The definition of hysteria is an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear. To take it one step further, mass hysteria can be defined as a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness; characterized by irrationality, laughter, and weeping. In the book The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, there are a few characters that show the true definition of hysteria throughout the book. In the small village of Salem, Abigail Williams, Mary Warren, and the Putnam family; which includes Thomas, Ann, and Ruth, show the characteristics of mass hysteria when they accuse the people of Salem of being witches. Abigails reason for causing mass hysteria was to save herself from being accused of being a witch. Marys reason for causing mass hysteria was similar to Abigails, in that she was shifting the accusation of being a witch to someone else to save her own life. The Putnam family causes mass hysteria by accusing innocent village people of being a witch. Each one of these characters has a unique way of causing mass hysteria within the village. Abigail, who is the niece of Reverend Samuel Parris and the cousin of Betty Parris, gets caught dancing naked in the forest with Betty, Mary Warren, Mercy Lewis, and Tituba. When Parris witnesses these girls dancing like heathen in the forest (Miller 10), he has growing concerns that this is an act of witchcraft or Devil worship. When Parris confronts Abigail about what he saw, Abigail quickly defends herself and shifts the blame to Tituba, who supposedly makes [her] drink blood (Miller 43) and causes her to feel like she is under the spell of witchcraft. She also points the finger at Sarah Good, Goody Osburn, and Bridget Bishop when she claims that she wants, the light of God, [she wants] the sweet love of Jesus! [She danced] for the Devil; [she] saw him; [she] wrote in his book; [she went] back to Jesus; [she kissed