Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence - Film Viewing & Symposium

The Essex National Heritage Commission, in partnership with the National Park Service, is hosting a special viewing and symposium with the scholars of the new interpretive film, “Salem Witch Hunt: Examine the Evidence.” The film about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials is based on the most recent scholarly research of the causes, events and aftermath of these famous trials. The movie reveals newly found documents and research which shed new light on the trials, with reenactors speaking the documented words of the accusers and victims, and analysis by scholars who have studied the trials for many years.

The film will begin at 7:00 PM, followed by a lively discussion and questions & answer session with the prominent witch trial scholars featured in the film, moderated by National Park Service historian, Dr. Emily Murphy. The renowned witch trial scholars include: Mary Beth Norton of Cornell University, the author of In the Devil’s Snare; Benjamin C. Ray of the University of Virginia who has written extensively on the religious aspects of the trials and maintains the Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription website; Emerson (Tad) Baker of Salem State University who has recently published The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England; Margo Burns who is the Director of the Language Center at St Paul’s School and an associate editor and project manager of Bernard Rosenthal’s book, Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, a comprehensive compendium of nearly a thousand documents from the trials; and Richard Trask, historian and archivist, Town of Danvers (formerly Salem Village).

Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 7:00 PM
National Park Service Visitor Center in Salem
2 New Liberty Street, Salem, MA 01970 





Light refreshments will be served in the lobby. Tickets for this exclusive event are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Essex Heritage members $12/Non-members $15.  Purchase tickets online at EssexHeritage.org/SalemWitchHunt or call 978-740-0444 for more information.