Salem Witch House, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
In 1692, a group of teenage girls started acting strange. Not just strange, but downright terrifying. They contorted as if tortured. They screamed that the spirits of fellow Salem residents tormented them. This was enough “spectral evidence” to kill nineteen people for witchcraft. Bridget Bishop, a colorful tavern mistress and land owner in Salem, was the first convicted and hanged. Seventeen more women died in the same manner.
Giles Corey, the only man executed during the Trials, refused to enter a plea. He was pressed to death in an effort to force a plea out of him. Jonathan Corwin served as one of the judges at the Trials. His house is the last remaining building from the Witch Trials era. The house has been restored to the Trials era. It provides context to the Trials and education about tolerance.
