Happy First Day of October! To kick off the Halloween season, here’s a chilling story to set the Halloween mood. We recently visited Proctor’s Ledge, the haunting site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials hangings.

For centuries, it was widely believed that the nineteen innocent souls executed during the hysteria of 1692 were hanged at the summit of Gallows Hill, just outside of town. The town’s residents, burdened with guilt and shame, deliberately left the exact location unmarked. Early maps of Salem from 1700 show a vague “Gallows Hill,” but no precise marker for the execution site.

In 1921, local historian Sidney Perley conducted extensive research and became convinced that the true site was not at the summit, but near the base of the hill—on Proctor’s Ledge. His findings led the City of Salem to purchase a portion of the land in 1936, dubbing it “Witch Memorial Land.” However, no memorial was ever erected, and the summit myth endured for decades.

It wasn’t until 2010 that a dedicated team of researchers began to reexamine all the historical evidence. In January of 2016, they officially confirmed what Perley had suspected nearly a century before—Proctor’s Ledge was indeed the site where the tragic executions took place. This conclusion was supported by chilling eyewitness accounts from 1692, detailing how nearby residents could see the hangings from the windows of their homes.

So, as the days grow shorter and the shadows lengthen, we remember the tragic events of Salem—a stark reminder of how fear and hysteria can lead to unspeakable acts. Proctor’s Ledge now stands as a solemn memorial, finally giving peace to those lost during one of the darkest chapters in American history.

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