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The witches completed their dreaded Grand Rite. The war is on. The battle has begun. And the front line is in Salem.
— Cotton Mather[src]

Salem, a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, is the epicenter of a moral panic around alleged witches.

Description

According to George Sibley, the town of Salem was founded on the Lord's will and was built by the founding fathers Endecott, Skelton, Alden, and Sibley. By 1685, George Sibley was the only surviving founder. Salem is a small town that lies on the edge of a vast forest overlooking the Massachusetts Bay. It is a rural place and the primarily residents are a Puritan congregation with a very strict lifestyle. They often trade with the neighboring Algonquian peoples not openly hostile to the settlers. [1]

The town is governed by a council of Elders whose selectmen are from the prominent local families such as such as Alden, Sibley, Hale. Those coming from founding families have a birthright to the seat of selectmen. [2] The policy is also administrated by a chief policeman at the head of a handful of militiamen, who also plays the role of magistrate — a role covered by Wendell Hathorne following John Hale's death.[3]

Village life revolves around the market square, which is overlooked by the meetinghouse where Cotton Mather took over from Reverend Lewis at the height of the witch hunt, spouting his sermons for hours from the pulpit.[4]

Salem is divinted into districts, with Knocker's Hole constituting the slums near the harbour. The Divining Rod and Bird's Nest are two of the brothels that vere active in the area at some point.

Throughout Salem

Season 1

Salem is in the midst of the Nine Years' War and the Glorious Revolution. French troops and Algonquian peoples tribes are in perpetual clash with the British settlers. Many of Salem's young men including John Alden join the militia to fight or to leave the oppressive Puritan life behind. In 1692, Salem is in the midst of a moral witch panic. Reverend Lewis's daughter, Mercy is attacked by specters and the arrival of Reverend Cotton Mather from Boston, Massachusetts kicks off a series of arrests and executions aimed at eradicating the witch menace. Unbeknownst to the Puritans, it is a hive of witches led by Mary Sibley that pulls the strings of the Salem Witch Trials so that the executions make up the thirteen victims needed for the Grand Rite. The arrival of Increase Mather threatens to halt the witches' plans by first hunting down Mercy Lewis, identified as a witch herself, the arrest of Tituba, an enslaved Black woman, and the sham trial of John Alden. Meanwhile, the citizens of Salem are increasingly impoverished and hungry.[5]

Season 2

The completion of the Grand Rite spreads a plague that decimates anyone not aligned with the witches. Dr. Samuel Wainwright arrives in town to study the origins of the pox only to end up embroiled in a witch plot himself.[6] Salem sees Countess Von Marburg and her son Baron Sebastian Von Marburg arrive in town. The two German nobles claim to be travelling to the New World and feel compelled to help the needy. [7] In reality, the two are witches who have arrived with the intention of seizing the reins of power from Mary Sibley and bringing about the Consecration. Mercy Lewis meanwhile leads a group of outcasts she calls her Children but they are soon slaughtered by the militia at Mary Sibley's instigation.[8] The Countess undermines Mary's authority by killing George Sibley and plotting with Magistrate Hathorne to discredit Mary in the eyes of the townsfolk.[9] The dead of Witch Pox are dumped in the crags where they liquefy into pools of Hell blood. The Countess leads the Dark Baptism — by sacrificing John Sibley, the long-lost son of Mary and John as a vessel for the Devil, he rises in Salem.[10]

Season Three

Following the plague and fire that has almost completely destroyed their meeting house, Salem's citizens try to return to everyday life but peace is again hampered when hordes of refugees seek help, escaping from raids to perpetrate by French troops and Indian tribes. [11] Meanwhile, the Dark Lord implements his diabolical plan of unleashing a Great Terror on Salem, sacrificing many victims for his purposes until the plan is overturned. Anne Hale seizes the moment and exposes the witches who hid in plain sight. Unbeknownst to her fellow residents, Anne plans to bring forth the Great Terror herself by birthinga new vessel to the Devil herself. [12]

Notable Places

Name Description Belonging
Sibley-house
The House of the Seven Gables
A large mansion built in the center of the city, belonging to Sibley family. A place that hides unspeakable horrors behind closed doors. George Sibley & Mary Sibley
Normal salem0113-0443
Hale's Cottage
The house that belongs to the Hale family, one of the most famous and wealthy families of Salem. John Hale,
Mrs. Hale
& Anne Hale
!
SALEM 050614 111 00240
Cotton's study
A room at Salem Inn rented by Cotton Mather, and used as study and dormitory. Cotton Mather
S02E13 Witnessing burning church
Salem Church
Place of prayer and sermons, as well as the court of the witch trials. Public building
The Divining Rod 015-crop
The Divining Rod
The local brothel that used to be ran by the witch Mab until her death. Increase Mather turned it in his "House of Pain," a torture chamber. Mab & Increase Mather
Salem Inn image
Salem Inn
The local Tavern located on main street. Unknown
Normal salem0110-1523
The Woods
The dark woods, terrotory of the Indians and the witches Nobody
Normal salem0203-0586
Salem Hospital
a wooden building that houses the sick patients, especially the victims of the plague Public
Salem - Episode 1.01 - The Vow - Promotional Photos (21) 595 slogoSalem Cemetery Burial place, used by Anne Hale as a park to sit and draw for the acolytes of Mercy for their witchcraft. Public
S02e01 33Knocker's Hole Infamous neighborhood near the harbour, home to the outcasts and the poor. Public
Salem105-0242The Crags Burial place of the undesirable, a mass grave in the woods. Public

Salem Residents

Main: Salem Residents

Current

Former

Deceased

Memorable Quotes

George Sibley: "On this glorious day, our brave boys muster to face the devil's shock troops. French and Indian savages massing in the woods right outside our doors. And what are you going off to defend? Not Sodom, but Salem! We cannot expect God to be on our side if we tolerate abominations or those who commit them."
The Vow

Mary Sibley: "They will hunt and kill and drown in their very own blood till there's no Puritans left standing and Salem is ours!"
The Vow

Isaac Walton: "Have I passed over? Did I make it to Heaven? Or am I in Hell?"
Dr. Wainwright: "Neither Heaven nor Hell, Sir. Merely Salem."
Cry Havoc

Magistrate Hathorne : "Humbly, I stand before you, divinely called to be your Moses and lead you there! George Sibley was a giant in his day, but the sun has set on that day. And if it is not to set on all our days, we must have a new leader. I ask you this simple question: Did God intend you to be led to the true promised land by a man who cannot even walk?"
The Wine Dark Sea

George Sibley: "Moses!? Damned impudence to appoint oneself our Moses and claim to do so humbly. This man's pride is worthy of Satan himself, not Moses. Much greater men than you, sir, made a covenant with the Almighty, and they landed on these shores, men named Endecott, Skelton, Alden, and Sibley! We crossed the river Jordan to this, our promised land, Salem, not some inherited parcel from which we could... We have overcome crop failures, epidemics, Indian raids, even witches. Shall we abandon our promised land now? What would the Lord himself say to that?! God hears us and speaks!"
The Wine Dark Sea

Trivia

  • The town was recreated in the countryside of Louisiana. [13]

Gallery

Videos

SALEM-_Scariest_Sets

SALEM- Scariest Sets


Navigations

References

  1. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Richard Shepard (director). April 20, 2014. "The Vow". Salem. Season 1. Episode 1. WGN.
  2. Adam Simon & Joe Menosky (writer) & David Von Ancken (director). June 22, 2014. "The House of Pain". Salem. Season 1. Episode 10. WGN.
  3. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Nick Copus (director). July 13, 2014. "Cry Havoc". Salem. Season 2. Episode 1. WGN.
  4. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Richard Shepard (director). April 20, 2014. "The Vow". Salem. Season 1. Episode 1. WGN.
  5. Jon Harmon Feldman (writer) & Tricia Brock (director). June 29, 2014. "Cat and Mouse". Salem. Season 1. Episode 11. WGN
  6. Joe Menosky & Adam Simon (writer) & Alex Kalymnios (director). July 13, 2014. "Dead Birds". Salem. Season 2. Episode 8. WGN.
  7. Donna Thorland & Adam Simon (writer) & Joe Dante (director). July 13, 2014. "The Beckoning Fair One". Salem. Season 2. Episode 7. WGN.
  8. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Allan Arkush (director). July 13, 2014. "Blood Kiss". Salem. Season 2. Episode 2. WGN.
  9. Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson (writer) & Tim Andrews (director). July 13, 2014. "Til Death Do Us Part". Salem. Season 2. Episode 10. WGN.
  10. Adam Simon (writer) & Brannon Braga (director). July 13, 2014. "The Witching Hour". Salem. Season 2. Episode 13. WGN.
  11. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Joe Dante (director). November 30, 2016. "Night's Black Agents". Salem. Season 3. Episode 4. WGN.
  12. Adam Simon (writer) & Brannon Braga (director). January 25, 2017. "Black Sunday". Salem. Season 3. Episode 10. WGN.
  13. WGN America's 'Salem' built its Massachusetts-set witch story in Louisiana
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