Witches of Massachusetts Bay

@witchesmassbay

History website on 17th-century witch hunts—particularly #SalemWitchTrials—including road trips, events, articles, research. #HistoryMatters #WitchesMassBay

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Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· 5d

Jane Scrimshaw supposedly was born in 1584 in London and died on Christmas day 1711. Several variations of this drawing exist, all with the pointed hat. She was not a witch. It was a fashion trend seen in Great Britain & Europe for a time. Read her story: archive.org/details/bim_...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· 5d

In Salem, Mass., many locals downtown wear goth clothing or dress all in black, which is in keeping with its renown as a #darktourism spot. Two items are like neon signs saying hey, I'm a tourist: the floppy "modern witch hat" ...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jul 10

Aug. 8: History Camp Boston has 50 talks, including: How English Witch-Hunting Manuals Guided New England’s Witch Trials, 1647-1697; Samuel Parris: Villain, Victim, or . . .?; 17th Century English Immigrant Motivation & the Making of New England Institutions, etc. historycamp.org/events/histo...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jul 10

I live next to a cemetery and belong to its Friends Of board, and I finally became a member of the Association of Gravestone Studies. ⭐ gravestonestudies.org

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jul 6

Aug. 3: Mary Easty: Her life, Execution, & Enduring Legacy. To join talk, email mary.bingham@endwitchhunts.org to receive the Google link invitation & instructions.

image of Mary Easty's marker at Proctor's Ledge, Pope St., Salem, Mass.
Mary Easty Sept. 22, 1692 [with a white rose]
Mary Easty: Her life, Execution, & Enduring Legacy
August 3, 2026
8 pm ET

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· May 28

June 6: Historic Beverly opening day for all 3 historic houses: The Cabot House: 117 Cabot Street, Hale Farm: 39 Hale street, Balch House: 448 Cabot Street. historicbeverly.net/event/openin...

Historic Beverly Opening Day for the Historic Houses. Step into History, Discover our heritage. 3 houses. 5 centuries. 1000s of stories. Saturday June 6th, 2026 11 am to 3 pm. Tours, exhibits, history, community. Tickets & info at historicbeverly.net. Preserving the Past. Inspiring the Future.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· May 28

Tis the season! Seasonal historical societies & museums & old houses are opening for the season. Plan ahead by visiting North of Boston Convention & Visitor Center, Essex Heritage, town websites, etc.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Apr 4

Metacom's Resistance by @historicbostons.bsky.social continues: April 8: Surviving Slavery: Sale of Indigenous People; April 18 & 28: Book Club: Whose Story? Two Views of King Philip’s War; April 23: Erasure: History, Memory & King Philip’s War and more... www.eventbrite.com/cc/metacoms-...

Metacom's Resistance: Retelling King Phillip's War by Partnership of Historic Bostons events.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Mar 17

March 20: Join Dr. Tricia Peone, New England’s Hidden Histories Project Director, at @congrelib.bsky.social 14 Beacon St., Boston, Mass., for a tour that explores the lives of women in early New England. Sign up: congregationallibrary.org/events/women...

March 2026 Collections Tour
Women's Religious Writing in Early New England
Friday, March 20, 12 to 1 pm
14 Beacon Street, Boston
Congregational Library & Archives

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Mar 5

March 19: Oxford Handbook of Puritanism. 30 essays on geographies & chronologies, theology & practice, politics, society, culture, & modern representations. #free #online Frank Bremer @annlaurahughes.bsky.social Rachel Adcock & @emersonwbaker.bsky.social congregationallibrary.org/events/oxfor...

March 19, 2026, 1 pm to 2:30 pm
The Oxford Handbook of Puritanism
A virtual talk with Frank Bremer, Ann Hughes, Rachel Adcock, and Emerson Baker

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Mar 2

Get ready for Metacom's Resistance: Retelling King Philip's War and Its Legacy, by @historicbostons.bsky.social, featuring in-person & streaming programming. Sign up today, for one or all! www.eventbrite.com/cc/metacoms-...

Image: The only surviving contemporary depiction of King Philip's War. John Seller, "A mapp of New England" (London: And are to bee sold at his shop at the Hermitage in Wapping and by Iohn Hills in Exchange Alley in Cornhill, [1675]). Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Feb 25

Explore the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway, featuring 14 communities in Massachusetts. Looking for things to do, inside and out? Check out the site's blog & calendar for ideas. #EssexHeritage #Massachusetts coastalbyway.org/blog/

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Feb 13

400 years ago, Roger Conant founded Salem, Massachusetts. This year, #Salem400+ & Conant's birthplace of East Budleigh, England, celebrate the Peacemaker. @cityofsalemma.bsky.social www.salemma.gov/m/newsflash/...

Roger Conant statue erected at corner of Brown St. and Washington Square in 1913, created by sculptor Henry Kitson on behalf of the Conant Family Association. Features based on imagined Puritan appearance, since no known portrait exists of Conant. Old postcard.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 28

Feb. 12: Cotton Mather Lecture @congrelib.bsky.social #online #Zoom. Mather's observations—ranging from smallpox inoculation and germ theory to "monstrous" births & marine volcanoes—capture the dynamic interplay between science, religion & colonial identity. us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Feb. 12, 1-2 pm. Exploring Cotton Mather's Curiosa Americana. A virtual roundtable with Reiner Smolinski, Kenneth Minkema, and Andrew Juchno.
book cover

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 26

For the 350th anniversary of King Philip's War, the Partnership of @historicbostons.bsky.social retells both sides of the story of Metacom’s Resistance: Retelling King Philip’s War. historicbostons.org/upcomingevents

Metacom’s Resistance: Retelling King Philip’s War

In Metacom’s Resistance, the Partnership of Historic Bostons brings together award-winning historians, Tribal historic preservation officers, independent scholars, and Tribal citizens for a new telling of this most devastating of American wars. The eight-part series offers profound insight for the 350th anniversary. These free events are in person, online, or hybrid.

https://historicbostons.org/upcomingevents

March 11: The Unknown War: An Introduction
March 24: The Past Is Now
April 8: Surviving Slavery
April 18: Book Club: Whose Story?
April 23: Erasure: History and Memory in the Archives
April 28: Book Club: Whose Story?
May 6: What Really Happened at Turner Falls?
May 28: The Long Legacy

Support the Partnership of Historic Bostons!

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 26

Metacom's Resistance: Retelling King Philip's War and Its Legacy, an 8-event series by @historicbostons.bsky.social. History programs that help turn mainstream history upside down & challenges stories told by past historians. Sign up & support PHB: historicbostons.org/upcomingevents

Partnership of Historic Bostons
Our New Series: Retelling King Philip's War
[map of colonists and Native Americans fighting near Connecticut River]
Conflict increasingly marked relations between colonists expanding their holdings and Native peoples who saw their lands, hunting grounds, and fishing ponds disappear. War engraved itself into English consciousness and even their maps. Image: Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 12

Partnership of @historicbostons.bsky.social lecture series is Metacom's Resistance: Retelling King Philip's War, the least known, but bloodiest conflict in US history. Historians, tribal citizens & Indigenous scholars explore how this brutal war changed history. www.eventbrite.com/cc/metacoms-...

Image: This small piece of a 1675 map, known as the Seller map, is the only surviving depiction of the fighting in King Philip's War, according to historian Jill Lepore. It is the first printed version of William Reed's original survey from 1665, but adds details from the war, including this snapshot of the warring parties as well as colonial towns destroyed in the early months of the war. John Seller, "A mapp of New England" (London: And are to bee sold at his shop at the Hermitage in Wapping and by Iohn Hills in Exchange Alley in Cornhill, [1675]). Leventhal Map & Education Center, Boston

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 12

Feb. 11: Hugh Peter and the Orphans: Tracing a 17th Century Conspiracy Theory. #online with Samuel Fullerton, professor & author. Was it a humanitarian relief effort or Puritan indoctrination plot? @historicbostons.bsky.social sign up: www.eventbrite.com/e/hugh-peter...

Image: The devil whispers "You are mine" in Hugh Peter's ear in this depiction of Peter's malevolent intentions for England, including his plan to (as they saw it) immiserate widows and orphans. Note, too, the reference to Geneva - the source of Puritan influence and their Geneva Bible. Line engraving after William Faithorne, 1660. National Portrait Gallery, London

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Jan 12

Jan. 22: Music: It's a Sin! Rambunctious, rebellious, scandalous 17th century English music with Natalie Kershaw #online #free @historicbostons.bsky.social Sign up: www.eventbrite.com/e/music-its-...

Image: From the title page of The English Dancing Master: Or, Plaine and easie Rules for the Dancing of Country Dances, with the Tune to Each Dance (London: Printed by Thomas Harper, 1651).

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Dec 9

Dec. 16 online: Discover whether 17th century Puritans truly hated holiday fun. Register soon for @congrelib.bsky.social newly added virtual event on Tuesday, December 16th from 1-2:30 pm EST, before tickets sell out! (Other 2 dates sold out!) congregationallibrary.org/events/chris...

Christmas with the Puritans: A Festive Program with Dr. Tricia Peone. Virtual event Dec. 16 only. Other two dates sold out!

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Nov 10

Dec 10 or 11: Christmas with the Puritans: A Festive Program at the Congregational Library & Archives with Dr Tricia Peone. @congrelib.bsky.social Dec 10 in person, Dec 11 #online congregationallibrary.org/events/chris...

In-person Dec 10, Virtual Dec. 11. Christmas with the Puritans. A festive program with Dr. Tricia Peone.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Nov 10

Dec. 3: Newport Gardner's Anthem: A Story of Slavery, Struggle, and Survival in Early America by Dr. Edward Andrews. #online book talk @congrelib.bsky.social congregationallibrary.org/events/newpo...

Dec. 3, 1-2 pm. Newport Gardner's Anthem. A story of slavery, struggle, and survival in early America. A virtual book talk with Dr. Edward E. Andrews. [book cover]

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Nov 3

Nov. 5: Music-Making in Colonial Boston by Old North Illuminated. Music-making set the tone and tempo of militia, home hospitality, tavern frivolity, and community singing circles. Join musicologist Laura Zoll on Zoom. www.eventbrite.com/e/music-maki...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 29

If you're looking for a good overview & locations in Salem, Massachusetts, check out the Salem Trolley. www.salemtrolley.com

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 29

When visiting #SalemMA, book your tours with LOCAL tour guides, not national chains.

Local Tour Guides
are passionate about Salem and its history

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 29

#SalemMA road closures

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 28

Nov. 1: The Making of a Witch: A Play in One Act. Hear what accused #witch Philip English has to say about the charges against him & his wife, fleeing Mass Bay, returning home after #SalemWitchTrials are over. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ www.stpeters-sanpedro.org/making-of-a-...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 28

Nov. 19: Radical Thought & Political Resistance in the English Civil Wars #online @historicbostons.bsky.social Historian Rachel Foxley explores the radical ideas of the English Revolution of 1640-1660 that overthrew a monarchy www.eventbrite.com/e/radical-th...

Image: Leveller pamphleer and activist John Liliburne, or Freeborn John, as he was widely known, reading Edward Coke's Institutes of the Lawes of England, a foundational text of English common law, during his 1649 trial for high treason. After two days, the London jury acquitted him. Theodorus Varax, 1649. Wikimedia Commons.

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 28

Nov. 6: Resisting Tyranny, Defining Liberty #online Historian Francis J. Bremer shows us New England Puritans were stirring up trouble - resisting tyranny and creating a new understanding of what liberty meant for them. @historicbostons.bsky.social www.eventbrite.com/e/resisting-...

Witches of Massachusetts Bay@witchesmassbay· Oct 15

Oct. 29: Ireland's Last Witch Trial, 1711. Forten Hall, Salem State Univ., Salem, Mass. Bringing witch trial story to life thru graphic novel, a play, digitized trial docs, Virtual Reality experience, short animation, & video game for PC w1711.org @salemstate.bsky.social @emersonwbaker.bsky.social