Always worthwhile reading your rants, Jane. Thank you for naming the victims. And thanks for recounting Mr Corey's execution. I forgot that a third of those killed were men.
Thank you for this, Jane! Yes, this bothers me every year! I appreciate so much that you've named the poor souls murdered by the throngs of eejits back in the days of early New England living. Truly, even then they should have known better. God help us! Sadly, I don't think we're much better at using our brains today...but there is always Hope!
You aren't the only one who's bothered by this, Jane! I think Salem should ditch the "Witch City" thing and get completely behind "Salem, Haloween Capital of the World," which is how the Haunted Happenings group refers to Salem. Here's my rant/thoughts on modern and past day Salem from a couple of days ago. https://christinastravels.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-salem-present-salem-past
Abso true! From that statue of the woman on the broomstick to the homemade potions sold on the street, this place buys into the whole idea of witchcraft. You get the idea the city fathers would gladly exhume some of the victims if that would buy more cred, and thus more tourist traffic.
And it doesn't help that a number of people have settled there over the last 40 years or so just so they can pretend to be real witches. Branding is all.
Flashback to the 90s, the City of Salem was vigorously trying to promote the maritime history, the manufacturing history, the architecture and the Peabody Essex museum. A replica sailing ship was built, a visitor center was established to highlight these aspects of the city. But no one came. Schlocky haunted houses opened up as private enterprises, and presto, people came in droves. So, now we have the Halloween capital of the world. And money is made. And torture and hysteria are tourist attractions. Yes, the residents would love to "make it stop," but they also need to give the people what they want even if what they want is really stupid.
Misinformation for profit, 17th century style. It's truly sad. If only the guy (I'm just going to assume gender there) who perpetrated the lies could be fined a billion dollars. I'm sure Salem has raked in a billion dollars from the tourism. I don't live there, but I would guess that the first people to say ''make it stop" would be the residents themselves. That said, Salem has a lot more to offer than the Witch City. There is a world-class museum of Chinese antiquities in Salem. There is an extremely well respected state university. There is a beautiful harbor. There are terrific specimens of Colonial and Victorian architecture. There's plenty of great restaurants and breweries, which of course have benefited from the witchy traffic. Salem should start marketing the true stories about its city - and if some of them are about true witchcraft (who am I to disbelieve) or Halloween, great. But I think the people would still come.
Well said! It is such a strange phenomenon, isn't it? It would be more fitting if Salem were held up as an example of how things can go Very Very Wrong if you lose your head and get swept up in a Wave of Bullshit. Sadly, this kind of thing still happens today, and now it is more widespread thanks to the power of the internet to magnify and amplify even the teeniest, tiniest bit of batshit. Honestly, you think we would have learned by now, but - alas! - not so much. A moment of silence for all the falsely accused, and also for those who take on the mantle of the witches in contemporary times as a statement of sincere solidarity.
Always worthwhile reading your rants, Jane. Thank you for naming the victims. And thanks for recounting Mr Corey's execution. I forgot that a third of those killed were men.
Thank you for this, Jane! Yes, this bothers me every year! I appreciate so much that you've named the poor souls murdered by the throngs of eejits back in the days of early New England living. Truly, even then they should have known better. God help us! Sadly, I don't think we're much better at using our brains today...but there is always Hope!
You aren't the only one who's bothered by this, Jane! I think Salem should ditch the "Witch City" thing and get completely behind "Salem, Haloween Capital of the World," which is how the Haunted Happenings group refers to Salem. Here's my rant/thoughts on modern and past day Salem from a couple of days ago. https://christinastravels.substack.com/p/thoughts-on-salem-present-salem-past
Yes! I actually read your post and it reminded me I should repost this. I fully support the name change idea.
Abso true! From that statue of the woman on the broomstick to the homemade potions sold on the street, this place buys into the whole idea of witchcraft. You get the idea the city fathers would gladly exhume some of the victims if that would buy more cred, and thus more tourist traffic.
And it doesn't help that a number of people have settled there over the last 40 years or so just so they can pretend to be real witches. Branding is all.
Flashback to the 90s, the City of Salem was vigorously trying to promote the maritime history, the manufacturing history, the architecture and the Peabody Essex museum. A replica sailing ship was built, a visitor center was established to highlight these aspects of the city. But no one came. Schlocky haunted houses opened up as private enterprises, and presto, people came in droves. So, now we have the Halloween capital of the world. And money is made. And torture and hysteria are tourist attractions. Yes, the residents would love to "make it stop," but they also need to give the people what they want even if what they want is really stupid.
Love this
Misinformation for profit, 17th century style. It's truly sad. If only the guy (I'm just going to assume gender there) who perpetrated the lies could be fined a billion dollars. I'm sure Salem has raked in a billion dollars from the tourism. I don't live there, but I would guess that the first people to say ''make it stop" would be the residents themselves. That said, Salem has a lot more to offer than the Witch City. There is a world-class museum of Chinese antiquities in Salem. There is an extremely well respected state university. There is a beautiful harbor. There are terrific specimens of Colonial and Victorian architecture. There's plenty of great restaurants and breweries, which of course have benefited from the witchy traffic. Salem should start marketing the true stories about its city - and if some of them are about true witchcraft (who am I to disbelieve) or Halloween, great. But I think the people would still come.
The Peabody Essex Museum is a treasure
Well said! It is such a strange phenomenon, isn't it? It would be more fitting if Salem were held up as an example of how things can go Very Very Wrong if you lose your head and get swept up in a Wave of Bullshit. Sadly, this kind of thing still happens today, and now it is more widespread thanks to the power of the internet to magnify and amplify even the teeniest, tiniest bit of batshit. Honestly, you think we would have learned by now, but - alas! - not so much. A moment of silence for all the falsely accused, and also for those who take on the mantle of the witches in contemporary times as a statement of sincere solidarity.