The Salem witchcraft accusations of 1692, was a period of hysteria, where ordinary citizens from an ordinary village became hell-bent on ridding their community from the influence of witches. Primary source documentation, like depositions in the case of Bridget Bishop, might point to ulterior motives from the accusing parties. It is important to note that there was a strong divide within the community of Salem Village due to the proximity of Salem Town. One of the reasons that the community was divided was because of the difference in prosperity between different areas of the community. The villagers closer to the Ipswich road (like the tavern owners i.e. Bridget Bishop) were more prosperous and succeeded because of the traffic drawn by the bigger Salem Town. This could have been the reason for some underlying animosity between the two factions of villagers, which leads to the question, what kind of ulterior motives drove the people of Salem Village to accuse people of witchcraft? The people of Salem Village used witch-hunts to rid the community of people they resented.
In some of the depositions against Bridget Bishop there is evidence as to why villagers held animosity towards her. One of the reasons is that she owned a tavern. In a heavily religious society the services offered by taverns were not necessarily reflective of good Christian values. Bishop's establishment was no different. According to Reverend John Hale, Bishop "did entertaine people in her house at unseasonable houres in the night, to keep drinking and playing at shovelboard, whereby discord did arise in other families & young people were in danger to be corrupted " (RTAP 61). This seems like a clear complaint and statement of unhappiness with Bridget Bishop. .
The Reverend probably felt like the community was threatened by the taverns influences. Accusing her of witchcraft could have been an easy way to deal with her seemingly unacceptable practices and eliminate the threat that she posed.
