A striking example of this was the increased suspicion of witches and witchcraft throughout this period. The Elizabethan era, alongside the resurgence of learning, was also accompanied by a period of renewed interest in the supernatural which led to the belief that some people possessed supernatural abilities (Alchin, “Witchcraft and Witches”). This led to mass hysteria and paranoia of witches, witchcraft, witchcraft trials, and mass murders of many innocent lives. People used the witchcraft explanation as a scapegoat to explain away events such as the death of people or animals, a bad growing season, and even burning down houses. A major example in history that people of the Elizabethan era used witchcraft as a scapegoat was the outbreak of bubonic plague. Because people at that time could not find good evidence as to why this was happening, they turned to witchcraft as the only explanation ("Witchcraft in the Elizabethan Era »).