Upcoming Public Lecture to Examine Salem Witch Trials Street-by-Street, Neighbor-to-Neighbor

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News Release Date: October 3, 2012
Contact: Jonathan Parker, 978-210-4245

SALEM , MA- Between June 10 and September 22, 1692, a panel of judges, sitting in Salem, ordered 20 innocent people put to death for the crime of witchcraft. To commemorate this somber occasion, Salem resident and historian Timothy Kendall will present a free illustrated public lecture at 7pm on October 18th at the National Park Visitor Center (2 New Liberty St.).

Kendall's lecture, entitled "Salem in 1692: Our Neighbors and Neighborhood during the Witch Year," is based upon his research and recent publication of the "2013 Salem Witch Trials Calendar." Kendall will sign copies of his new calendar-guide to the events, people, and places of the Trials for any who wish to purchase it after the lecture.

Discussions of the witch madness usually focus on the rural colonial suburb of Salem, "Salem Village" (now Danvers), five miles north of the town center. Kendall's lecture takes a different tack and discusses how the panic manifested itself in Salem Town, now present-day Salem. Kendall will lead the audience on a street by street tour of the town as it was in 1692, showing who was involved in the trials and where they lived: accused "witches," their neighbors who accused them, the judges who sentenced them, the ministers who excommunicated them, and the sheriff and constables who arrested and executed them.

This event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:45pm at the National Park Visitor Center (2 New Liberty St.). For more information about Salem Maritime National Historic Site visit www.nps.gov/sama or call 978-740-1650.

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