The Salem witch trials of 1692 are a fascinating and complex event in American history. This page has been created to assist educators as they incorporate this important subject into their curriculum.
Our FAQ page has been developed to answer commonly asked questions related to this topic.
Our Student Question Video Series also addresses many of these questions, and includes short videos for younger audiences, as well as longer videos about twentieth century witch hunts for older learners.
Check out our Recommended Reading list for suggestions of books about the Salem witch trials, witch trials in New England, European witch trials, and for young readers.
This overview of the existing Salem Witch Trials Primary Sources describes the various surviving records of the witchcraft trials and provides links to digital transcriptions.
We offer virtual programming for students from elementary through university level. Current programs include; The Salem Witch Trials (grades 6-12); The Crucible Fact vs. Fiction (grades 9-12); Life in Colonial New England (grades 3-7); Witches: Evolving Perceptions (grades 9-12); The Salem Witch Trials and Public Memory (grades 9-12); The Salem Witch Trials and Seventeenth-Century Law (grade 12 and university courses).
Each year our Department of Education offers virtual lectures covering a variety of subjects. Past lectures include: “Learning from our Mistakes: Researching the Salem Witch Trials”; “Race and the Salem Witch Trials”; “Hidden History: Japanese Internment and Other Asian American Witch Hunts”; “Beyond Salem: The Witch Trials in Torsåker Sweden”; and more!
Our Witch Trials Online Sites Tour allows you to view sites related to the 1692 Salem witch trials in Essex and Middlesex counties, plus the greater Boston area. Select a town or city to learn about relevant locations and view pictures. Included are original houses, foundations, grave sites, historical markers, and approximate locations of homes that are no longer standing.
Lesson Plans
Elementary
Life in Colonial New England Make Your Own Fabric Doll Activity
Life in Colonial New England Make Your Own Hand Loom
Middle School
Salem Witch Trials Creative Writing Lesson Plan
High School
Salem Witch Trials Primary Sources Lesson Plan
Arthur Miller and House Un-American Activities Committee Lesson Plan
Additional Recommended Resources
- “The Salem Witchcraft Trials and Ergot, the ‘Moldy Bread’ Hypothesis” lecture given by Margo Burns. This is an excellent overview of the ergot theory, how it was debunked, and why this theory remains in popular culture to this day.
- Arthur Miller’s 1996 retrospective “Why I Wrote the Crucible”
- Historian Margo Burns “Arthur Miller’s The Crucible: Fact & Fiction (or Picky, Picky, Picky)”
- Historian Marilynne K. Roach’s “Salem Gallows Hill Project” lecture discusses the search for the site of the 1692 executions.
- Salem Witch Museum Director of Education Rachel Christ-Doane’s article: “The Untold Story of Dorothy Good: A Tragic Life After the Salem Witch Trials” discusses the discovery of records which shed light on the tragic adult years of Dorothy Good, the youngest person accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.
Modern Witch Hunts
- Salem Witch Museum Witch Hunt Wall Project
- Virtual lecture with Dr. Leo Igwe, Director of Advocacy for Alleged Witches, about ongoing witch hunts in Africa.
- New York Times article, published May, 2023 about ongoing witch hunts in India.