The Salem Witch Trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft and around 20 were executed. Today we don't necessarily take such harsh measures towards those who are different, but there are witch hunts every day in our society. In the 1600s as today, humans fear the unknown or discordance. People take their personal values ​​and combine them with the values ​​of their society, and "witch hunts" begin to form in society. Witch hunts are when a certain group is looked at differently because of their thoughts or actions. In the 1690s, Puritan society feared certain people because they were different. 320 years later, it still happens in our society for the same reason. Some examples of how certain groups are victimized are the themes of a person's body image and sexual orientation. In 1692, residents of Salem, Massachusetts were called Puritans. The Puritans had societal values ​​that were strictly followed and valued in Puritan society. Many of them are still popular today. These values ​​are primarily based on God. Due to the focus on God, their society also had many fears such as sin, the Devil, as well as nonconformity, leading to suspicion of witchcraft in those who are different. When Abigail Williams and her friends began to show signs of being with the devil, the citizens recognized that the girls were not like all the other girls in town, so they began to treat them differently from other citizens , especially because the devil is the opposing force of God. They also feared the forest, "the people of Salem believed that the virgin forest was the last reserve of the devil, his home base, and the citadel... middle of paper... of the unknown, and they had afraid of people not conforming. So if society sees a person or group of people who don't exactly fit society's mold, they are treated differently. Society sets the standards of what is expected, and then people add their personal beliefs to it. Works Cited Janssen, I, WM Craig, WF Boyce and W Pickett. “PubMed.” NCBI. US National Library of Medicine, nd Web. November 17, 2013. “ANAD.” Eating Disorder Statistics « « National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Related Disorders. Np, and Web. November 17, 2013. “Obesity affects women's job prospects, study finds.” » The University of Manchester. Np, and Web. November 18. 2013. .