Watch CBS News

Witches, Ghost Tales and History Take Center Stage At Salem's Gallows Hill

SALEM (CBS) -- WBZ-TV is taking a closer look at Halloween events around New England throughout October.

Gallows Hill in Salem is hosting a production of "The Witchcraft and Ghost Experience." The show presents history of the Salem witchcraft trials, Native American mythology and ghost tales.

The audience gets involved in this show, too. There is a runway in the middle of the rows of seats that allows the characters in the play to walk through the crowd. Unusual globes of light appear out of nowhere during another act. Ghosts seem to float in mid-air. One highlight is the demon story of George Burrows.

"Of course the thing you want to see the most is a witch during the show. A witch opens the show but she's a witch of mythology," says director Erik Rodenhiser.

"So! You've come to learn of witches eh?" says Esmerelda the witch. "Ah! A spell. Double, double toil and trouble, fire burn and caldron bubble. By the pricking of my thumb something wicked this way come!"

"There were good spirits and bad spirits, so the good spirits aren't as exciting to meet," says Rodenhiser.

Another character we were able to meet is the Abamacho -- a Native American myth, who was a creature of the night. This creature supposedly sought out Native Americans and would kill them.

abamacho-salem
The abamacho (WBZ-TV)

As the show comes to a close we are given a true sense of what a Puritan settler would believe when they first settled in New England.

" We try to bring at the end of the show the historical value in letting you know there were no witches in 1692, innocent people. But we just want to show you things that they thought we real at that time," says Rodenhiser.

For information on show times visit: http://gallowshillsalem.com/

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.