Strange Brew-A Halloween Treat

by Tina Grazier

In February, 1692, three accused women were examined by Magistrates Jonathan Corwin and John Hathorne… By the time the hysteria had spent itself, 24 people had died. Nineteen were hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem Town, but some died in prison. Giles Corey at first pleaded not guilty to charges of witchcraft, but subsequently refused to stand trial. This refusal meant he could not be convicted legally. However, his examiners chose to subject him to interrogation by the placing of stone weights on his body. He survived this brutal torture for two days before dying. It is remarkable

552 original documents pertaining to the witchcraft trials have been preserved and are still stored by the Peabody Essex Museum.

Eerie memorabilia associated with the trials, such as the “Witch Pins” used in the examination of witches and a small bottle supposed to contain the finger bones of the victim George Jacobs can be found there as well. (Salem Mass. Webpage)

Days and nights has thirty-one Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
-Macbeth- William Shakespeare

And now a Reuters tale….

One of Salem Massachusetts’ oldest living and practicing witches is conjuring up a strange brew for civic leaders across the state. Back in 1975 then-governor Michael Dukakis proclaimed Laurie Cabot Salem’s official witch and within a decade she successfully waged a fight for the civil rights of witches by starting a letter writing campaign…now, sheeees back!

“I’d like to canvass the whole of the United States, city by city, and give every official this law memorandum,”…quoting from a U.S. court of appeals ruling, “While there are certainly aspects of Wiccan
philosophy that may strike most people as strange or incomprehensible, the mere fact that a belief may be unusual does not strip it of constitutional protection.”

Cabot says that posters hung on government walls showing witches as old hags in green face and riding brooms could lead to defamation suits:

“If they don’t protect us and take care of us like everyone else, then they could be sued,” she said. Cabot founded the Witches League for Self-Awareness in 1986. She also wants the military to let Wiccan soldiers have faith symbols inscribed on their government-issued tombstones.