Final answer:
Reverend Samuel Parris is the minister in Salem in the play 'The Crucible', and his family helped initiate the witchcraft scare after his daughter and niece became ill and claimed to practice occult activities guided by Tituba.
Step-by-step explanation:
The minister in Salem in the play 'The Crucible' is Reverend Samuel Parris, whose own family is involved in stirring up the witchcraft scare. In spring 1692, his daughter and niece became ill and exhibited strange fits, described as 'beyond the power of natural disease to effect.' They admitted to dabbling in the occult under the guidance of Tituba, a West Indian servant in the Parris household. This event sparked the notorious witchcraft trials in Salem, influenced by the Puritan belief that the devil was actively working in society. The infamous witchcraft scare in Salem fueled by these accusations and the paranoia within the community only subsided when high-profile individuals became targets and the educated elite protested against the use of spectral evidence.