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Imagine a world where magic is not just a thing of folklore and fairy tales, but a tangible and marketable commodity. Picture yourself walking through bustling streets lined with shops, all adorned with colorful signs that read "Magic for Sale." In this fascinating realm, magic is a commodity that can be bought and sold like any other product. The air is filled with an enchanting aura as the sweet scent of spells and potions wafts through the streets, enticing passersby to explore the magical wonders that lie within. The shops themselves are a sight to behold, with shelves and display cases showcasing an array of exquisite items. There are wands of all shapes and sizes, each carefully crafted to channel different types of magic.

Tourism organisations offer holidays to places where “witches” were murdered.

As a child in 1993 she was obsessed with Disney s Salem film, Hocus Pocus, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, who also discovered a witch relation, Esther Dutch Elwell, in 2010. Genealogy of Witch Trial Ancestors Families Genealogy reports for six of the individuals involved in the infamous Salem Witch Trials, including accused witches and officials involved in the trials.

There are wands of all shapes and sizes, each carefully crafted to channel different types of magic. From simple wooden wands for beginners to intricately designed ones for the seasoned wizards, there is something to suit every aspiring spellcaster's taste. Behind the counters, the shopkeepers, adorned in colorful robes, greet customers with warm smiles and a twinkle in their eyes.

‘Witches are icons’: Americans embrace their family ties to Salem trial victims

What do Hollywood actor Humphrey Bogart, Senator Mitt Romney and half the US presidents have in common?

They are all alleged descendants of someone involved the 1692 Salem witch trials, in which an infamous outbreak of religious hysteria resulted in 19 early settlers hanged and one pressed to death.

Salem, Massachusetts, is America’s Halloweenville.

One of many shops in Salem catering to witchcraft tourists. Photograph: Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Every October thousands of tourists in costume flood the streets, buying “spell books” and snapping selfies in cemeteries.

Behind the shops, almost entirely divorced from the town’s main industry, lies the memorial with 20 stones carved with familiar names like John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse, who were immortalised in Arthur Miller’s 1953 “red scare” parable, The Crucible.

Alongside the tours, however, are a growing stream of visitors from as far as California paying their respects.

One card left in September for Susannah Martin, a 70-year-old impoverished widow from Buckinghamshire, England, executed for “bewitching oxen”, came from her alleged nine times great-grandchild, Riley.

They wrote: “I have felt the sorrow, pain, magic and power in Salem in myself. Unbeknownst to me I [had] three grandmothers buried in these grounds the whole time.”

An estimated 15 million Americans could claim a connection to the 329-year-old tragedy, according to the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), with millions more traceable to others accused of similar “crimes” in the 17th-century colonies, including New York and Connecticut.

For hundreds of years they were a source of shame. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of the 19th-century novel The Scarlet Letter, altered his name to distance himself from his great-great-grandfather, a Salem judge.

But recently, those who are descended from the accused witches have claimed the connection with pride.

A part of the memorial to those hanged in Salem. Photograph: Kelly Rann/Alamy

“Witches are icons of early American history,” said Brenton Simon, president of NEHGS, founded in 1845.

The historian, who is indirectly related to three accused witches himself, added: “Alongside being descended from the Mayflower, witches are highly desirable ‘target’ or celebrity ancestors. People yearn to be related to them.”

Terry Koch-Bostic, the National Genealogical Society’s education chair, said Americans’ interest in witch ancestors relates to a history of “a country founded largely on immigrants whose stories were question marks, so we’re all looking for something that makes us special.”

She said heritage digging kicked off in earnest in 1976 after Alex Haley’s Roots, followed by the internet and digitised archives since the 1990s, cheap DNA testing since the 2010s, social media, and TV programmes like Who Do You Think You Are.

Europe executed thousands more “witches” than America, but due to largely piecemeal record-keeping until the 19th century, compared with fastidious New England records since the 1620s, and an unusual number of first-hand accounts of the trials, more Americans can prove lineage.

In the last few years it went mainstream.

Tourism organisations offer holidays to places where “witches” were murdered.

Lindsay Perodeau at the Proctor’s Ledge memorial in Salem, dedicated to her ancestor, Susannah Martin. She is holding her ‘Daughter of a Witch’ certificate. Photograph: Alice Hutton/The Guardian

In the Facebook group Bloodlines of Salem, which has more than 2,000 members, hundreds of “cousins” commune over allegedly mutual ancestors.

Under a post about the sale of Proctor’s former home, 200 “relatives” debated crowdfunding its $750,000 purchase “so we can all take turns living in it. Lol.”

More rigorous lineage organisations like Son of a Witch, founded in 1975, or Associated Daughters of Early American Witches (ADEAW), founded in 1987, issue certificates and pins featuring witches or black swans, if applicants provide strict historical proof.

It took Lindsay Perodeau, 36, from Natick, Massachusetts, six years to get ADEAW membership, after accidentally discovering while looking for Mayflower relatives that Susannah Martin was her ninth-time great-grandmother.

She confirmed it through online and paper archives.

As a child in 1993 she was “obsessed” with Disney’s Salem film, Hocus Pocus, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, who also discovered a ‘witch’ relation, Esther Dutch Elwell, in 2010.

Perodeau added: “It’s amazing to be related to such a famous piece of American history. I feel proud that Susannah was clearly a feisty lady … I see my mom in her.”

The “daughter of a witch” certificate hangs in her house.

“Some people laugh: ‘You’re a witch?!’” she said. “I say: ‘No, I’m not making potions. No potions!’”

Some academics suggest the revival is a by-product of far-right attacks on women’s rights.

In 2019 the New York Times announced: “Witches are having a resurgence among feminists who want authority over their lives.”

A lithograph shows the trial of George Jacobs, who was hanged on 19 August 1692 on the evidence of a child. Photograph: Charles Walker Collection/Alamy

“WitchTok” on TikTok also reportedly helped inspire the popularity of modern witches, or wiccans, with the now ubiquitous phrase “we are the daughters of the witches you didn’t burn” emblazoned on T-shirts (although US witches were hanged).

Many of the women convicted of witchcraft were considered outspoken and fairly independent, including women working as medical practitioners, Dr Amy Smith, Salem State University’s media professor, said, so contemporary women could “graft modern values of feminism on to pious and fairly powerless women”.

“It helps,” she added, “if it ‘confirms’ something you already believe about yourself, like: ‘Yes! I’m a fighter too!’”

And while historians continue to make discoveries, including Salem’s gallows site in 2013, critics accuse the town of “social amnesia”, especially after the 2005 unveiling of a statue of Samantha from the 1960s sitcom, Bewitched.

Richard Trask is related to several victims, including Mary Estey, from Norfolk, England, who was hanged aged 58.

He’s the archivist for Danvers, the original Salem Village outside modern Salem and site of the first accusations, before changing its name in 1752.

David Allen Lambert, holding a copy of his ancestor Mary Bradbury’s indictment for witchcraft in Salem in 1692. Photograph: Alice Hutton/The Guardian

Trask said the confusion between “Halloween’s Disneyland and innocent people being murdered” had led to a “misrepresentation” that all victims were witches, citing wiccans holding ceremonies at Danvers’ memorial.

He added: “They were mostly Christians persecuted by other Christians, who died rather than admit to witchcraft. They would be horrified.”

For David Allen Lambert, it doesn’t matter so long as the victims aren’t forgotten.

The chief genealogist for NEHGS is unusual in that he’s related to both a Salem victim, his eighth great-grandmother Mary Bradbury, from Warwickshire, England, who was convicted but escaped execution, and a judge, his seventh great-uncle Samuel Sewall, the only magistrate to publicly apologise.

“It was the darkest time in Massachusetts’ history,” Lambert said.

“It echoes today, what happens when disinformation spreads and neighbours turn on neighbours. We should remember our ancestors, not glorify their suffering. In my family none of our children have ever dressed as a witch at Halloween, out of respect for Mary.

This article was amended on 29 October 2021. George Jacobs was hanged on 19 August 1692, not 1962 as an earlier picture caption said.

The “daughter of a witch” certificate hangs in her house.

They are experts in their craft, knowledgeable about the intricacies and uses of each magical item they sell. As customers peruse the shelves, the shopkeepers are always ready to offer guidance and advice, ensuring that each purchase meets the customer's needs and desires. In addition to wands, the shops are also filled with an assortment of potions, spellbooks, and enchanted artifacts. Potions line the shelves, bubbling and shimmering in glass vials, each containing a unique concoction capable of granting temporary magical abilities or curing ailments. From healing potions and love potions to potions that can make you invisible or change your appearance, there seems to be no limit to the magical wonders they can offer. Spellbooks are another popular item in this magical world. Each book is filled with ancient wisdom and spells that can be harnessed by the reader. From spells that can create fireballs or summon lightning to spells that can unlock hidden doors or grant the power of flight, these books hold the secrets to countless adventures and possibilities. Enchanted artifacts, ranging from amulets to talismans, also grace the shelves of these magical emporiums. These trinkets are imbued with specific magical properties, such as protection, luck, or the ability to communicate with animals. They are cherished by those who seek an extra edge in their magical endeavors or simply wish to carry a piece of wonder with them at all times. As you meander through the streets, taking in the sights and sounds of this enchanting world, it becomes clear that magic is not just a commodity here; it is a way of life. People from all walks of life flock to these shops, seeking to tap into the extraordinary and add a bit of enchantment to their everyday existence. Whether it is to fulfill lifelong dreams of becoming a powerful wizard, to find a cure for an ailment, or simply to experience the thrill and wonder of magic, these shops offer something for everyone. They are a testament to the enduring fascination and allure of magic, a reminder that even in a world where science and technology prevail, there will always be a place for the extraordinary and the fantastical..

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