Salem is an Insult to the Past

Every October, the town of Salem transforms into the quintessential Halloween town. Its streets are filled to the brim with ghouls and goblins, witches and warlocks. It's no surprise, of course, when the name of your city is as synonymous with witchcraft and the dark arts as Hogwarts. Yet, behind all of the rides and games, the street performers and food, and of course the fetish shops (both meanings fully intended), we must not forget that there is an actual history. That while dressing up like a witch may be considered fun and lighthearted today, there was a time when the mere accusation of witchcraft was enough to ruin or even end an individual's life. The town of Salem has turned a history of murder and torture into a commodity, a toy, a family-friendly outing. But, of course, it happened so long ago! Surely, I should just 'lighten up' and let the people have their fun...right?
If you would like to support the Channel on Patreon:
/ brandonf -
-
- -
- -
This video was made in support of The Native Oak. Learn more about our educational mission here:
www.nativeoak.org/
If you'd like to support the channel, please consider giving on Patreon,
/ brandonf
You can follow me on social media too!
/ thenativeoak
/ brandonfisichella

[@wb6wsn]

A couple of years ago, I happened onto a "Western shootout" re-enactment in the town square of Jackson Hole Wyoming. I wonder if, in another 150 years, we will have re-enactments of drug deals gone bad and drive-by gang shootings to entertain us, amuse tourists and sell souvenirs?

[@thinkwithurdipstick]

Ed Price perhaps not something so simple, but these topics have already been romanticized to a degree. Take Scarface or Breaking Bad for example, this material is already present in media and very popular. Westerns are unique in that the West was romanticized to embody American virtue and honor, especially in the late 40s, 50s, and early 60s. And in these cases, the main character is usually a hero, like John Wayne or Marshall Dillon from Gunsmoke. I can’t conceive this same treatment being applied to drug dealers who are viewed more negatively, but stranger things have happened

[@360Nomad]

We already routinely reenact those by playing Grand Theft Auto so why not?

[@360Nomad]

@David Vazquez Are you implying white people will still exist in 150 years you fucking shitlord?

[@wb6wsn]

@@thinkwithurdipstick But the drug outlaws have already been romanticized with Narcocorridos.

[@thinkwithurdipstick]

David Vazquez whoosh

[@alicialouv2218]

As a citizen of salem's rival high school, I just saw "Salem is an Insult" and instantly agreed.

[@inconnu4961]

Peabody!! LOL

[@Smile4theKillCam456]

@@inconnu4961LETS GOOOOOO PEABODY

[@eddiesanchez1899]

It would be like having a school shooting themed festival 400 years from now.

[@looker999997]

Imagine a 9/11 festival with kids running around in Osama and firefighter costumes.

[@Smile4theKillCam456]

How do I set a reminder for 400 years from now?

[@Philip271828]

You think they wouldn't? www.theguardian.com/games/2018/may/30/active-shooter-school-shooting-video-game-removed-from-sale

[@Melody_Raventress]

Racecar Meerkat sadly, no

[@fantasmaregular6475]

@@looker999997 People outside the USA kinda do that

[@ClamChowder_FireBuff69]

Me, a Salem Resident: *Sweats Nervously*

[@Smile4theKillCam456]

we could be from Lynn 🤔

[@ClamChowder_FireBuff69]

MonadnockValley damn straight

[@weebishusername9288]

The new accusation is racist and in some circles communist or extremist

[@claymore7315]

@@weebishusername9288 what does any of that have to do with communism?

[@weebishusername9288]

@@claymore7315 Witch hunts

[@AtunSheiFilms]

Thanks for sharing your perspective, you always have something interesting to say. Yes, Salem is incredibly tacky in October, and people will capitalize (no pun intended) on anything, no matter how vile, to make a buck. I used to live in Gettysburg PA, and it was a similar thing. Though before we go saying that Halloween witches are spitting on the graves of the witch trial victims, I think it's important to note that the Puritan magistrates who perpetrated those miscarriages of justice would absolutely HATE to see witchcraft and the occult celebrated in such a lighthearted way. And I think that's a healthy sort of poetic historical justice that should be encouraged.

[@JonathanLundkvist]

I hear they sent a Witchfinder down there recently to correct the behavior.

[@jodhod1498]

Wouldn't the victims find it worse off? I mean, they were christians falsely accused of witchcraft and went to their graves denying so. So isn't portraying real witches on trial, sort of insinuating what they went to their graves denying? I feel like there's a stench of stolen valor about this. It wasn't old prejudiced christians versus the hip, accepting occult witchcraft of today, but christians killing other christians, a fault of logic and isolation of the times. We would likely find the victims almost as equally old fashioned and steadfast in their Christian beliefs as we would find their persecutors. If we wish to respect this as a tragedy, is not the label tragedy dependent on having understanding for the views of the victims? Can we really say that the rise of sympathy for witches would be considered justice by the actual victims of the tragedy?

[@CaptainFritz28]

Why, might I ask, should it be encouraged? Ah yes, because you don't like the Puritans. Never mind the fact that terrible events took place. Would you wish for the Alamo to be made fun of for the sake of spiting the followers of Santa Anna? Or the Holocaust joked about in order to make the Nazis mad? I say, quite emphatically, NO! Give some respect to the victims of these events! What sort of historian, nay, even human, could you be to think these things good ideas, much less to celebrate them, year by year by year, by celebrating the evil! Sure! I agree! The Puritans did some terrible things. That DOESN'T mean that Salem's modern-day celebration of outright evil is, "a healthy sort of poetic historical justice that should be encouraged." Have some decency, man! Have some respect!

[@cass7448]

@@CaptainFritz28 ok

[@TayTayMakesBeats]

​@@CaptainFritz28 Making light of witches and such can totally be done with disrespecting the memory of victims of witch trials. Same with the Holocaust, although I'd argue there's less about it to make light of (especially in a respectful way.) Hitler and Nazism in particular have been the subjects of great comedy that I feel isn't disrespectful at all to their victims and they make great subjects too, given how inherently goofy their beliefs and self-perception are. The Producers made a mockery of nazism and it was only a couple of decades removed from the actual events. Jojo Rabbit was a great and really funny deconstruction of the fascist mindset that not only respected the victims but showed their struggles in a way that made them feel more human than many far more "serious" dramas did, at least for me. The problem with Salem isn't the fact that people are joking about or making light of the things that happened there, it's how exploitative it is and how it distorts the way many people understand the history. Some things are really hard to joke about in a respectful way but I don't think anything is impossible.

[@frederf3227]

The lesson I learned (by great force, I had it beaten into me past 2-3 layers of superficial understanding) about the SWTs was that it wasn't some backwater idiot town doing this because their nature made them so vulnerable to hysteria. Instead they were incredibly enlightened and normally level-headed as a rule and the sort of town that would be the last kind you would think would be at risk to this. And that's the major lesson, despite being the height of civility, they did it anyway. "If it can happen in Salem, it can happen anywhere." It's no wonder that the message is lost to time because the other versions of the story "they were a loony town from the stupid past that did a loony thing" sell better. I mourn for the loss of message not because it's history but because it's a lesson we need to today and for the foreseeable future. It cannot be helped that honey attracts insects. Where were Holloweeners going to congregate if not Salem, sensibility be damned? Superficially it's a magnet and no more thought than that was given. I do not mind the crass layer of history is added only that its other value also remains as a layer below the glitter and confetti to be glanced at once in a while.

[@Dragonmoon98]

It seems wer're already seeing a widespread effect similar to what happened in Salem all those years ago.

[@redberry33]

Could I get some sources for this? I'd really like to learn this part of history

[@Ghost_Text]

You see embers of poor crowd psychology throughout the decades when previously cherished celebs or commonpeople who never imagined theyd be infamous were finally exonerated in court after a grueling fare in the court of public opinion. Though "the crucible" play is fiction, it does demand not only an examination of crowd psychology and how we misuse our survival instincts in reaction hasty judgment but also for third party onlookers who see mob mentality and also see that "crying wolf" is a superpower when they are able to exploit such a pavlovian response in people to their own selfish ends.

[@hareemqureshi822]

A lot of these problems are still here now, but in different packaging. It reminds of The Last Duel, and how it draws similarities between the misogynistic knights and their parties to the modern toxic "frat boy" culture we still see sometimes. People just haven't changed that much over time, we have the same problems, just repackaged.

[@menschman1464]

As a new Englander who grew up hearing about the witch trials and reading The Crucible in school. the amount of sensationalism around the place, a place that me and everyone around me were raised to think of as representing human prejudice and irrational fear, always really bothered me.

[@Hopeofmen]

Same for me

[@victorlikesmetal3662]

Growing up in the same town as the conjuring house made me realize that "well people will desecrate anything with a bad history" and now I just see it as "fuck, New Englanders are wicked inconsiderate" and Yeah we really are. Unless you're some HDT.

[@shaetteb1272]

I once went to Boston on a school orchestra trip where they also had Witch trials and our tour guide pointed out a play ground with a bunch of children playing on it which use to be the hanging tree. This was after telling a story of a woman who was accused of witchcraft for swearing in Gaelic (her native tongue) at her employers daughter because she was being a brat.

[@Thezaccazzac]

I believe everything should be joked about in some manner, but you are right; Salem has done it wrong.

[@EwanMarshall]

Indeed, in fact I don't think it is a time thing so much of a how it enters the public consciousness. One could say William Shakespeare was making jokes about "witches" bringing it into pop culture 88 years before the Salem Witch trials with the first performance of Macbeth, several other Shakespeare plays have such themes of some rather dark humour in them. With regards to piracy, Treasure Island popularized that in pop culture. Charles Dickens books of Oliver Twist made light of organised crime, child labour and several other parts of Victorian culture that were prevalent at the time they were written. It's more the how, and a morphing of how dark one goes on the subject rather than any particular date.

[@pigeonpower42]

Humour is a tool to explore things. Fear and pain become jokes because that lets us deal with those things. It lets us examine them and remember them, but there is a fine line between this and disrespect.

[@user-sx1mm1sl6u]

I mean we mustn't forget that not all jokes are equal. Saying "my grandfather died in Auschwitz, he was stationed there but got too drunk ans fell from a guard tower" isn't the same as "a jew was happy he saw a naked girl for the first time of his life but then he remembered he was going to shower in Auschwitz". The differences between those two are what they are making fun of, the first is just using the context to subvert expecations while the second is actually making fun of the historical event and its victims, it is more "offensive" than "dark humor".

[@zira9827]

@@user-sx1mm1sl6u The whole point of dark humor is that the victim is the butt of the joke. If you look at it like 98% of dark humor is about starving african children, holocaust, slavery, rape victim or miserable people in general. You may find it horrible and unfunny, but that doesnt mean other people dont. It is dark humor after all, so its probably sonot something you should be telling on a family dinner.

[@marinuswillett6147]

You make a good point about pirates. I've never been a fan of how our society glorifies pirates. I unironically rooted for the Royal Navy in Pirates of the Caribbean.

[@nickklavdianos5136]

I never understood why people glorify piracy so much. The pirates are the only criminals that are presented as "good guys" by media. The same doesn't apply to gangsters or let's say gangs in the old west. In those movies, we usually sympathise with the bounty hunters or the lawmen or we are presented with an anti hero portrayal of the criminals.

[@didelphidae5228]

Look at how people glorify gangbangers and criminals today.

[@Beenevolence]

I didn't necessarily root for the Royal navy but I did realize that the main characters are not heroes.

[@helwrecht1637]

The Royal Navy are the good guys in those movies

[@marinuswillett6147]

@@helwrecht1637 in some scenes Jack Sparrow is allied to the British Navy, but any time pirates and the navy are in opposition, the film clearly wants you to sympathise with the pirates.

[@havamall]

The question "how long before it becomes acceptable to joke about something reminds me of a question asked to an archeologist "how long before you are performing archeology and not just robbing a grave?" It's a fair point which does show our inherent perceptions and biases :)

[@DeHerg]

"how long before you are performing archeology and not just robbing a grave?" Usually at the point where you don't just ransack the place for anything that looks valuable and sell those bits off for personal profit.

[@MrSniperdude01]

@@DeHerg Exactly !! Archeologists are highly certified highly trained professionals who are there on behalf of a museum or university, which usually meets whatever tribal/state/ or national government demands --- even if that means BRIBES or "gifts", if needed. The archeologist need not ransack valuables as they are guaranteed book deals, teaching gigs and nice steady paychecks. Their biggest concern is ISIS and people that don't get the difference between grave robbing vs preserving history.

[@icook1723]

I hered that Mel Brooks started making NAZI jokes when we was a combat engenier in Europe during world war 2. Humor was part of his defence when in the horrors of war, and with the knowlage of what was coming if he was captured, as a jew.

[@MrSniperdude01]

*Heard *Engineer Also, what would stop him from pulling a Slaughter House Five & just toss away his dog tags? In many cases the Germans couldn't tell Jews from non Jews. In one particular case, a US soldier of Latino background was mistakenly taken for a Jew based on his looks.

[@weebishusername9288]

@RatseyThe_Rat 2.0 more like grammar cop since those were pretty glaring issues. But it makes more sense to say grammar "Nazi" considering the subject matter.

[@GeneralJackRipper]

We laugh at our demons, to show we are no longer afraid of them.

[@MrDoctorCrow]

What if they're stealing our precious bodily fluids?

[@generaljackripper666]

Then we nuke the ever-loving sh*t out of them, for their own good of course.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

I like you all.

[@taunteratwill1787]

We laugh at our murders to show we are no longer afraid of murder.

[@alecblunden8615]

I suspect the real reason is a deep rooted superstition - an acknowledgement of real fear. If demons really do not frighten you, you happily ignore them.

[@wesleycantrell332]

Brandon F. All your videos about British Uniforms during the colonial era really helped when I went to my local reenactment at Fort Massac, during the French and Indian War, I was able to point out a brownbess musket, a British Grenadier; all because the bear skin cap and the little quick fuse on his cross belt. So I guess thank you for making learning about history fun again.

[@andrewthorpe2539]

Wesley Cantrell I think Brandon will really appreciate your comment, after all it's what he aimed to do. Sounds like you had a great time!

[@erwin669]

So basically Salem has become very kitschy to the point of being annoying. This kinda reminds me of a festival a couple of cities over from mine has in June: The Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival. I had a professor in university who was an expert in NW Florida history and he did some research on the subject. He presented his findings to the town which was there was never any pirates and there was no Billy Bowlegs. The closest thing to it was a rancher who owned much of land in the area before the town was settled named William Bowling. The city council thanked him for his time and kindly asked him to leave and never come back again.

[@erwin669]

Caramel Johnson I don’t recall. It was over 10 years ago. He did come to class wearing buckskins carrying a large scythe once

[@erwin669]

Caramel Johnson I did. Dr Rucker did look a lot like a mad scientist. The only reason the holiday even existed was Fort Walton cashing in on the pirate craze that Disney started with Pirates of the Caribbean 15 or 20 years ago. They had a bunch of different things they could have done with it, but they chose the “in” thing.

[@CrimsonPhantom88]

I understand historical accuracy and all, but it kind of seems like that just just wanted to tell everybody "Santa isn't real"

[@ravenknight4876]

Do you have his research available for me to read by any chance ?

[@nonsibi1087]

Thank you for this. You are the first online person to speak to this matter that I know of. And it has been my hope, too, that Salem would cease this. I'm a local New Englander and has felt this way for decades. Perhaps in some way, as if reaching from the past, my two great x12 grandmothers, both impoverished widows charged with witchcraft at Salem in 1692, were reaching out to be heard. Modern Salem, where people now happily refer to themselves as witches and the municipal police have Halloween witches on a broom in their uniform shoulder patches, cashes in on the tragedy of 1692, where there were no witches.... but only victims.

[@ChrisPenta]

It's a closely guarded secret in Salem, Ma that most of the hangings actually took place in Danvers, Ma. I would also add that we have "Mongolian" restaurants named after Genghis Khan, I wonder how many hundreds of years we have German pubs named "Himmler's"?

[@claymore7315]

@Chandler Burse could be a typo/autocorrect, but still.

[@bellakaldera3305]

If I might add one ironic observation, the very name Salem means peace. Salem=Shalom=Salaam=Peace.

[@velazquezarmouries]

Also hello in kazakh

[@notlikely4468]

It's slang for Jerusalem... I'm not sure "slang" is really the word....abbreviation...contraction?

[@hypedpanther6464]

Saalami

[@ahmedabdolghani8879]

The Salem in itself sounds similar to the an arabic word that means one who is alright or safe

[@elbolainas4174]

Pretty ironic indeed. Like Jerusalem, even being a sacred city for three religions a river worth of blood was spilled there.

[@T3nMiDGET5711]

Also fun fact at 25:35 you can see the name “giles corey” he was the man who was crushed to death with stones Edit: Another fun fact he never Admitted or Denied to being a witch when talked to he just responded with “More weight”

[@PURPLECATDUDE7734]

More. Weight.

[@Halt-ry2ni]

71 years old if I remember correctly

[@corrat4866]

He was fucking hardcore, the man was crushed, but his balls remained.

[@rk4397]

He knew that if he did not plead "guilty" or "not guilty," he could not be tried. If he was not tried, he could not be found guilty. If he was not found guilty, his estate would not be forfeit.

[@ablethreefourbravo]

@@corrat4866 that's because it's difficult to crush solid brass.

[@Schizohandlers]

That's truly horrible. There are somethings you shouldn't capitalize on.

[@Scrapmanluke1]

I disagree, but just be sure its done tastefully.

[@MrSniperdude01]

Yet, UNICEF can capitalize on starving Africans. Pro Israel orgs can capitalize on elderly holocaust survivors in Eastern Europe. Black Lives Matter can capitalize on police killings. Asians can capitalize on certain stereotypes to achieve goals. Islamic revolutionaries were able to capitalize on the British/French backstep on Arab independence to paint the entire western world as "Evil" -- long before the USA ever got involved.

[@MrSniperdude01]

@@DonBean-ej4ou EXACTLY !! How many people died in the tower of London ? Lots more than died in Salem I can tell you that. Also how many people realize that London Bridge was originally were heads of condemned persons were displayed as a public warning? There's a wax museum in England called Madam Tassauds-- which had a collection called the "tower of horror" which included figures like Adolf Hitler before being broken up amongst various other locations. Some might view this as socially distasteful.

[@DrelvanianGuardOffic]

"Some kind of powder" I think those are Essential oils in dry form..

[@brianwyters2150]

I love the way you give us the perspective of people in the past. Normally, its quite often forgotten, even in history videos.

[@justinecooper9575]

i was in Salem on Halloween weekend once and your description is spot on. However, on a different trip to Salem I got to see a historically accurate reenactment of a witch trial at, i believe, the Witch Museum, though it may have been some other venue, it was many years ago.

[@douglasdea637]

Indeed. Well said. I'm an amateur genealogist. In the past few years I've uncovered much about my family history. I've learned that I am descended from many of the people involved in the Salem Witch trials, on both sides. Some accused the witches, some were the accused (including some of those killed) and some who stopped the trials. These discoveries have challenged and changed how I view this period of history. Seeing these images of the people celebrating in Salem... I, like Brandon, do not want to disparage their fun. But I do find it all a tad distasteful, an insult to those murdered. I now live in northern Massachusetts. Haven't been able to take a day and visit Salem yet, but it is on my "to do" list. Good to know there are some respectful memorials scattered about. Maybe I'll bring some flowers for those stones.

[@pablojn4826]

I wonder how you didnt get a single like until now

[@pablojn4826]

Thanks from the most antartic nation of the globe bruh

[@jnliewmichael4235]

So your conclusion was "a balance between education and entertainment, between honouring and remembering the past and making light of it" Well, yeah, the town of Salem, from your presentation, does sound quite preposterous in it's way of monetizing it's dark past, But I wouldn't say that dressing up as witches is an issue as it has ingrained into common culture, into literature and cinematics, that I would say it has distanced itself far enough from reality and into the realm of fiction, and is thus not a mockery of the incident. When it comes to how long and should a tragic incident become socially-acceptable to be joked about publicly, I'd say with time, everything can be joked about. The more serious and horrible the incident, the more time it takes. The Holocaust and such might take another century or so, but like you said, the Spanish Inquisition, Pirates and such are already memes that no one but a few are offended by. We find humour in all things, some to overcome it's grimness thus achieving relieve, and later too far back in time that it's context means little to none to us.

[@weebishusername9288]

That sounds more like acceptance

[@ajmaloleary3553]

Someone's probably already mentioned it but Mel Brooks wrote the screenplay and directed The Producers, from which Spingtime for Hitler came. And there's always been a big tradition in Britain of laughing in the face of adversity. During WWII Hitler and the nazis were ridiculed for the comedic characters they actually were.

[@ltdan2809]

I lived near Salem for the majority of my life and yea Salem goes from a really quiet city to a weird mosh pit of people of halloween. Salem is trying to get out of the Witches we hanged here trope but i think that it might be too late. If you go to Salem during the other three seasons of the year Salem is a great place to be in. It has its rich places of history.

[@weebishusername9288]

Thank you for the advice person with south Korean profile picture

[@ltdan2809]

update salem is filled with opioids walk with caution needles are everywhere

[@huntersmith8586]

American here. American tourist towns are horribke places. Theres a small town in East Idaho in particular that i love for its natural resource of a set of hot springs. Yet i hate for all its tourist shops. The whole town exists to be gawked at. I for one hate it.

[@Apollo890]

British here have the same problem with Stratford Upon Avon (the town where William Shakespeare was born) its a beautiful place but always overrun with tourists and the most infuriating are the ones who invade peoples homes, some of the houses are over 400 years old but people still live in them so its not unknown for residents to have to evict tourists who have wandered in thinking that their homes (which are 16th century on the outside but very much 21st century inside) are museums.

[@wb6wsn]

Hunter: Unless you personally trek through the deserts and mountains until you discover a previously unknown hot spring, you are simply a tourist like everyone else.

[@saoirse2031]

Pretty sure that's an international phenomenon. Many historical sights seemingly just exist to attract toruists nowadays

[@huntersmith8586]

@@wb6wsn Buddy. My ancestors put down roots out here in the 1840's. I'm not a tourist to this area, i live here.

[@wb6wsn]

@@huntersmith8586 Your response is an "appeal to your ancestry." You don't get any street cred for the accomplishments of yer great grandpa. (Although there's no shame in "putting down roots in the 1840's" since the nation needs its potato farmers.) Now I'm sure there's a nearly infinite list of "things you hate", but riffing on how tourists destroy your enjoyment of the environment is a hollow complaint. As I said, unless you bother to find an uninhabited place, YOU are also the tourist who damages somebody else's view. As an exercise in empathy, what do you suppose the indigenous locals thought of your great grandpa unpacking his wagon and mules in the land that they loved? While I too dislike the lie which true tourist traps must be (and they are not confined to the west; I think Mystic CT, the French Quarter of New Orleans and the Wisconsin Dells also qualify), you must recognize that not everyone shares the refined sensibilities carried through the generations of your family. Some people actually enjoy wandering the streets of a faux Danish village like Solvang CA or a fantasy Mexico like Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana , and it is an entirely irrational position to hate them for their tastes. Now Hunter, I would like to point out that I live here too, so are we still buddies?

[@thelonerider5644]

That said, I doubt that in Spain they have "inquisition parties"... or "gillotine parties" in grand ole Paris!

[@fds7476]

Well, they _do_ celebrate Bastille Day.

[@jeffersondemott2125]

There's no real reason to celebrate the Spanish inquisition, it was very boring and tame in all reality. But the French government does celebrate the mass murders of the French Revolution in Bastille day

[@flamebird2218]

Nor are there any "crusade parties" in Antioch or "Mongol sacking parties" in Baghdad, and these two things happened centuries earlier.

[@MrCommedien]

I might be biased cause French but from my point of view the révolution was the turning point in history which led to what the French republic is as a nation today. Whereas i don't see how the inquisition in the spanish territory and Salem in the us territory impacted what both those nation are statewide (Sorry if my English isn't perfect.)

[@magicman3163]

TheLoneRideR The inquisition was actually a good thing the Catholic Church demonized them for a reason I forgot I think it’s because the pope disliked the cardinal who led it or the cardinal called him a cunt I forgot the reason

[@Buildnstack]

Accurate description of Whiterun

[@alissonlares2926]

Have you ever been in the cloud district?

[@claymore7315]

Have you ever been in the cloud district?

[@dennismitchell5414]

You did an excellent job on that ! , I had heard that Salem put on a fair of sorts but I had no idea it was that huge ., I'm glad you and your friends made it back safely. Your channel is awesome., I found it by accident which is always the way I find the best stuff. Keep up the good work and be safe.

[@dreadedworld8864]

A good pirate never takes another person's property........ Calico Jack: am I a fookin joke th ye bastard ?

[@Buburuzacureactie]

You enjoyed The Producers as much as the rest of us!

[@wolfgang6517]

59 people died for the Spanish inquisition. The tribunal of the inquisition gave great improvements to how prison conditions should be improved until the point common criminals confessed blasphemy to move into the inquisition cells who were more human Confessions taken from torture were not valid for accusations... i expected you to know that. 59 people ain't rly terrific. "The Spanish inquisition was certainly bad, but not as bad as the enemy's of Spain wanted it to be"

[@jakublulek3261]

I don't know where you get that number. Spanish Inquisition executed couple thousands of people, officially, and records aren't complete. Confessions under torture were deemed invalid later, not from the begining, and there was even list of "permited torture methods" to be used. And reading about prison conditions in 16th and 17th century, if they improved anything, maybe that people didn't die from hunger until their trial.

[@adweebwithapetpelican7503]

I once went to Salem. I was interested in the history. I wanted to know what caused such a thing to happen. So I went with my family and I was in confused I was greeted not by museums and such things but instead a festival and haunted houses. I was mad but not being able to leave and to young to wait outside. I wanted to go to the museums but no one wanted to do so. It is a pity of how such a event is celebrated in such a way.

[@bellakaldera3305]

I appreciate your sentiments Brandon. I am a Pagan who won't go near Salem at Samhain. My own family, 300 years ago was embroiled in the tragedy that the Salem Witch trials became. My brother unearthed the tale that our folk actually pretended to be Irish after the deplorable travesties of justice that happened at that time and that place, relocating to another Bay Colony village (and eventually to New Brunswick ) to flee the taint of that horrid episode. I have friends who do make their living in Salem off the rubes, and I won't rain on their parade, but knowing the past, I cannot enjoy the spectacle. For those who visit Salem, I recommend the museums, not the tourist traps. I too am an 18th century reenactor and I hope someday, on some recreated battlefield (or in the encampment after, which would be better) to meet you good Sir, and stand you a glass, indeed.

[@indy6686]

oh yeah, we are starting spooky season right this year with Brandon, I swear there is nothing better than listening to Brandon speak of such topics on a nice fall day

[@brianarbenz7206]

It was only 25 years after real murders in a boarding house shocked the nation that one of the funniest plays ever written, Arsenic and Old Lace, premiered based on that very atrocity. Same length of time between WW II and when the U.S. television comedy Hogan's Heroes premiered to a nation's cheers. It's not always a matter of a long time passing.

[@MS-dw4op]

Don’t go to the Witch Museum! Trust me I’m from Salem it is underwhelming, overly theatrical (despite the fact that it’s a glorified wax museum) and leads into the much more “impressive” gift shop. As a native of Salem I would like to say Salem “village” was actually larger than the current city of Salem and has relatively little to show from the Witch Trials. I would like to stress Salem has many good attributes including having been an important and successful trading port, being the birth place of Nathaniel Hawthorn and the inspiration for some of his books and being one of the earlier settlements of the Puritans predating Boston. I do , however, agree that we do not do nearly a good enough job presenting the Witch Trials respectfully.

[@cursedcancersurvivor]

Went there on trip, the ship port there is beautiful. Was my favorite part.

[@Buckeystown]

i must admit my ancestral great-Uncle didn't listen to Cotton Mather and ban spectral evidence when he instituted the courts on becoming governor until his wife was accused of being a witch. I like the fact he was deposed as governor and sent to England to stand trial for punching a politician in the nose.

[@joncxl7]

I live right next to Salem (the city north of it), in fact I'm in Salem as I'm writing this comment. The locals (at least most of us) hate the October season. There are tourists everywhere, traffic is horrible, and everyone is obnoxious. We are always glad when it ends. The city of Salem has tried to capitalize on the history of the Witch Hysteria. Its all in order to gain money from tourists. It skews what actually happened.

[@proudamerican4337]

As a local, I can tell you that the entire month of October is just filled with tourists. there is much more traffic in town and sometimes some roads need to be closed.

[@dinofacedindividual9462]

I’ve been to a Civil War showcase where they sold toy whips next to a diorama of former slaves who did awesome things...

[@TrojanManSCP]

Good work on this one. A few interesting things to think about.

[@kennethschlegel870]

The titanic was a horrible tragedy , now it's an inflatable fair slide. Having lost my uncle on 9/11 it makes me wonder if in a hundred years there will be a themed bungee jumping event where you can pretend your leaping from the twin towers

[@taylorwiseman8078]

1:47 This sounds like the beginning to a very good fantasy novel.

[@harryzhang4660]

My school decided to set a play in the Old West. As a Civil War reenactor, I stress the importance of authenticity in characterization, and avoid the modern stereotypes of “everyone is a cowboy with a curvy hat and rodeo boots”, in order to show respect to the actual people that lived on the frontier. They just want to have fun and put everyone in a cowboy outfit and even stage a dance with modern music inappropriate for the setting. Oh it’s so disgusting.

[@zeusadolphus1638]

I found this very interesting lad! Keep up the good work!

[@jameshosler6925]

The dark souls screenshots are a nice touch.

[@ashhughes2485]

I practice ancient native European spirituality, and historical Euro-American witchcraft. Thank you for finally saying it. I see so many in our community flocking to Salem each year. I wouldn’t set foot in it if given the chance. These women who were slaughtered were not witches in the slightest. All of them (aside tituba, the instigator of the trials) professed Puritan Christianity, and worshiped Jesus Christ their lord and savior. If I were one of the departed worshipping my savior in heaven and looked down at my grave and saw people who are what I was falsely accused as, and some even wearing the stereotypical caricatures of a witch,... how insulting. How callous, how.. insensitive it would seem. I grieve their loss of life from a distance, but will not nor will I ever go to Salem. The place where my faith was unjustly used to hang, burn, destroy and ruin men and women who believed in Christ and shunned any dealings with witchcraft. I hold respect and humility unto the departed souls of that town.. and I grieve their suffering. Blessed be unto all souls, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

[@thomaszaccone3960]

This presentation has engendered so any conflicting thoughts in my mind. Very well done.

[@admiralfox3132]

This Picture of the "Titanic" actually was a picture of the RMS.Lusitania Torpedoed by a German U-boat in WW1.

[@batman6621]

White Atlantic Comp. ok

[@kodi7726]

Thank you it means a lot to me. Because one of my ancestors was executed in Salem thank you for trying to keep her memory alive.

[@charlessaint7926]

I have the same feeling when I go to the Alamo, only to find shops on the plaza grounds like Ripley's Believe it or Not! and others on ground where many men died horribly.

[@thelonerider5644]

When I went there in my youth they seemed to have a fairly respectful tour guide and a few exhibits. But then I've never been there on halloween... The ease with which the hysteria spread at the time though is frightening.

[@torlekjpec5708]

Thanks for the work and content you provide Brandon.

[@RileygoodVideos]

I've been subscribed for awhile now and I keep seeing your visiting Massachusetts, and now I'm looking at your footage in salem and your'e literally in streets and in front of shops that I travel so frequently. One these days I'm afraid I'll bump into if you keep coming into the Boston area, I'll be obligated to buy you a pint

[@BrandonF]

Oh, I remember the day you left that first comment! Perhaps we shall, Mr Elohim.

[@MichalSoukup1995]

Or... other things indeed... Some sort of seance type thing... I like the way you express such level of disgust without ever reaching for a cussword.

[@GeneralJackRipper]

I wonder how many times a piece of "The True Cross" has been sold somewhere.

[@generaljackripper666]

^ Nice one!

[@DeHerg]

In medieval times there were seven churches that claimed to have Jesus foreskin as a relic. Unless he constantly grew it back like Prometheus his liver(which would make for quite an annoying morning routine), that also seems rather unlikely.

[@tomallabarton2362]

Fantastic video Brandon! Well spoken (very, very well spoken :-D) and a very well reasoned point :-).

[@jtpencils]

Tom Allabarton it’s rather annoying that he slips in and out of a poor faux Brit accent, as if it’s supposed to imply he’s smarter than most, only to sounding like a sanctimonious “dude” from somewhere in Kansas. Most of his information is solid, but his stiff upper lip (and snobbish nose in the air attitude) is grating.

[@ltcmdrtobyfox3969]

Not to make þis political, but im SO glad you brought up how men were equally as prosecuted as women were in salem.

[@weebishusername9288]

That shouldn't be political since it's simply stating a fact

[@alannatherson7721]

"People dressed up in whatever costumes of witches they could find" looks over at Atun-Shay's Witchfinder General.

[@JonathanLundkvist]

tbh he went there to purge the Wickedness.

[@thomasdu7922]

Good Morni-Ah wait, it's nighttime.

[@angelosusa4258]

You raise good points, I agree nothing wrong with having fun but the history should be remembered innocent lives were lost we need to honor them

[@aprilrichards762]

There is a beautiful memorial for the Witch Hysteria victims.

[@stevenpavao4139]

A thoughtful and insightful video. I salute you Brandon F.!!

[@metalmadsen]

Another great video from commander Brendon.

[@fredshmit7907]

I don’t know if you saw the museum but there is one that does re-enactments and has some things on display. They are very educational. Also there is a museum there called the Peabody Essex museum it has a lot of beautiful art and interesting exhibits. It also has an entire house from Asia. Both of these are in downtown Salem (where you visited).

[@fredshmit7907]

Not the executions themselves though. They reenact the court and stuff.

[@BrandonF]

Oh I have spent a lot of time at the PEM!

[@fredshmit7907]

Brandon F. Awesome! Probably my favorite thing to do here is to go the PEM.

[@rsacchi100]

Your points are valid. The reality is people, including popular comics, make jokes about terrible things. Many popular Mel Brooks movies wouldn't be made today. The building where reenactors tell different aspects of the Salem Witch trials sounds like a great place to visit. I saw the pop-up of Colonial Williamsburg. I hope you're going to do a video about Colonial Williamsburg, if you haven't already. There is also the Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center in the same area, the form the Historic Triangle. They also seem good topics for a video. Keep your videos coming.

[@c.w.johnsonjr6374]

That beginning of most war reenactments there's a moment of silence for those died during the battle. Maybe one day Atlanta will have a Richard Jewell Day. I remember going to Ground Zero back in 2016 and felt disgusted at the people who were walking around smiling and laughing and even sitting on the memorials bearing the names of the victims. Maybe you could review the TV show Salem . I was a extra in season 2 and won't be offended if you zoom on me and complain about my gloves being worn wrong.

[@eelcoberg392]

I think that +300years after such an event, "fun & entertainment" might be the only way to keep it in our collective memory

[@angryhistoryguy5657]

I went to Salem with some friends last summer, and we found the Witch House, which I learned today is not the same thing as the Witch Museum. The Witch House is also a museum, in what was initially the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, and it has a fascinating and very well-done and respectful exhibit on the trials, with a heavy focus on how they fit with the broader context of the era.

[@alexandermold8586]

I live in and grew up in Salem. For a number of years in school I had to learn about the Pilgrims to the Revolutionary War with the Witch Trials mentioned numerous times. The witch thing really is bothersome to me for the reasons you said and one of the reasons I do not partake in the museums or shops. Honestly if you go back to Salem, go for the maritime history (Peabody Essex Museum or Friendship) or Nathaniel Bowditch/ Nathaniel Hawthorne (grandson of the Judge) and ignore the witch stuff. It's a tourist trap and really cringe worthy. I will admit it is cool during Halloween, not for the witches, but something you only have to do once in your life.

[@martinduplessis3614]

If you ignore the witch kitch in Salem, it is a very beautiful and historically rich place to visit. The port, the 18th century customs house and the historic mansions all make for interesting visits. It is also great to just walk around on a nice summer day. The official memorial of the witch trial's victims was done respectfully. But, yes, I always thought there is something off with conflating this 17th century tragedy with neopagan and Wiccan cultural manifestations, not to mention the kitch commercialism in full display in Salem.

[@LordRavensong]

So you raise a lot of good points. But I think you overlook one important thing. I am saying this as a descendant of someone who was tried for witchcraft in Salem, and I think it's wrong to say that Salem cannot have monuments to things besides the witch trials. Cities, like people, evolve and change over the years. I grew up in the town Napoleon Dynamite was filmed, we had festivals for several years after and we still sell merchandise for it. But that's not the only thing we have done. We have two medal of honor winners from our town, one of which fought on Iwo Jima. There is a bench dedicated to a serviceman who died in Iraq that I knew. But that's not all either. We host one of the largest night rodeos in the nation. People come from Calgary in Canada to compete in the rodeo. But all we are known for is Napoleon Dynamite. And that's really done some damage to our community. You can't pigeon hole a community any more than you can a person.

[@chunkyd77]

this reminds me of the guy, who dressed up as a gestapo agent and his son was dressed up as Hitler, for this past Halloween and was criticized for it on social media, even Monty python made fun of the Spanish Inquisition

[@Wallyworld30]

That's actually pretty funny. How is it Charlie Chaplin can do a Comedy dressed as Hitler and the movie is considered a classic but try that today and SJW jump your case.

[@arifakyuz7673]

Of course there will be people that will do that.

[@viperblitz11]

I don't care that the guy did it, but he had to have seen it coming. Anyone who publicly dresses like a Nazi and doesn't expect sensitive people to fire back is a moron.

[@hyenahallstrom7034]

9/11 even in the U.S is pretty common humor, at least in my experience and I don't live to far from it.

[@ionictotalwar6389]

Brandon I was waiting for the intro music!

[@michaelwestmoreland2530]

10:25 Never have I heard the word "Selfie" uttered with such an ironically biblical degree of disdain. Fascinating subject matter.

[@BrandonF]

Hey, thanks so much for the tip! It's very much appreciated. And, yeah, just a bit of fun on my part!

[@InfamousMax]

Mel Brooks works are not making fun of the situation people lived through rather the circumstances that lead to these desasters. I'd recommend watching them (again?), I really found them hilarious but eye-opening too :)

[@apodis4900]

Brandon, can I ask where you were brought up? I only ask because I cannot place your accent. I know you live in the USA but sometimes you almost sound English. My best guess is somewhere in New England, but I'm certainly not sure. It's only out of interest of course, a little hobby of mine, but you've got me beat. I recently discovered your channel and it's awesome. Thanks for your hard work, education and entertainment.

[@mmcintire65]

My dear, dear Brandon, I just screened your fantasy about Salem Massachusetts. I admire your Felliniesque creative juices impelling you to put your dark fantasies up on the screen for all to see. ("Hell with them if they don't like my fantasies", Fellini famously quipped to a reporter after 8 !/2 was released. 8 1/2 is at the top of my WATCH ANNUALLY list of films. Thank you for producing, writing and starring in it. I found it quite entertaining. As a native son of Salem (born in 1944 just a witches' throw from the Witch House ) I'm somewhat bemused by the historical errors in your production as well as the omissions from your humorous narrative. What you did not include was more interesting than what you did include in the production. Though I left Salem at the tender age of 16 to make my fortune in the world, I never set foot in the Witch House, nor the Witch Museum (it was not there, then). No native born Salemite would be caught dead in those places. (House of Seven Gables notwithstanding, which you also failed to reference, shame on you, Brandon ! ). No, the WITCH THING is for folks like you...tourists with cameras at the ready eager to buy which bones as souvenirs to haul back to UK and put on their ZOOM room mantle along with other macabre faux memorabilia . Salemites have well succeeded in monetizing the whole WITCH THING. It's part of the decline of American culture, or what's left of it. Stick to battleships. Stick to military drag shows. Stick to fingering weapons. You're good at those things, my dear Brandon. Stay in your lane. I love your productions. . --- Mark McIntire, professor of philosophy.

[@mcRydes]

hangings often were family entertainment in the 18th century. See a hanging, have a picnic, maybe get little bear baiting in. . . good way to keep the kids occupied on Saturday

[@metalmadsen]

I love this channel 😺

[@fredricknoe3114]

17:27 even Biblical figure Larry the Cucumber participated, (granted he didn't actually do anything but still.)

[@iliadnetfear2586]

I chuckled at the way he said, "Corndog!"

[@F-Dog2842]

I've acually been to that exact memorial for a school trip once.

[@meh12345HEY]

The person who complained to you about Springtime for Hitler in The Producers is entirely missing the point, the show is explicitly supposed to be so offensive it is guaranteed to fail. The comedy doesn't come from hitler/the show itself, but the absurdity that such a play (one literally written by a nazi) could be made as part of a scam, and from the scam backfiring. The humor from the show itself is secondary, and originates entirely from Mel Brooks' writing.

[@birdwife589]

These videos are so thought provoking

[@derptank3308]

A documentary at night? Brandon you know me too well :)

[@AngelTerri]

As a person who loves history as well as follow Wicca, seeint that historic house turned into a psychic faire or whatever saddened me

[@hanzthebringerofflammewerf4881]

Me who lives in Salem: *wow*

[@otakunthevegan4206]

I should add most of the merchents are from out of town, so Salem gains nothing, all travaling merchents and venders. So it is like a whole town getting their pockets wrung.

[@rangergxi]

In a strange way I view the Salem thing as a good thing symbolically. Those people were murdered because they were viewed as weird outcasts and now the town is a mecca for such people. The weird festivities are a kindof temple to accepting people for acting differently and a middle finger to the moral guardians who always cause so much harm.

[@CodeRed001]

Over a minute in that's the Undead Settlement from Dark Souls 3.

[@the_Kutonarch]

Humour can be used to tell tragic history, especially for children, *Horrible Histories* is a perfect example of this for children aged 7 and up, I really recommend it.

[@innawoods2131]

In Beaufort, NC, they annually reenact the "pirate invasion" of the town. It's kinda weird.

[@kasunex1772]

I think this is a very interesting topic that I myself have mulled over subconsciously quite a bit. I am actually part of a group that only recently went to Gettysburg and left Rosemary on the graves of Union soldiers. I was somewhat off put by all of the positive remembrance of the Confederacy there. Yet I am also a person who has made jokes about say, Lincoln's assassination. In that way, I'm in both positions at once. I do think time has a massive part in all this, and I include change in that equation. In the immediate aftermath of an event like Salem, it's a terrible scar. People you knew, possibly people you loved, were terribly hurt by it. It feels very recent, like if only it hadn't happened those people could still be alive and happy today. It hurts a lot. But as time goes on, the people who remember the terrors of the event pass away. As time goes on, the difference that was made by the event occurring kind of becomes baked into the cake of history. It's more unimaginable to think of what would have occurred had it not happened, a marked shift from the immediate aftermath where it's so unimaginable that it happened. And as society changes and the memory fades, gradually people stop understanding anymore what the hubub was about. The fact that people were once murdered on accusations of being a witch seems completely absurd, laughable even. And as such it turns into a fascination and an abstraction rather than something that feels so real and so tragic. Of course if I am to defend the people who celebrate Salem somewhat, you could make the argument that they are...sort of reclaiming the idea of being a witch. It's kind of a massive middle finger to the people who executed the supposed witches that modern-day Salem is not the godly and divine community that they wanted, but rather a cesspool of everything they despised. Perhaps the victims would have seen it as an insult nonetheless, but it is still clear that people against those who did the trials and the hangings had the last laugh. After all, it is important to remember that one man's show of respect can be another's disrespect. I told my co worker about my trip to Gettysburg, and she referred to me as "a Union LARPer" because we wore Union uniforms throughout. To me, this was a tribute to the soldiers, a sign of honor and respect. To her, it seems to have come off as more a bit of self-aggrandizing. I disagree with her, but at the same time, I can't deny that this same tribute can be interpreted in that way. So perhaps the reverse can be said about Salem. Maybe the people dressing as witches do consider what they are doing to be a sign of respect. Or, maybe not. Who can really say?

[@aprilrichards762]

I have been to Salem a few times in spring and summer. I went to a few good museums, including one that was a horror movie one. I didn't do well in there, too much latex and no warning that there was latex in. I had to leave quickly. My ex-girlfriend got us a refund and told the guy he should have a sign in the window warning of latex. He was nice about it.

[@cf3482]

I saw the notification and before seeing who it was from I thought this was about Hocus Pocus.