Witch Trials



A Witch Trial is an event in which witches are hunted down by both Witch Hunters and townspeople. The witches are either hung, immersed in water or burned at the stake. There were two major Witch Trials in history; the Salem Witch Trials and the 2009 Witch Trials, which were started by Phoebe Halliwell.

The Salem Witch Trials


The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before local magistrates followed by county court of trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex counties of colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693. During the trials, many people both male and female, even children, were burned, hanged or drowned. Often it would be innocent people, convicted of practicing magic, whilst they never even had anything to do with the so-called Dark Arts. To proof that they were truly innocent, the convicted would be drowned, hung or burned. If they would die, they would be declared human, if they survived, they were declared a witch. However, this never worked, and every convicted person died.

Melinda Warren
Melinda Warren, the Charmed Ones' ancestor was burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials, when her lover and unknown to her the warlock, Matthew Tate outed her as a witch after stealing her powers. ("The Witch Is Back") It was on the stake, that Melinda prophesized the legacy of the Charmed Ones.

The 2009 Witch Trials


In 2009, a base-ball player named Cal Greene, murdered a dear friend of Phoebe Halliwell. A technicality set him free and in revenge, a furious and outraged Phoebe killed Cal. According to Leo, that's when she crossed the line from protecting the innocent to punishing the guilty. However, unknown to her, this was presumably caught on tape and Phoebe was exposed as a witch by a man called Nathaniel Pratt, the local DA. This is what started the 2009 Witch Trials with Pratt at the helm. Prue and Piper were both save. Pratt had checked them out but didn't suspect anything. Still, they were both in danger as they had to be very careful with their powers, as well as Piper's daughter, Melinda.

Although Phoebe and her sisters, traveled to 2009 to try and rescue her. Phoebe didn't allow them to and said that she had to die, for she had killed a man, an innocent. She explained that "the wrong thing done for the right reason is still the wrong thing" and thus let herself be burned on the stake. This was the lesson the sisters had to learn and before Phoebe was completely burned, The Elders had sent them back to 1999. Because of the Witch Trials started by Phoebe, many convicted witches had been forced to go underground.