Love this! Such amazing history

The lovely April starting the History & Hauntings tour!

On this day in history: 328 years ago, on July 19, 1692, five women ranging in ages from 39 to 71, were hanged on charges of witchcraft in the Gallows. Rest In Peace: Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, Susannah Martin, Rebecca Nurse and Sarah Wildes. Read on for their stories: (Sources: History of MA blog, History Channel) Sarah Good, age 39: Sarah Good lived in Salem Village and was pregnant at the time of the witch trials. Good was described by the people of Salem as being filthy, bad-tempered, and strangely detached from the rest of the village. She was often associated with the death of residents' livestock and would wander door to door with her five year old daughter, Dorcas, asking for charity. If the resident refused, Good would walk away muttering under her breath. Sarah Good was brought to trial June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692. Elizabeth Howe, age 57: Howe lived in Topsfield and was the wife of farmer James Howe. The Perley family of Ipswich were among the chief accusers of Elizabeth Howe. They had a ten-year-old daughter they claimed was being afflicted by Howe. The child complained of being pricked by pins and sometimes fell into fits. At first the parents did not believe their daughter’s accusations. They took the child to several doctors who told them she was "under an evil hand". In May of 1692, Howe was accused of witchcraft by the afflicted girls in Salem Village. She was arrested, brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692. Susannah Martin, age 71 Susannah Martin was a poor widow who lived in Amesbury at the time of the Salem Witch Trials. Susannah Martin had been accused of witchcraft before. In her previous cases, she was accused of infanticide and tormenting people with her specter. The charges were eventually dropped or dismissed. Martin was accused of witchcraft by the afflicted girls in the spring of 1692. Susannah Martin was taken to Salem Village, brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692. Rebecca Nurse, age 71: Nurse was an elderly grandmother from Salem Village and the wife of farmer Francis Nurse. On March 23, 1692, a warrant was issued for her arrest based upon accusations made by Edward and John Putnam. A public outcry greeted the accusations made against her, as she was considered to be of a woman of very pious character; even her neighbor Sarah Holton, who had accused Rebecca of acting quite unreasonably in a quarrel over some trespassing pigs, reconsidered. Nurse had a longstanding feud with the Putnam family over border boundaries between their adjoining land. She also disapproved of the controversial appointment of Samuel Parris, whom was a close friend of the Putnams, as the new Salem Village minister. The Putnams were Rebecca Nurse’s main accusers during the witch trials and many of them testified against her. Rebecca Nurse was originally found not guilty at the end of her trial in late June but when the verdict was read out loud in the court the afflicted girls protested and the jury was asked to reconsider its decision. The jury reconsidered and came back with a guilty verdict. Rebecca Nurse was executed on July 19, 1692. Sarah Wildes, age 65: Wildes lived in Topsfield and was the wife of a local judge John Wildes. Sarah Wildes had somewhat of a bad reputation due to previous brushes with law. In 1649, she was accused of fornicating out of wedlock with Thomas Wardwell and in 1663 she was accused of wearing a silk scarf. On April 21, 1692, Jonathan Hawthorne and Jonathan Corwin ordered Sarah, along with her stepdaughter, Sarah Wildes Bishop, Sarah Bishop's husband, Edward Bishop, and six others to be arrested on "high suspicion" of witchcraft performed on Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott and others, due to a complaint by Thomas Putnam. During her examination, one of the accusers claimed to see Sarah's specter "upon the beam", and the other accusers followed suit. Ann Putnam, Jr. later testified that she herself was tortured during Sarah's examination, and that she witnessed the torture of Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, and Abigail Williams. During her own examination, the arrested Deliverance Hobbs claimed that Sarah recruited her to attend a black mass, and offered to cease tormenting her and reward her with clothing in return for her signing of the devil's book. Sarah Wildes was brought to trial on June 29 and executed on July 19, 1692.

So much fun on the #mysteriesandmurders of Salem tour!

We all start somewhere! Congratulations to Nick, our newest guide, on his *first* day of training…Our amazing guests enjoyed an 8:00 AM tour with us, taking in the sights and sounds of Salem!

Good morning from Salem! It’s a cool, foggy July day. My kind of weather!!

Today’s tourism star is the amazing Stacy! Originally hailing from Connecticut, she has made Salem her home since 2005. Prior to joining Witch City Walking Tours, Stacy worked as a park interpreter and visitor services supervisor for DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) the Massachusetts Park system. Prior to that, she worked as an Asian long-horned beetle outreach coordinator for the Mass Department of Agricultural Resources, where she sometimes had to dress up as a giant beetle! Sadly, Stacy is no longer in possession of the costume. Stacy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Boston University, as well as a Master’s of Education from Suffolk University. Stacy is one of our guides who has the ability to give our tours *completely in Spanish*! Stacy’s favorite spot in Salem is Winter Island. She says,”sometimes I think the Caribbean has nothing on the view that you can get looking out over the water from its shores.” Why does she love giving tours? “ I get to meet super cool people from all over, and we have fun together while they learn about Salem’s history during our daytime tours, or get to enjoy true stories about the darker side of our past during our murder tour.” One of her most memorable tours is when a couple brought ghost hunting electromagnetic equipment with them. “The equipment was definitely registering something in front of Rockafellas while I was doing the lady in blue story.” Fun fact about Stacy: guests find it amusing that she does not like horror movies, even though the murder mystery tour, which she leads, is quite gruesome! You can tour with Stacy on our Mysteries & Murders adults only tour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:00PM. #salemtourismstar