Witch Trials: Bury to Salem — Live from the Museums

Join us for a unique online event bringing together two museums on opposite sides of the Atlantic to explore witch trials and folklore.

For this special evening, Dan Clarke, Heritage Officer at Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds, England and Rachel Christ-Doane, Director of Education at the Salem Witch Museum, will each take us behind the scenes of exhibits at their respective museums — live from the museums themselves.

Dan and Rachel will use these exhibits as starting points to explore the history, beliefs, stories and folklore surrounding witch trials, offering two fascinating perspectives on how witchcraft has been understood, remembered and presented to the public.

There is a remarkable historical connection between the two museums.
In 1662, Amy Denny and Rose Cullender were tried and executed for witchcraft at Bury St Edmunds. An account of their trial, A Tryal of Witches, was published in 1682 and was later consulted in Salem during the 1692 witch trials.

Moyse’s Hall Museum holds a rare copy of this important account, while the Salem Witch Museum tells the story of the trials that took place in Massachusetts three decades later. This shared history has brought the two museums together in a special transatlantic partnership.
In this event, however, the focus will be on the exhibits, witch trials and folklore — with Dan and Rachel each giving us a live look at an object or exhibition from their own museum.

There will also be time for a Q&A, giving you the opportunity to put your questions to Dan and Rachel.