ABSTRACT
The history of the interface between the psychology of childhood memories and legal cases is a notorious one. Perhaps the phenomena that left the deepest historical scar regarding this issue are the 17th-century witch trials that took place in Europe and America (see Ceci & Bruck, 1993, 1998, for reviews). In Sweden between 1668 and 1676, as a result of children’s statements elicited by village priests concerning the alleged sorcery of community members, more than 40 adults were either burned at the stake or beheaded (Ceci & Bruck, 1995). Most notable in US. history were the Salem witch trials, in which a group of children called the “circle girls” testified to witnessing community members flying on broomsticks and commanding insects to fly into their mouths to drop bent nails and pins into their stomachs. As a result, 20 defendants were convicted of witch-
craft and executed. In the wake of the executions, some of the children publicly recanted their statements, admitting that they had produced false testimonies.
