Witch Hunt

A visit to Salem MA was on OFD's list of must sees on our recent visit to the northeast. I admit to knowing a teeny-tiny bit about the Salem Witch Trials, so a visit to that community was all right by me. It was all right to Hubby because there were geocaches in Salem.

This was our first stop and I'm so glad it was. A Gothic Revival structure built between 1844-1846 for the East Church (organized 1718), was the oldest branch of the First Church of Salem. In 1972 it became the Salem Witch Museum.

Through stage sets, lighting and narration, the story of what may have led up to the witch accusations and then through research and historic documentation, the story of the trials and their results were shared with us. I learned a lot and consider the cost well worth it. Besides, it had a cool gift shop!

The city has taken advantage of the 1692 trials and developed their city center/mall with specialty shops, many of them with a witch theme.

no cars, only the trolley

probably 2 or 3 blocks long

remember Bewitched? the TV show?

Witch House

"The Jonathan Corwin House in Salem, Massachusetts, known as The Witch House, was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin (1640–1718) and is the only structure still standing in Salem with direct ties to the Salem witch trials of 1692, thought to be built between 1620 and 1642." ~ Wikipedia

next to the Witch House

The First Church in Salem

founded in 1629

It was so interesting to walk by homes knowing the date it was built and for whom. 

We visited one of the 3 cemeteries related to the witch trials. The Old Burying Point Cemetery or Charter Street Cemetery is the oldest in Salem, and the second oldest in the U.S. The oldest being in Boston. The last three stones are part of the Witch Trials Memorial, next to the cemetery.

family plot of the Peeles

this person arrived on the Mayflower

died 1692 at age 80+

died 1681 & 1684

the first to be convicted of witchcraft

death by hanging

men were also witchcraft suspects

also hanged

After being arrested and accused of witchcraft, prosperous farmer Giles Corey refused to speak at his trial. The penalty for being mute during trial was not hanging, but to be pressed to death. Heavy stones were placed on the chest of his prone body until he pled guilty or innocent or died. Giles Corey more than 80 years of age, never spoke a word and died from the heavy and heavier stone placed upon his chest. 

from the Witch Museum, the list of those accused and died 

Our final Salem stop was to the location of the witch trials hanging, Proctor's Ledge.

a hill top 

"Nearly 325 years after 19 people accused of witchcraft were hanged in this city, a group of scholars has finally confirmed the place where they met their fate: Proctor’s Ledge." ~ The Salem News, January 11, 2016

As a result of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, 19 people were hanged, 5 people died in prison, and 1 was pressed to death. "On August 25, 1706, when Ann Putnam Jr., one of the most active accusers, joined the Salem Village church, she publicly asked forgiveness. She claimed that she had not acted out of malice, but had been deluded by Satan into denouncing innocent people, mentioning Rebecca Nurse, in particular,  and was accepted for full membership." ~ Wikipedia

The cause of the witchcraft hysteria could have been any one or combination of the following:

*young girls bored with being inside during the winter

*young girls listening to stories of Tituba, a South American Indian slave by way of the West Indies

*jealousy, spite, and the need of attention

*psychological hysteria from Indian attacks

*ergot poisoning from eating Rye bread

*an epidemic of bird-borne encephalitis lethargica

Too bad it took so long to recant the accusations. In November 2001, years after the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the trials, the Massachusetts legislature passed an act exonerating all who had been convicted and naming each of the innocent. ~ Wikipedia