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...
Studying the lives of colonial women can be a difficult undertaking. Ferreting out basic information, from a birthday to a maiden name, is often impossible. This is particularly challenging when one comes across a woman who is described as mentally unwell. What does it mean to be “crazed in her understanding,” “melancholy,” or “one part...
We’re delighted to welcome author Janice Thompson for a book signing at the Salem Witch Museum on Friday, May 24, 2024. Thompson’s first novel is a historical fiction work titled Dry Tinder: A Tale of Rivalry and Injustice in Salem Village. The tale is based on the true story of the Towne sisters, three innocent...
Cotton Mather is perhaps most famous for his role in the Salem witch trials. He was also the minister at Boston’s North Church (Second Church) and a prolific writer with a transatlantic audience. Mather has often been portrayed as an instigator of the trials and a witch hunter. But what exactly did he do, and...
In 1900, America was introduced to both its first fairytale and its first good witches. L. Frank Baum’s iconic children’s story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ushered in a new age for the witch, transforming these monstrous figures of old into good, kind, and beautiful characters. While we will never know what precisely inspired Baum...
The American Ancestors organization once estimated 15 million people can trace their family line back to the Salem witch trials. We often tell visitors that the English colonists of 1692 were the founding fathers and mothers of our country. They were themselves descended from the earliest settlers, who were establishing a new country and took...
Salem’s witch trials were the last frenzy of witchcraft accusations in colonial New England. But what was the first? Join us for a free virtual lecture with Elizabeth Kapp, Curator...
Join us on March 5th for our first virtual lecture of 2026, “Profoundly Vulnerable: The Story of Four Witchcraft Accusations,” presented in celebration of the 39th annual Women’s History Month....
From the tangled forest to the garden gate, join folklorist, rotten botanist, and author Varla Ventura for an exploration of some of the world’s most enchanted plants. We’ll start in the Queen’s Garden of cultivars, then amble over to the Cottage Garden where ordinary plants offer extraordinary stories. Carefully we’ll slip through the iron gates...
Each year we meet hundreds, if not thousands, of individuals who can trace their family line back to the Salem witch trials. We often tell visitors that the English colonists...
