April 2008

The Salem Witch Trial Memorial
by Heather Maureen Millott

I have been to Salem Massachusetts many times. Every year around fall, especially at Halloween I am drawn back there. I have many favorite sites for which I return to yearly but one saddens me the most. It is the Salem witch trials memorial. Just to the corner of the old burying point cemetery you will find it. This memorial was dedicated by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel in 1992 as part of Salem's Witch Trial Tercentenary.

The memorial itself is breathtaking as it is full of symbolism that goes unnoticed by most. On three sides it is enclosed by hand-crafted granite walls. It is a reminder of the lessons of tolerance and understanding. At the entrance to the memorial the ground is marked with the cries of the victims. "I am no witch. I know nothing of it... Oh Lord, help me! It is false... If it was the last moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent... I do plead not guilty." These you must step over as you enter, as if their cries are going unanswered by us. Victims protests are interrupted mid-sentence by the wall symbolizing society's indifference to oppression. Six locust trees, the last to flower and the first to lose their blooms, were planted there to represent the stark injustice of the trials.

Once inside, the surrounding walls hold 20 granite slabs, those which are etched with the names, dates, and method of execution of those who were killed during the hysteria of the witch trials. As you walk the gravel path you can read the names on the stones. One of the first is "Bridget Bishop, Hanged, June 10 1692" then follows "Sarah Good, Hanged, July 19 1692"... "Giles Corey, Pressed to Death, Sept 19 1692..." and let us not forget Martha, wife of Giles Corey. The witch trial memorial serves as a continuing reminder to us that the spirit of tolerance and understanding should prevail.

It pains me to remember this history and to imagine what the victims suffered. I chose a symbolic ritual of my own. I like to leave an offering on each of the slabs. A single white rose, with the thorns intact. I chose white for the innocence and purity of life that each victim lost, and the thorns to symbolize the sharp injustice of it all. Should you visit Salem in October and find 20 white roses with thorns placed on the stones, you will know I have been there that cool autumn morning. This is a brutal reminder to me how cruel humanity can be to its own and how lucky I am not to have been a victim in 1692. I surely would have been hanged for my own beliefs.

Till next time,
Heather

About the Author:
Heather Millott is a Halloween artist who admits to being shamelessly addicted to primitive folk and vintage Halloween art. Each month she plans to bring us another "Curious Good.." column. If you have a story suggestion for her, feel free to email her. Visit Heather here on HalloweenArtists.com or on her website at www.witchhollowprimitives.com.