Join us for this fascinating, hour-long virtual panel discussion with three notable Salem witch trials authors. During this discussion historian and archivist Richard Trask, descendant of Mary Esty, Rebecca Nurse, and John Procter, historical fiction author Kathleen Kent, descendant of Martha Carrier, and historian Mary Beth Norton, descendant of Mary Bradbury, will discuss how they...
Though the Salem trials of 1692 are today one of the most famous in the Western world, they were far from the largest or deadliest. Nearly two decades before Salem, the Torsåker parish in Sweden was overtaken by a terrible witchcraft panic. In just one day in 1675, 71 people were beheaded and burned at...
Join us on Thursday, June 30th for an author signing event with Dan Gagnon. From 1:00-5:00 Gagnon will be on-site signing copies of his new book "A Salem Witch: The Trial, Execution, and Exoneration of Rebecca Nurse." This biography of witch trial's victim Rebecca Nurse vividly recreates seventeenth century Salem, and in the process challenges...
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the creation of the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. Erected in downtown Salem in 1992, this was an important moment for the city, as Salem continued to process the legacy and significance of these tragic events as a modern community. During the years leading up to the 300th anniversary,...
This year is an anniversary heavy year for us-- as many of you may know! Not only is it the Salem Witch Museum's 50th anniversary, it is also the 30th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials Memorial and the 40th anniversary of Salem's Haunted Happenings festival (both of which this museum was instrumental in creating)....
Tituba, an enslaved woman in the household of Salem Village’s minister, was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft in 1692. Under enormous pressure, she became the first to confess and claim there were more witches hiding in the colony. Through word Tituba was defined as a witch and through the word she...
History is like a game of telephone: an incorrect fact can be passed from person to person and become conventional wisdom. Through diligent research, historians strive to untangle these errors. Join us during Salem Ancestry Days for an hour long, free virtual lecture given by our Department of Education. In this talk, we’re going to...
Witch hunting is a thing of the past in the western world. Witch persecution is alluded as a tragic episode that happened centuries ago. Incidentally, this is not the case in many parts of Africa. Witch persecutions and trials are ongoing incidents in the region. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence in many...
We’re delighted to welcome author Heather B. Moore, a tenth-generation descendant of Susannah Martin, for a signing at the Salem Witch Museum on June 22, 2023. Moore’s historical fiction work, "Condemn Me Not," is an affecting and moving re-telling of Martin’s story. In Moore’s hands, the woman who was infamously cemented in history by Reverend...
Why do witches wear pointed hats? Or have big noses? Or eat children? The answers, it may surprise us to learn, can be found in the history of antisemitism. Before witchcraft became a dominant scapegoat for misfortune in Europe, it was Jews who were often said to be demonic, evil individuals who poisoned wells, spread...
