While the Salem witch trials ended in May 1693, it took the community generations to recover from the trauma and loss. Some residents moved away while others changed the spelling of their family name. Many participated in legislative efforts to restore innocency to the victims, and others sought to knit the community back together through healing marriages between families of accusers and their victims. The collective pain and shame of the trials meant that Salem would not build a memorial to the victims until their 300th anniversary in 1992. It would take 25 more years before the city would memorialize the execution site at Proctor’s Ledge on Gallows Hill.

This event is free, but space is limited. Tickets may be reserved here.

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Emerson "Tad" Baker is a professor of History at Salem State University and has previously served as vice provost and dean of the graduate school. He is the award-winning author or co-author of six books on the history and archaeology of early New England, including A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience, and The Devil of Great Island: Witchcraft and Conflict in Early New England. Baker has served as consultant and on-camera expert for historical documentaries and TV shows for networks ranging from PBS and TLC to Smithsonian and the History Channel. He is currently working on a book on the aftermath of the Salem witch trials.