Much of the evidence used against the accused was spectral evidence or the testimony of the afflicted who claimed to see the shape of the person who was allegedly afflicting them. The theological dispute that ensued about the use of this evidence was based on whether a person had to give permission for the Devil to his/her shape. Opponents claimed that the Devil was able to use anyone's shape, but the Court contended that the Devil could not use a person's shape without consent. Therefore, when the afflicted claimed to see the shape of a specific person, it was accepted as evidence that the accused had been complicit with the Devil.

The touch test was used during preliminary examinations in September 1692. If the accused witch touched the victim while the victim was having a fit, and the fit stopped, observers believed that meant the accused was the person who had afflicted the victim.

When Governor William Phips arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Province, rumors of witchcraft were running rampant, especially in Salem. Phips immediately appointed Stoughton to head a special tribunal to deal with accusations of witchcraft but became disillusioned with the proceedings as accusations spiraled out of control and even his own wife was publicly accused. After five months, he forced the tribunal to prematurely disband and ordered that the remaining 153 prisoners be set free.

Men weren't the only victims in Salem. Two dogs were also killed during the scare. One was shot to death when a girl who suffered from convulsions accused it of bewitching her. Another, supposedly associated with accused men who fled Salem before they could be tried, was put to death in their place.

On August 25, 1706, Ann Putnam, one of the most active accusers, joined the Salem Village church. She publicly asked forgiveness, claiming that she had not acted out of malice, but had been deluded by Satan into denouncing innocent people. She was granted full membership.

Arthur Miller's 1952 play The Crucible is loosely based on the actual events of the witch trials. Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism, when the United States government persecuted people accused of being communists.

Various medical and psychological explanations for the observed symptoms have been explored by researchers, including behavioral psychologist Linnda R. Caporael who suggests that the "afflicted" may have suffered from convulsive ergotism caused by eating rye bread made from grain infected by the fungus Claviceps purpurea (a natural substance from which LSD is derived). Ergot poisoning causes hallucinations, convulsive fits, and sometimes death.