Salem Witch Trials

Frances F. Denny (b. 1984). Shine, (New York, New York), 2017, from Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America series. Archival pigment print.

What Does It Mean to Be a Witch Today?

A new exhibition on the Salem witch trials explores how the meaning of the word "witch" has evolved through the centuries

T.H. Matteson, Examination of a Witch, 1853

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials

One town's strange journey from paranoia to pardon

One reader wonders: Why did ants make it all over the Americas while anteaters didn’t?  

Why Do Anteaters Live Only in the Tropics and More Questions From Our Readers

You've got questions. We've got experts.

The Salem Witch Memorial in Salem, Massachusetts

Last Convicted Salem 'Witch' Is Finally Cleared

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. has been officially exonerated—thanks to a dogged band of middle schoolers

A 14th-century illustration depicts accused witches being burned at the stake. More than 2,500 witches were executed under Scotland's 1563 Witchcraft Act.

Scotland Issues Formal Apology to Thousands Accused of Witchcraft

An estimated 2,500 Scots were executed as witches between the 16th and 18th centuries

An illustration from Newes From Scotland (1591), a pamphlet that publicized ongoing witch trials in North Berwick, Scotland, across Europe. Groups of accused women are depicted brewing spells to thwart James VI's ship (upper left), and a local schoolmaster is shown taking notes from the devil. 

Scotland Considers Pardon for Thousands of Accused 'Witches'

Advocates are calling on leaders to exonerate the thousands of women and men targeted in witch hunts during the 16th through 18th centuries

Tompkins Harrison Matteson, Examination of a Witch, 1853

Reckoning With—and Reclaiming—the Salem Witch Trials

A new exhibition unites 17th-century artifacts with contemporary artists' responses to the mass hysteria event

Johnson is the only convicted Salem "witch" who has not yet received an official pardon.

This Eighth-Grade Class Wants to Clear the Name of an Accused Salem 'Witch'

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. was sentenced to death in 1693 but escaped execution after receiving a reprieve from Massachusetts' governor

Lucy gets tossed in with the other accused witches in Salem.

Welcome to Salem, Witches: "Timeless" Season 2, Episode 4, Recapped

Rescuing a very important American figure takes just a little tweaking of the historical record

A woodcut from a 1720 history of "witches and wizards"

How New Printing Technology Gave Witches Their Familiar Silhouette

Popular media helped give witches their image

Shakespeare wrote 'Macbeth,' which features three witches, during James I's reign, which also was the time of some of England's most famous witch trials.

England’s Witch Trials Were Lawful

It might seem like collective madness today, but the mechanisms for trying witches in England were enshrined in law

The memorial (shown here in early June) will be dedicated on the 325th anniversary of the hangings.

The Site of the Salem Witch Trial Hangings Finally Has a Memorial

In a town that has long profited from witchcraft-seekers and Halloween revelers alike, a new memorial strikes a different tone

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