Maybe they really were witches.

Or maybe New Englanders started pointing fingers at their neighbors for a more convenient reason … money. Many of the women accused of being witches were impoverished, but there was another, surprisingly large group of suspects: property owners. Women who had inherited land from their fathers or husbands, and who didn’t have to give it up, were often the targets of witch hunts. Conveniently, if the women were found guilty, other people could take their land.

Pretty suspicious … and I’m not talking about the women. 

Video by Charlotte Buchen and Matthew Reyes.