Samuel Parris believed this unnatural behavior to be an illness and asked Salem Village's physician, William Griggs, to examine the girls. He did not find any physical cause for their strange behavior and concluded the girls were bewitched (Kallen, 24). Puritans believed that witches existed and that they were capable of harm. They defined witchcraft as entering into a compact with the devil in exchange for certain powers to do evil (Kallen, 25). In the Puritan religion, witchcraft was considered a sin because it denied God as being superior. It was viewed as a crime because the witch could call up the Devil in his/her shape to perform cruel acts against others. During this time period, if witchcraft was suspected, it was investigated thoroughly and the tormentor(s) were identified and judged (Zeinert, 20).
Samuel Parris was unaware that Mary Sibley ordered Tituba and her husband, John Indian, to bake a "witch cake" in order to help the girls name their tormentors. A witch cake is composed of rye meal mixed with urine from the afflicted, which is then fed to a dog. The person(s) are considered bewitched if the dog displays similar symptoms as the afflicted. At first the girls were hesitant to speak, but Betty eventually spoke and named Tituba. The other girls soon spoke and named Sarah Osborne and Sarah Good (Fremon, 27). .
Since there were three Salem Village residents accused of witchcraft, an investigation began. Two magistrates from Salem Town, John Hathorne, the great-grandfather of famed writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (Nathaniel added a "w" to his name to help disassociate himself from this great-grandfather) and Jonathan Corwin, traveled to Salem Village to investigate the cases of witchcraft. Their investigation of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good and Tituba was conducted in the Salem Village Meetinghouse. During the interrogation, Betty, Abigail, and six other girls would often scream and tumble on the floor of the meetinghouse.
