Notes & Notions from the Salem Witch Museum

Enjoy a 20% discount in our museum store December 1-24 with coupon.  Choose from educational materials on Salem’s history and modern-day witchcraft to attractive apparel and just-for-fun items!  Admission to the museum presentation is not necessary to visit our store.  For more information feel free to call the Salem Witch Museum at 978-744-1692.

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Pairpoint Witch Balls

Dating back to the 18^th Century, hollow glass balls have been hung to ward off witch’s spells and evil spirits.  Legend has it that the evil spirit is attracted to these colorful balls, pulled inside, and trapped within the glass web protecting the home from harm.  It is told on Cape Cod that fishermen have used these mesmerizing balls in their nets to ward off evil spirits on the high seas.  Each Pairpoint Witch Ball is individually made and colored.

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*Happy Holidays*

Professor Benjamin Ray of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia lectured to a sold out room at the House of Seven Gables this week.  Professor Ray is the project director of Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project where everyone “from teachers to fourth graders” can now readily access 8,000 searchable pages from source documents online. Read more »

On November 18, the Gordon College Institute for Public History In Historic Salem inaugurates a series of lectures, Old Town Hall Lectures, in Salem’s historic Old Town Hall.

The inaugural lecture is being given by Richard Francis, on his book,
Judge Sewall’s Apology: The Salem Witch Trials and the Forming of a Conscience (London and New York: Fourth Estate, 2005) [Buy a copy on our online store]

Here’s a description from the website:

The Salem witch hunt has entered our vocabulary as the very essence of  injustice. Judge Samuel Sewall presided at these trials, passing harsh judgment on the condemned. But five years later, he publicly recanted his guilty verdicts and begged for forgiveness. This extraordinary act was a turning point not only for Sewall but also for America’s nascent values and mores.

We were curious to find out more about Judge Sewall. As it turns out, Google books has scanned in his published diaries and you can read them online. Search for “witchcraft” and this is the entry from August 19, 1692:

Clicking on the diary image above will send you to the Google Books site where you can read more.

by:  Kevin Frasca

When you travel, is it the typical souvenir mug, shot glass, or keychain you search for to add to your collection back home, or an original item that can only be found at the exact location you visit?  Whatever your answer is, you can find what you’re looking for in the Salem Witch Museum gift shop.  The shop has anything you could imagine, from souvenir collectibles, to unique gift items, to Halloween decorations, but if it’s originality you desire, the Salem Witch Museum has the shop for you.

Local artisan and Salem resident David Mullin creates several hand-crafted items that make great souvenirs to commemorate your visit to Salem, Massachusetts.  Each piece has a special meaning and a special use while still tying in to Salem’s “witchy” motif.  Here are descriptions of some of these great finds.

Salem Witch Bottle

Witch bottles have been found inside the chimneys of old European houses.  Their purpose is to protect the house against the evil spirits and dark magick that could bring with them plagues and other misfortunes.  Inside the bottles are items that are believed by those who know folk magick to repel or entrap these home intruders.  The contents of the bottles vary from region to region.  The exact ingredients of Salem’s bottle include a rusted iron nail, local soil, and some spices.  The bottle also contains the Domus-Defendio charm, which is written on the package if you would like to make certain the charm works.  The package contains more detailed information about the ingredients.  One warning: do not open the bottle, and be careful not to break it; for this spends its magick and releases anything that had been trapped inside!

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