Salem’s Dark History

One of the hottest spots to visit in the Boston area is the site of a somewhat darker history than the traditional tourist destinations. We’re talking about the former site of the Witch Trials, Salem, Massachusetts. It’s not often that the site of religious hysteria and execution becomes a tourist attraction as popular as Salem has become. However, perhaps its dark history is part of the draw for the average traveler.

A Brief History of Salem

The town definitely feeds into the hype associated with the town, as it would seem that they’ve embraced their history. The locals bring their witchy history into nearly every part of their lives from the law enforcement to the local school districts; even some of their sports teams are called The Witches. Although it sounds as though they are making light of the site of some twenty executions, it helps generate tourist traffic, so here’s what happened in this small Massachusetts city in the 1600’s.

In 1692, three young girls belonging to prominent families began experiencing some odd symptoms. They were overtaken by emotion, often launching into fits of anger or speaking in tongues. Their fits were reported to be the work of the devil or further supernatural influences and the townspeople were enraged.

After being extensively pressured by local authorities, the three girls, all under the age of 12, were forced to place blame. They accused three local women of, essentially, cursing them. What happened next was mayhem.

The three women were questioned, mercilessly, and two maintained their innocence, but the third woman, the local Reverend’s slave, claimed she was contacted by the devil himself and made the choice to serve him. Despite the other two claiming they were innocent from the very beginning, all three women were locked up.

Due to the slave woman’s claims about the devil and that there were others in the town doing his bidding as well, the witch hunt began. In the course of the Witch “Trials”, over nineteen different human beings were hung, only one of which was one of the original three women. One of the other women passed away in prison and the other was pardoned for her confession.

They lost nineteen people in the town of Salem at the tail end of the 1600s on Gallows Hill, where they were publicly hanged for the crimes of witchcraft. One additional person was stoned to death during the trials for a grand total of twenty souls lost over the hysteria created by three young girls displaying odd behavior.

During these days, many women were accused of witchcraft if they were experiencing symptoms that are now known as pre-menstrual syndrome or if they were considered promiscuous around the town. Over the course of the trials, over two hundred people were accused of witchcraft and many of them fought for their lives. As of now, the city remembers this history and throngs of tourists flock to the city each year to remember with them.