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| Howard St, Salem, MA 01970, USA (Salem, Massachusetts)
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| Information |
The Pressing of Giles Corey
This cemetery was the site of Giles Corey's death in 1692. Corey was the only victim of the Salem Witch Trials to die from torture. Giles Corey refused to state his innocence or guilt of witchcraft. A claim of either guilt or innocence would have allowed the local law to confiscate all of his property. By standing mute on the stand, he froze the legal process and kept his land from being seized. However, the law allowed for torture as a means of extracting a plea from a suspect at the time. Giles Corey was tortured by pressing. He was slowly crushed by piling more and more stones upon him. The method failed to extract a plea from him.
Giles finally suffocated to death after two days of being pressed on the cemetery grounds. According to legend his final words upon being asked for his plea were merely, "Add more weight." His death involved the most suffering of any of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials, but he was the only one to retain possession of his property to pass on to his family, since he had never been convicted a crime.
Giles and his slow death have been featured in multiple plays and a couple of songs.
The Ghost of Giles Corey
Legend has it that the spirit of Giles Corey appears in Howard Street Cemetery before any great calamity befalls the city of Salem. He is said to have appeared prior to the Great Salem Fire of 1914. The ghost of Giles Corey is also said to curse any sheriff of Salem. There are tales of Salem sheriffs waking to a strange presence in their bedrooms and a crushing weight on their chest that only dissipates once the phantom vanishes. It is said that every sheriff to hold office since Sheriff Corwin pressed Giles Corey to death has either died of a heart attack while in office or been driven out of office by a heart ailment.
Closed Gates
The gates of Howard Street Cemetery are always kept locked. However, there is a large hole in the fence alongside the parking lot behind the Old Salem Jail. Tourists can be seen wandering between the graves in broad daylight. So it is unclear whether the cemetery is actually closed or open to the public. It is highly recommended that you contact the proper authorities to determine its accessibility before making any visit to the Cemetery.
Salem Jail
The old Salem Jail looms over the Howard Street Cemetery and gives it a further Gothic ambience. Convicted Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, was once kept in the jail. |
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| Related Sites |
Wikipedia: Giles Corey
Wikipedia entry for Giles Corey. |
Elizabeth B. Thomsen: Howard Street Cemetery
Elizabeth B. Thomsen's web page and gallery for the Howard Street Cemetery and Salem Jail. |
Grave Addiction: Howard Street Cemetery
The Howard Street Cemetery gallery at Grave Addiction. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Witch Dungeon Museum |
| Mount Hope Cemetery, San Diego, CA |
| Free Library of Philadelphia - Central Library |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: The Irony of Salem (03/01/09) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Giles Corey, Yeoman (A Play) |
A Book of New England Legends and Folk Lore |
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