it wasn't just witches

more from salem ONE CRACKED FACT | [View in Browser]( [04112022-header](www.cracked.com/article_32770_nasa-sent-a-lightsaber-into-space.html?newsletter-cat=science?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=12042022) [Honoring Giles, The Badass Wrongly Executed For Being A Wizard]( By: [RM Avatar] [Ryan Menezes]( • April 12, 2022 [04122022]( We've all heard about women put to death for being witches, and we know that these were all innocent victims of persecution. But let's also spare a thought for the occasional men caught up in this same anti-magic panic. Take the case of the penis-snatching wizards of Ghana. Some countries practice/fear witchcraft even into the modern age, and in 1997, a mob in Accra, Ghana, put to death seven sorcerers, accusing them of stealing men's penises. It is possible that the accusers were simply suffering from the normal temporary phenomenon known as "shrinkage." It's also possible that the panic was manufactured by those who wanted to use a riot as an excuse to pick people's pockets. The other of these men we want to mention is Giles Corey, executed during the Salem witch trials. Yes, about one-fifth of those convicted of witchcraft in Salem were men, and Massachusetts executed several of them, including a couple pastors. Most were hanged. Giles suffered a different fate. Giles, an 81-year-old farmer, refused to offer a plea of guilty or not guilty when one Abigail Hobbs accused him of being a wizard. As a result, the court could not try him. They could still kill him, though, and rather than a swift hanging, the law said they should torture him to death. They'd use a method called peine forte et dure, in which they'd place him naked under a wooden board then pile rocks on top to crush him to death. On September 17, 1692, Giles received his peine forte et dure, and once they dropped the first weights on him, he did speak. Not to ask for mercy or enter a plea, however. Instead, he said: "More weight!" Or, some sources quote him as saying, "More rocks!" The crushing did kill him, but if you must die nude and buried under rocks, this is the way to do it. For more on the Salem witch trials, check out: - [4 Weird Ways We Tried Criminals Throughout History]( - [Medieval Love Spells Involved Baking A Loaf Of Butt-Bread]( - [Uh, America's Take On The Salem Witch Trials Is Really Weird]( [Daily Digest]( [A 'Final Fantasy IX' Remake Announcement Seems Imminent]( [By Tiago Svn / April 12th, 2022]( [15 Bits Of Good News That Gives Us The Warm And Fuzzies]( [By Andrea Meno / April 12th, 2022]( [15 Harry Potter Plot Holes You Could Fly a Broom Through]( [By Amanda Mannen / April 12th, 2022]( [How 'Scream's Mask Was Inspired By 1930s Cartoons (Not That Munch Painting)]( [By Zanandi Botes / April 12th, 2022]( [15 Now-You-Know Stories That Swing Like Clyde Stubblefield]( [By JhallComics / April 12th, 2022]( [READ MORE]( [fb]( [tw]( [yt]( [Logomark_DIGITAL_Red_50X50-px] [insta png]( [tiktok png]( [ARTICLES]( | [PICTOFACTS]( | [Videos]( Literally media Ltd. 190 West St, Suite 17B, Brooklyn NY 11222 COPYRIGHT © 2005-2021 Cracked is published by Literally media Ltd. [Unsubscribe](