Mr. and Mrs. Putnam, members of one of the prominent families in Salem, enter the room and declare that Betty's illness results from witchcraft. They reveal to Parris that their daughter, Ruth, has also fallen into a strange trance. Ruth's condition, coupled with the fact that seven of Mrs. Putnam's children have died as infants under mysterious conditions, convince the Putnams that evil spirits are at work in Salem. Putnam tries to persuade Parris that he should declare the presence of witchcraft, but Parris is worried. He knows that a group of townspeople want to remove him from Salem, and a witchcraft scandal involving his family would give them the power to oust him from the town