Salem Witch Trials Memorial
A stone monument off Charter Street
honors
the innocent people who were accused of witchcraft
during the Salem witch
trials of 1692 and put to death by hanging, crushing
weights, or disease in jail—a cautionary reminder
of innocents sacrificed to justice gone awry.
Witch House
Magistrate Jonathan Corwin was one of the judges
in the Salem witch
trials. Preliminary examinations
of those accused of witchcraft were held in his
house (tel 978-744-0180) at 310-1/2 Essex Street,
corner
of North Street, now called the Witch House. This
is the most authentic of the "witch sites" in
Salem. Enter and see what they saw!
Salem Witch Museum
The Salem
Witch Museum, 19-1/2 Washington Square (tel
978-744-1692), faces the foreboding statue
of Roger Conant ("The Puritan")
at the
intersection
of
Brown Street and Hawthorne Boulevard next to Salem
Common.
The museum's
sombre Gothic,
church-like
building houses an audio-visual re-creation of
the witchcraft
trials of 1692 using life-size
figures,
a sound track, and special lighting. Shows begin
every half-hour.
Witch Dungeon Museum
Even
more elaborate, the Witch Dungeon Museum
(tel 978-741-3570), 16 Lynde Street, near
Washington Street is
just a half block from the western end
of Essex Street Mall. Reenactments
of a witch
trial, a re-created dungeon,
and a replica of Old
Salem Village are
among the exhibits.
Witchcraft Shops
The eastern end of Essex Street Mall
has several shops selling Hollywood-style witchy goods,
costumes and paraphernalia.
