The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings of people accused of witchcraft between 1692 and 1693, which resulted in the executions of 20 people – the majority of them women and all but one by hanging.
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And yet the precise location where 19 people accused of witchcraft were hanged in 1692 was lost to history, at least until now.
We can only hope that the spirits of these “witches” are now at peace in the nail polish aisle. Eyewitness accounts from the time of the hangings, aerial photography of Gallows Hill, and images created using advanced mapping technology have all helped researchers discover the location, reports the Globe. The organization advances social change through educational programming, stewardship of the Salem Witch Trials Memorial as a place of reflection, and by awarding and celebrating contemporary champions who embody its mission.
“The witch trials cast a long dark shadow on Salem history”, Baker said.
The site, known as Proctor’s Ledge, is a small city-owned plot of woods nestled between two residential streets and behind a Walgreens pharmacy, said Salem State University history professor Emerson “Tad” Baker, a member of the seven-person team, which announced its findings this week.
Previous beliefs pointed to the summit of Gallows Hill as the location of the hangings, and the strip of land was named “Witch Memorial Land” in 1936, despite no concrete evidence for the hangings.
It was there that most of the victims of one of America’s most notorious mass hysteria were left to die, hanging from makeshift nooses on tree branches.
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“Having this site identified marks an important opportunity for Salem, as a city, to come together and recognise the injustice and tragedy perpetrated against 19 innocent people”. They don’t seem too fussed by the fact that the lot next door was the site of what were arguably the most famous hangings in America’s history. The city is now working on plans to “respectfully and tastefully” memorialize the site, according to Driscoll. “Our analysis draws upon multiple lines of research to confirm the location of the executions”, Baker said.
