Witchcraft memorial.

Salem Witchcraft Victims Memorial

The town of Salem Village felt so bad after it killed 20 people for witchcraft in 1692 that it changed its name to Danvers (and later missed out on the tourism bonanza enjoyed by nearby Salem).

In 1992, Danvers acknowledged its infamous tercentennial by erecting a memorial just across the street from the spot where the witchcraft trials took place. It's essentially a series of upright granite slabs, engraved with the names, fates, and occasional quotes from the victims. Also, two oversized steel leg shackles are chained to a granite "Book of Life" that rests atop a sarcophagus-size block, in full view of a witch-judge engraved atop the slab directly in front. Probably about as tasteful a treatment as was possible without Danvers coming right out and yelling, "Hey, witch tourists! Over here!"

Salem Witchcraft Victims Memorial

Address:: 176 Hobart St., Danvers, MA
Directions:: Five miles west of Salem, in the town of Danvers. Hwy 128 exits 25 or 25B onto Andover St./Hwy 114. Drive west one mile. Bear right onto Sylvan St. Drive a half-mile. Turn left onto Collins St. Drive a little over a mile. Turn right onto Hobart St. You'll see the memorial on the right; the entrance to its parking lot is just past it.

Nearby Offbeat Places

Oldest Fruit Tree in North America, Danvers, MA - 2 mi.

Cannon Rock, Vikings and Druids, Lynn, MA - 5 mi.

Skull Cliff, Lynnfield, MA - 5 mi.

In the region:

World's Largest Van De Graff Generator, Boston, MA - 15 mi.

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