Marilynne Roach
“Thrown into pits”: How were the bodies of the nineteen hanged Salem “witches” really treated
Nineteenth century historian Charles Upham stated that the deceased were “undoubtedly all thrown into pits dug among the rocks” after the hangings. More recent popular accounts and all too many walking tours of Salem tend to enlarge on the more gruesome aspects of the 1692 witch trials tragedy with tales of bodies carelessly disposed of far from consecrated ground, but what really happened? Does contemporary evidence prove a different fate? Family lore strongly suggests that at least three of the dead were removed to home ground under cover of night for proper burial, but family lore isn’t always dependable. A closer examination of the court records may disprove the usual assumptions.
[Recorded August 13, 2022.]
Marilynne K. Roach (MarilynneKRoach.com) is an independent researcher, writer, and illustrator, has delved into the 1692 trials for nearly half a century and still finds new information cropping up in unexpected places. Roach was one of the sub-editors contributing to the definitive Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, a member of the Gallows Hill Group that verified Proctor’s Ledge as the true location of the 1692 hangings (hailed by Archaeology Magazine as one of the top ten discoveries of 2016), and has authored several books about the Salem Witch Trials.