I'll give you the chills ahead of the spooky Halloween
celebrations. Newsy's national correspondent, axel
turner Ceos set out to find the most haunted places in
the United States. Today. He takes us to Salem
massachusetts take a look hear me Poseidon who protects
the earth, the dark haired horsemen, mass hysteria
blood bats have left a stain on Salem massachusetts.
It's crazy the stories that came out of this and people
having out of body spirits visiting them now. Over
three centuries later, the ramifications of the Salem
witch droughts can still be felt on the banks of
massachusetts bay. Any place that has had a mass
killing or murder usually becomes very haunted. What
happened in Salem had nothing to do with witchcraft.
Yeah. Are you a witch I am a witch. I'm a priestess.
I've run a coven, which we come together, we celebrate
the seasons, we celebrate our successes, We work magic.
Between 16 92 and 16 93 the Salem witch trials found at
least 19 people guilty for crimes related to witchcraf
The punishment, death bake hanging in total over 200
people were accused of being a witch pom. Kramer is the
descending of two women who were publicly hanged,
accused of practicing witchcraf Sarah Wildes is one,
she is my ninth grade aunt and and Peut etre is my
ninth grade grandmother for the very first time Kramer
visited the site of her ancestors died and these were
puritan women and you know, somebody starts acting ou
of character And uh somebody else has similar effec
Therefore it must be what's blamed it on these other
people. Leanne Marama admits she's a witch. A statement
akin to a death sentence back in 1692. Witchcraft has
been associated a lot with women. The hag, the one who
curses the one who seduces a man that's once again the
patriarchy, the male superior trying to put down
women's natural gifts. Witchcra is an old religion
made. No. And it is also a practice. Many people do. We
are people of the old gods and we connect with nature
on a regular basis. We are the ones who bring light and
magic to almost like a dim sad world. Do cast spells
Yes, of course I cast spells. Love casting spell
spells are another form of prayer. I feel quite a bit
of energy right now. Daniel Tracey says she's a witch
with special gifts. I am claire sentient, so I feel
things I'm an empath and I'm also clear cognizant Tracy
believes that the Bloodstained Salem grounds are a
fulcrum of the paranormal. Salem is definitely one of
the most haunted places in the United States. I'd say
this is the old burying 10.1 of the oldest cemetery in
the United States and also the oldest in the city of
Salem and this is where Dutch john hawthorne, one of
the most influential, hated an unrepentant judges
involved in the Salem witch trials is buried at that
time. Also the bodies of some of the people who were
convicted of witchcraft were dumped around the cemetery
because at the time it was believed that it was unluck
to touch their bodies and also it was illegal. So they
never received a proper burial when other judges, like
Judge Sewall were saying that they were sorry for what
they had done because they realized that the victims
were all innocent. Judge Hathorn, the hanging judge
never apologized. Karen McLough says the house of
the seven Gables has a direct attachment to the Salem
witch trials. The house rose to fame after a Salem born
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote his novel with the same name.
Hawthorne felt this burden of guilt. His great great
grandfather had been one of the judges and during the
Salem witch trials and he is, I believe the only one
who never repented a house with a dark past believed by
many to be hunted, but Mclaughlin thinks otherwise
do not believe it is haunted personally. I've spent
lot of time in that house. I've never had any
experiences. I mean, there are some people that say
they have felt things, but there's really no evidence
of it being haunted. This is the proctors lets a
memorial dedicated to at least 19 people who were
executed men and women after being convicted of
witchcraft and this is the side where scholars have
concluded those executions happ in 1692 and in
those woods up there, it's where they were hanged and
what's been described as one of the first miscarriages
of justice in american history. What happened here in
Salem is what actually would created the path for our
modern legal system. Innocent people being convicted
and killed for crimes that they didn't commit. That's a
big deal. History has revealed the persecutions were
all about money, land and power, powerful people
wanting something that other people had and then it
became a hysteria. I think they were looking to the
people that were powerful at the time that they
believed those people. They're the ones saying it, it
must be true. You know, they didn't question auth
a town wrapped up in greed and misunderstanding.
Perhaps the truth more frightening than the legend axe
tres It's Newsy Salem massachusetts.