The Crucible

In Salem, 1692, a group of village girls gathers with Tituba to conjure love spells. Abigail Williams kills a chicken and drinks its blood, hoping Elizabeth Proctor will die. The ritual hints at the power the girls will later wield through fear and accusation.

Reverend Parris discovers the girls in the forest and Betty collapses, not waking. The town's fear of witchcraft begins to spread as Betty's condition unsettles everyone.

Betty and Ruth's condition is treated as demonic possession, prompting Reverend John Hale from Beverly to be called in to examine Betty. Abigail seizes the moment to deflect blame and accuses Tituba of witchcraft to save herself.

Abigail's accusations lead to Tituba being whipped and pressured to confess to seeing the devil. Tituba's confession saves her from hanging and unleashes a wave of further accusations from the girls, starting with Elizabeth Proctor.

John Proctor resolves to forget his affair with Abigail and to reclaim his family. He tells Mary Warren to testify that the witchcraft was fake and to speak against the girls' claims.

In court, Francis Nurse presents a list of people vouched for by witnesses, and the judges order the arrest of everyone on it. Giles Corey refuses to identify who heard Mr. Putnam say Ruth's accusation would earn him land, and the judges order his arrest.

Mary Warren is pressured by the other girls and recants that she saw spirits, but they cow her into silence. Elizabeth Proctor reveals she is pregnant, which delays her execution until the baby is born. John insists that others be charged with false witness.

To prove Abigail's manipulation, John confesses to having sex with Abigail, claiming she used accusation of Elizabeth to remove her as an obstacle to marrying him. Elizabeth is called to verify the affair, but she lies to protect John.

Hale urges the court to see past the hysteria, but the girls intensify their claims by shouting that Mary Warren is bewitching them as a 'yellow bird'. The panic drives the girls to flee toward a lake as the situation spirals out of control.

Under mounting pressure, Mary Warren accuses John Proctor of witchcraft in order to save herself. John is arrested as a witch, and he despairingly proclaims 'I say God is dead!'

On the day before John is to be hanged, Reverend Hale confronts Abigail at the abandoned victims' homes and doubts her claims. Abigail tries to turn suspicion onto Hale's wife, but the judges doubt her; she then steals Parris's money to flee to Barbados.

Parris pressures Elizabeth to meet with John to persuade him to confess and save his life. John agrees and writes a confession, planning to publicly display it to prove guilt and influence others to confess.

The court demands that John sign the written confession and display it publicly, but he refuses and tears up the document, declaring 'Leave me my name' so his name will not be tainted. This act seals his fate despite the attempt to save him.

On the gallows, John Proctor, Rebecca Nurse, and Martha Corey recite the Lord's Prayer before they are hanged, and the ritual is abruptly interrupted as the crowd is stunned by the executions.

Nineteen people are executed after choosing not to give false confessions. The Salem Witch Trials come to an end as the hysteria subsides, but the damage remains.