028: Strange Terrors

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Alyson Horrocks from the Strange and Unusual Podcast took me on a tour of a historical site with a dark past. The site sits in a town called Danvers, but it was once Salem Village. This site was the culmination of a strange mix of religion, superstition, folklore, slavery, patriarchy, truth, and lies.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A place where people's imagination or secret motives ran wild and story or lie or desperate attempt at redemption led to the basis for one of the darkest times in colonial American History. What started as a search for freedom to pursue religion and all things good, and ended in a nondescript historical site and archaeological dig, has a sinister history with a story that is hard to tell and even harder to understand.</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Salem Village was settled in the late 1600s</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1970, Richard B. Trask started excavating the "Danvers Dig"</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1688 Samuel Parris moved into the house that once stood at the dig.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Parris brought an enslaved South American couple named John and Tituba.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In 1692, the invisible world began to close around the Parris family.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Using Venus Glass and taking a peek into the invisible world.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How it's human nature to be drawn to what is forbidden</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In January of 1693, Betty Parris daughter of Samuel, and cousin Abigail were stricken with mysterious illnesses.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sarah Good and her daughter visit the Parris home.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dr. Griggs determines the affliction of Betty and Abigail is supernatural in nature.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Thomas Putnam goes to the Salem Town magistrates to file claims of witchcraft.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman's final plea for freedom opens the floodgates of imagination and evil to begin a dark era of lies and persecution.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Resources:</span></p> <p><a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Salem-Witch-Trials-Day-Day/dp/1589791320"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege</span></a></p> <p><a href= "https://www.thestrangeandunusualpodcast.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Strange and Unusual Podcast</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Enjoyed this episode? Please support the show by rating, reviewing, and subscribing on</span> <a href= "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pleasing-terrors/id1141063625?mt=2"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">iTunes</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Please visit</span> <a href= "http://www.pleasingterrors.com/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Pleasing Terrors</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, the podcast behind Old Charleston's best ghost tour, on</span> <a href= "https://www.facebook.com/pleasingterrors/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Facebook</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">and</span> <a href= "https://twitter.com/pleasingterrors"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Twitter</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">!</span></p>