Echoes of the Witch

An overgrown bush on the grounds of the abandoned Westbrook Village. The exact location of the gallows where Alse Young (1647), Mary Johnson (1648), Joan & John Carrington (1651), Lydia Gilbert (1654), Mary Barnes (1663), Nathanial & Rebecca Greensmith (1663), and Mary Sanford (1662) were hanged is unknown. This is one of the possible execution sites. Hartford, CT.

Archival digital pigment prints

24 x 36 inches

2019 - 22

For print availability, please contact me

In collaboration with Jake Eshelman, Echoes of the Witch explores cultural memory, power, and the land as they manifest through American witch executions.

Since 2019, we have travelled around present-day America to document the locations where records indicate fifty-four individuals were accused of witchcraft and executed by the state. In each location, this project investigates how the land and the people in these sites have honored, altered, hidden, perverted, or neglected the memories of these persecutions.

This project operates on the premise that places hold memory, and that cultural memory can be deeply rooted. What we choose to remember—and how—has a profound impact on how we understand ourselves and our world.

To learn more about the project, visit the official Echoes of the Witch website.

A placard designates a meeting room in the Windsor City Hall building. This is one of several small overtures acknowledging the executions of Alse Young (1647) and Lydia Gilbert (1654), who were posthumously pardoned by Windsor’s Town Council in 2017—largely due to the efforts of local activists. Windsor, CT.

A tree with hammock chairs overlooks the small hill where Rebecca Fowler was hanged in 1685 on the present-day campus center lawn of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. St. Mary's, MD.

A man walks down the aisle to pray at The Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, which sits atop the location of the former Boston Neck Gallows—one of three possible execution sites where Ann Glover (1688), Margaret Jones (1648), Alice Lake (1650), Mrs. Kendall (1651), and Ann Hibbins (1656) were hanged. Boston, MA.

Two dumpsters behind a gas station at the old Gallows Brook execution site where local tradition holds Goody Bassett was hanged for witchcraft in 1651. The brook officially disappeared from view in 1848 and is said to be buried beneath the railroad track. Stratford, CT.

The interior of a local ice cream parlor named after Goody Bassett, who was tried and executed for witchcraft in 1651. Stratford, CT.

Years after opening Goody Bassett’s Ice Cream parlor, the proprietor learned that an unassuming drainage ditch running directly beneath the building is the remains of Gallows Brook, where tradition holds Goody Bassett was executed for witchcraft in 1651. Stratford, CT.

Mary Lee was found guilty of witchcraft and hanged aboard the Charity of London in 1654 somewhere en route between England and the Province of Maryland. In 1658, Elizabeth Richardson and Katherine Grady were also accused and hanged for witchcraft aboard similar vessels respectively bound for present-day Maryland and Virginia. Atlantic Ocean.

Researchers at the Fairfield Museum and History Center examine old town homestead maps of the families involved in the trial and execution of Goody Knapp in 1653. Fairfield, CT.

A community garden on what was formerly known as Try’s Field, where Goodwife Knapp was hanged in 1653. Her memorial is dedicated here as of August 2019. Fairfield, CT.

The corner of Albany Ave. and Vine St. in Hartford’s North End. The exact location of the gallows where Alse Young (1647), Mary Johnson (1648), Joan & John Carrington (1651), Lydia Gilbert (1654), Mary Barnes (1663), Nathanial & Rebecca Greensmith (1663), and Mary Sanford (1662) were hanged is unknown. This is one of the possible execution sites. Hartford, CT.

An inscribed brick serves as a memorial for Mary Barnes, who was executed for witchcraft in 1663. Her brick is laid at the feet of a life-sized, bronze statue of Rev. Samuel Stone, who was involved in her trial. Hartford, CT.

The current church at Abiquiu stands on the site of the original Spanish mission church. This was the epicenter of the decade long Abiquiu witchcraft outbreak. Abiquiu, NM.

Sunlight shines into the western most room of the Governor’s Palace in downtown Santa Fe. Next to the window, a didactic display explains the history of the missing jail cells, which would have been just beyond this wall on what is now Lincoln Avenue. This is the most likely location where Agustin Tagle, Diego Tagle, Juan Tagle, Antonio Ulibarri, and Antonio Chimayo died in custody after being accused of practicing witchcraft in 1766. Santa Fe, NM.

A pedestrian walks past one of the many storefronts in Salem selling witch-themed products primarily to tourists. Salem, MA.

Five members of the History Alive theater company alternate playing the role of Bridget Bishop during interactive productions of her historic arraignment, in which she stands accused of witchcraft. In these productions of “Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop,” the audience participates by cross examining witnesses, reviewing historical evidence, and ultimately deciding whether she should be released or stand trial. Salem, MA.

An apotropaic mark carved into the stairway of the Corwin house, now known as The Witch House. Marks like this were understood as an acceptable form of magic intended to protect the home from witches. Judge Jonathan Corwin was involved with the Salem witch trials. Salem, MA.

After leading the Haunted Happenings parade, the Honor Guard of the Salem Police Department furl their flags, which feature their departmental crest of a flying witch silhouetted against a crescent moon. Salem, MA.

The nighttime window display of an occult-themed portrait studio in downtown Salem, where customers choose witch costumes and pose for fantasy photo sessions. Salem, MA.

A life-size diorama in The Witch History Museum imagines the apocryphal scene of young women dancing in the woods, where they were thought to commune with the Devil (pictured in the background). Salem, MA. 2019

Onlookers regard the facade of The Salem Witch Museum. Salem, MA.

A personalized card left by a descendant of Susannah Martin (hanged in 1692) at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial reads: "Proudly remembered by your eighth great-granddaughter." Salem, MA.