Salem
The Massachusetts town where, in 1692 and 1693, twenty people were executed or died after witchcraft accusations, and which now both remembers them and sells witch tourism.
Practised and told of here
Best time: Spring or autumn weekdays. October is very crowded.
The Salem witch trials began in the village now called Danvers when a minister's daughter and a niece showed fits and named neighbours as the cause. In the following months over a hundred people were jailed. Nineteen were hanged, one man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death for refusing to plead, and several more died in prison. Sentences were later reversed and the colony apologised.
What happened
Historians point to a mix of causes: a frontier war, village feuds, a harsh church, and a court that accepted 'spectral evidence', meaning testimony that a witch's spirit had been seen. The victims were mostly neighbours of modest standing, and most were women, though men were also executed. Nobody was burned, a common error.
Remembering the dead
A memorial, opened in 1992 beside the Old Burying Point, has a stone bench for each of the twenty with the name and the date and manner of death. The Danvers site holds a memorial and the restored Rebecca Nurse Homestead, while the Witch House in Salem is the home of one of the judges.
Salem today
The town is also a centre of modern Wiccan and Pagan life, and its Halloween season draws very large crowds. Many visitors come for entertainment, and some residents who practise a modern craft say they feel little connection to the 1692 victims, who were Puritan Christians and not witches.
A respectful visit to Salem
Living communities are not a show. Ask before photographing a person or a ceremony, and follow local rules.
- Salem Witch Trials Memorial Read each name and stay for a moment.
- Peabody Essex Museum See the original court papers held in the collection.
- Salem Witch Museum Treat it as a dramatised introduction and check its claims against the history.
- Proctor's Ledge Visit the memorial at the hanging site, a residential spot, with quiet respect for the neighbours.
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Salem, Massachusetts" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets and ceremonies change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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