his will in exchange for divine approval in the New World. The people of Salem Village believed in witches. The word witchcraft meant “the art of bewitching, casting spells, or manipulating the forces of nature.” People thought this was impossible without the Devil's cooperation. Many realized that the Devil was irritated by their way of life. The Devil had to act through a witch to cause physical harm to humans. He couldn't do it alone. People who firmly believed in witches were always looking for them. As a result, many people were wrongly accused. Puritans saw the world in black and white. Discipline and devotion were slogans in the service of the Lord. The simplest acts of innocence were considered questionable or even abnormal conduct. Sinners were severely punished in the village of Salem. The punishments were intended to humiliate the person as well as hurt him. In the 17th century there was never any respect for the privacy of any individual. The community as a whole was expected to support the Puritan religion. They were encouraged to observe their neighbors carefully and report any behavior that deviated even slightly from the “upright and mean.” According to some sources there was a problem with the growing independence of women. They lived in a society where men exercised substantial authority over women.