this is where i wish lemmy had r/askhistorians because i remember for a fact there’s some mandela effect here and culturally we are misremembering something key but as a non-historian i’d look like an idot trying to call it out
edit: ok i figured it out and my point is moot. i am remembering that the Salem witch trials in America did not involve burnings, but hangings. however the witch trials in Europe very much did involve burning.
sorry for the semi-useless comment haha
literally the modern burning of the library of alexandria is going on and no one* is talking about it
*ok probably not no one im just being overdramatic
Yes, the penalty for being a witch was hanging. Unfortunately the test to prove you were a witch sometimes involved tying you up and throwing you into a lake to see if you float or sink, and if you float then they would hang you. Of course the situation resolved itself if you didn’t float. No one ever floated.
Or putting you under a stone.
Giles Corey, one of the more famous Salem victims. His wife was tried for witchcraft, and while he stood against her, he got wrapped up in it, too. They placed large stones over his body, telling him if he confessed he would be given a clean death.
His last words are reported to be “More weight”.