Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts.
Description[]
Salem was first settled by Europeans in 1626 and became a city in 1836. The city has become infamous due to the witch trials it held in 1692. The Salem witch trials were an incident in-which mass hysteria spread throughout the colony regarding the fear of witches (who were seen as malevolent servants of Hell) living amongst their populace. As a result of this, the conservative-puritan government of Salem accused over 200 civilians of witchcraft whom they tortured and interrogated, found 30 guilty, executed 19 of those 30 and even killed an uncaused man named Giles Corey when he refused to testify against one of the accused. Due to these horrific events, Salem has become notorious and in modern days very heavily themes and advertises itself to the paranormal for tourism.
Haunted Mansion Connections[]
Disney Parks[]
Salem is connected to Madame Leota in her backstory found in Liberty Square in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. As explained through the Memento Mori gift-shop, Madame Leota (herself a magic practitioner) was a resident of Salem who fled the town due to the witch-trials before settling in upstate New York. Salem is also the name of one of the dining areas in the Columbia Harbour House found by the Haunted Mansion and Memento Mori.
Assorted Connections[]
In the unofficial Ghost Gallery storyline, there is an asylum known as the Salem Asylum for the Criminally-Insane which is implied to have been located in Ohio. The asylum once held the lunatics Ezra Dobbins, Phineas Queeg and Gus Gracey who in death became the Hitchhiking Ghosts.
Salem is a location in the Tales from the Haunted Mansion book, Tales from the Haunted Mansion Volume III: Grim Grinning Ghosts in-which three witches are found in Salem by a girl named Ellen with the witches practicing magic around a majestic old oak tree. The tree is subsequently cut down by the father of Ellen and is turned into a hand-crafted door that is cursed. This is proposed as an origin to the breathing door from the Corridor of Doors in the ride.
Notable Disney Connections[]
- Hocus Pocus (1993): Hocus Pocus is the main setting of this film revolving around three witches coming back from the dead on Halloween night after having been executed in Salem.
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010): Historic victim of the witch trials Abigail Williams is a minor antagonist in this film, being an actual sorceress.