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Post by Graveyardbride on Feb 16, 2015 11:06:27 GMT -5
Salem’s ‘Real’ Gallows HillAs a child of New England, I’m a little too familiar with the terrifying events that established the region as a supernatural haven for horror buffs and paranormal researchers. If anywhere in the United States is haunted, I’m convinced it’s the Northeast. One of the most well-known and sinister events to occur here is, of course, the Salem Witch Trials, also known as The Great Witch Craze. From 1692 to 1693, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, and ultimately an estimated 19 were horrifically executed by hanging on one deadly hill.
The story of horrifying injustice wrapped in otherworldly accusations has dominated the public imagination for over three centuries. People all over the country and even the world consider the Salem Witch Trials a major historical moment, so I was shocked to discover that the location publicized as “Gallows Hill” – the eerie and supposedly official site of the hangings – is almost certainly incorrect.
As I was scanning the internet for more information, I came across one Salem enthusiast who may hold the answers. Daniel V. Boudillion has helped reveal the real location of “Gallows Hill,” and it’s nothing like the tourist destination that I expected.
Brief history of events. The Great Witch Craze actually began in Europe almost 100 years before Salem, with an estimated 40,000 people executed. The trials in Salem began after three women were accused of cursing several young girls, leading them to have fits of screaming, aggression and physical contortions. It was thought that witches were granted black magical powers by the Devil, No one knows for sure what caused the girls’ symptoms, but this one case kicked off a yearlong hysteria that led to at least 20 deaths.
The first trial may not have turned into a full-blown craze, but one of the first three women accused, a Caribbean slave named Tituba, confessed to making a deal with the Devil. She described, in detail, apparitions of black dogs, red cats and yellow birds that came to her. She even went on to claim she signed a book presented her by a “black man” and proclaimed that Salem was home to other witches looking to destroy the Puritans.
Not surprisingly, a claim like this kicked off a witch hunt and the resulting hangings occurred on Gallows Hill, also known as Witch Hill, or Witchcraft Hill. The term Gallows Hill is actually a misnomer because the hangings always took place on the branches of a tree and there’s no record of a gallows being used. Based on historical records, the accused were transported to the top of the hill using a cart and some of their families were able to remove the dangling bodies by taking a waterway. These may seem like trivial facts, but they lead to a major oversight in Salem.
The supposedly ‘official’ location. The official Gallows Hill was designated by Rev. Charles Upham in 1867, but even he admits there were no records of the hangings taking place there. It seems the community became so ashamed of the mass paranoia and what was essentially mass murder that they suffered “collective amnesia.” When Upham suggested one hill in the area was the historical site, no one really questioned him. As a result, today the place is widely considered to be Gallows Hill as indicated by Gallows Hill Park right next door.
However, as Boudillion reports, this hill is much too steep for people to be transported by cart. Additionally, the closest body of water is a quarter mile away, making it extremely unlikely that someone could easily reach this place by canal. The place we’ve been instructed to believe is Gallows Hill simply does not line up with fact.
The real hill. With some extensive research, Boudillion was able to find records of another researcher named Sidney Perly, who made an argument for the location of the true hill in 1933. Knowing the hangings needed to be performed outside town (as specified by the trial’s magistrates), he located a hill just outside town that appears to be the real location. This hill (so overlooked that it is unnamed) can be easily accessed by cart and, at the time of the hangings, there was a large bay allowing canoe travel. Plus, the hill was home to many large trees, while Gallows Hill was reported to have soil untenable for growing much of anything. If there was no gallows constructed, trees would have been used.
Now here’s the creepiest part: when Boudillion visited Perley’s site, it’s right in the middle of modern Salem. In fact, it’s right behind the town Walgreens! The hangings occurred on a hill that overlooks the Walgreens parking lot and it’s located in someone’s backyard. This means that all the people mindlessly picking up their prescriptions are right next to the site of the most infamous event in their hometown. And they don’t even realize it! Moreover, it’s right behind someone’s unassuming house and they probably don’t even know that at this location three centuries ago, one of the craziest moments in this country’s history occurred and no one is any the wiser. Plus, not only can you easily visit this location, it looks just like any other unremarkable forest in the Northeast.
The implications. If they’re able to sell one location as the “real” Gallows Hill, how many other places are just tourist traps with no attachment to the actual events? For those who believe in hauntings, isn’t it a little daring to not properly recognize where these people died? Should we really be taking chances when Tituba could just be biding her time?
I’m just saying, if this Walgreens starts turning up unexplainable possessions, I think we know who to blame.
Do you think this small hill should be reclaimed as a public site of remembrance, or is it less scary to simply overlook it?Source: Tommy DePaoli, MoviePilot, February 5, 2015.
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Post by Kate on Feb 16, 2015 14:43:30 GMT -5
I'm surprised that you posted this article when some people (you included) have been saying for years that this site, and not the one advertised, was the real Gallows Hill.
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Post by Joanna on Jan 13, 2016 2:16:43 GMT -5
Salem Witch Hanging Site Confirmed
SALEM, Mass. – Almost 325 years after 19 people – including an Amesbury widow – were hanged for witchcraft, a group of scholars has finally pinpointed the place where they met their fate, and it’s not the place where it’s popularly believed to have occurred.
Salem has a tall, steep hill known as Gallows Hill that was named for its purported part in the witchcraft trials of 1692. But it is wrongly named – researchers have proven the deadly deeds were done on Proctor’s Ledge, a less prominent hill in the shadow of Gallows Hill. Among those hanged at thus spot was Amesbury’s Susannah Martin, who was executed July 19, 1692, and said to be buried in a shallow grave there, along with others convicted of witchcraft.
The Gallows Hill Project, a group of seven scholars, was able to definitively identify the location with research, maps, ground-penetrating radar and aerial photographs, spanning five years of research. Now, the city intends to mark the location with a memorial, according to a prepared statement by Mayor Kim Driscoll.
The discovery didn’t come as a shock, according to Emerson “Tad” Baker, a history professor at Salem State University. Proctor’s Ledge, a city-owned woodsy area that abuts Proctor and Pope streets described as a “rocky ledge ... at the base of the hill,” has been thought of as the location since the early 1900s. Historian Sidney Perley conducted research and pinpointed the location. “There was never really a ‘eureka’ moment,” Baker said. “I think most of us – we’re talking about a number of scholars who were working on this – we knew Perley’s research was really good.”
By the time Perley released his research, Gallows Hill had already gained notoriety as the place where the executions occurred. It was a favored tourist attraction and Perley’s research didn’t sway the popular opinion. What Perley’s research lacked was modern technology, Baker said. Around 1,000 documents survive from the time of the trials, Baker said, making it “one of the best recorded events in early American history.” But missing are eyewitness accounts, he added.
The group – Baker, Shelby Hypes, chair of the Salem Award Foundation; Elizabeth Peterson, director of Salem’s Corwin House; Tom Phillips, who directed and produced Salem Witch Trials: Examine the Evidence; Marilynne Roach, a witch trials author and historian; Peter Sablock, a Salem State geology professor; and Benjamin Ray, a religion professor at the University of Virginia – was able to combine their research and knowledge of the summer of 1692 events, explore the possibilities, and also rule out that there was anything on Gallows Hill. “We’re pretty certain there’s nothing up there,” Baker said.
One of the key pieces of evidence is the presence of a ledge crevice, a feature referred to in some of the witchcraft trial documents. Several bodies were buried in the crevice immediately after execution, including Martin. Proctor’s Ledge has a crevice that matches the description, but Gallows Hill does not. Martin was the only person from the Newbury/Salisbury/Amesbury area who was executed as a witch. The outspoken and active 71-year-old widow lived on a farm on Martin Road – the home site now lies within the Interstate 495 roadbed. Decades earlier she had been accused of witchcraft and the charges dismissed. But in the hysteria of 1692, old accusations were renewed and expounded upon. Martin was arrested and carted to Salem in April 1692. As the charges were read in court, the “afflicted girls” – young girls who went into fits when in the presence of accused witches – performed their acts of affliction. Martin laughed and when asked by a judge why, she responded, “Well I may at such folly.” Martin stoutly defended herself, but her fate was preordained. She was found guilty and hanged along with four other women. They were the first five of 19 to be executed at Proctor’s Ledge.
To memorialize the people who died there, the city is seeking Community Preservation Act grand funds to install a plaque, as well as clean the site up and prepare for tourist traffic. “Salem, long known for a dark time in our past when people turned on each other, is now a community where people turn toward each other,” Driscoll said in the statement. “Having this site identified marks an important opportunity for Salem, as a city, to come together and recognize the injustice and tragedy perpetrated against 19 innocent people.” This is a deep contrast from what was planned back in 1892 – a large memorial lookout tower, according to Baker.
At least 25 people died in the Salem Witch Trials – five died in prison awaiting trial. Another, Giles Corey, was crushed to death when rocks were placed on his chest in an effort to make him cooperate with the court.
While Baker said he and his team were excited to give the location legitimacy, he said they are simply “confirming the great work” Perley did. “I think we are all honored to be a part of this effort and are extremely happy that the mayor and the city are eager to see that the site is properly maintained and marked,” he said.
Source: Arianna MacNeill, The Salem News, January 12, 2016.
See also: "Salem's 'Real' Gallows Hill" at whatliesbeyond.boards.net/thread/3312/salems-real-gallows-hill
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Post by Kate on Jan 13, 2016 14:23:43 GMT -5
We've been to Salem twice on our Dark Shadows trips. This is the same place that Lee and Julia said was the real Gallows Hill when they wouldn't go with the rest of us to visit the place that's advertised as Gallows Hill. I still don't understand how the people of Salem could just forget where 19 people were executed.
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Post by jason on Jan 13, 2016 20:46:53 GMT -5
We've been to Salem twice on our Dark Shadows trips. This is the same place that Lee and Julia said was the real Gallows Hill when they wouldn't go with the rest of us to visit the place that's advertised as Gallows Hill. I still don't understand how the people of Salem could just forget where 19 people were executed.
Lee and Julia are smarter and less gullible than the rest of you.
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Post by catherine on Jan 17, 2016 19:03:27 GMT -5
Lee and Julia are smarter and less gullible than the rest of you.
Lee and Julia are older than we are and they've studied the Salem Witch Trials a lot more than we have, Jackass!
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Post by Joanna on Jan 30, 2017 17:31:33 GMT -5
Salem's Witch Trial Memorial at Proctor's LedgeSALEM, Mass. – Just short of the 325th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials and the hanging of 19 accused witches, the city has completed designs for a memorial that officials hope will offer a tasteful place for reflection. The City of Salem announced Thursday, Jan. 26, that the memorial planned for Proctor’s Ledge has been completed. The location was determined to be the probable site of the Salem Witch Trials executions of 1692 by historians and researchers last year. The city says its staff along with a landscape architect worked with descendants of the victims, the Salem Award Foundation, local historians and abutting neighbors to develop the design.
“Having this site memorialized, especially as we prepared to mark the 325th anniversary of that tragic event, presents an opportunity for us to come together as a community, recognize the injustice perpetrated against those innocents in 1692 and recommit ourselves to the values of inclusivity and justice,” Salem Mayor Kimberly Driscoll said in a statement.
The design was funded through a Community Preservation Act grant and the Mayor is asking the Parks and Recreation Commission to contribute $0.25 of each Witch House ticket sold to fund maintenance and upkeep of the memorial. The Witch House was the home of Jonathan Corwin, a judge during the trials who had a direct role in the sentencing of the 19 victims.
The memorial will feature a stone wall with the names of the victims written on 19 stones with a light below each name. At the center of the memorial on Pope Street, there will be a single oak tree, described as a symbol of endurance and dignity. Construction is expected to begin as soon as April and the city will be accepting bids for the project in the coming weeks.
“I would like to thank everyone who participated in the process that led to the development of this respectful memorial design,” said Driscoll in a statement. “Salem is constantly looking to the lessons of its past.”Source: Joe Lipovich, SalemPatch, January 26, 2017.
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Post by catherine on Jan 30, 2017 21:16:51 GMT -5
The next time we stop in Salem on one of our Dark Shadows trips, maybe we can get Lee and Julia to go with us to see this memorial. They wouldn't ever go with us to Gallows Hill because they said that the witch hangings didn't take place there.
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