In Salem, witchcraft from the Devil has appeared to be running lose sending spirits to torture girls. The Devil has supposedly taken over Mary Warren to conjure spirits up against Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams along with rest of the “victims” lie about being stabbed and being attacked by a little yellow bird hanging in the rafters of the courthouse. In the Red Scare, people are nervous about the threats from communists. J. Edgar Hoover, “fanned the flames of fear by wildly exaggerating” (Red Scare p. 2) about the threats and how the communists could possibly take over the United