The Haunted History of Salem’s Old Burying Point Cemetery. Ghosts, Judges & Curses

0:00 Speaker 1: Welcome back, curious Souls to the Strange History Podcast, where

0:05 Speaker 1: the past is never really dead and history is often

0:09 Speaker 1: a lot weirder than your high school textbooks led you

0:12 Speaker 1: to believe. I'm your host, Amy. And today we're stepping

0:17 Speaker 1: through the veil and into one of the most haunted

0:20 Speaker 1: plots of land in America. Tucked in the shadowy heart

0:25 Speaker 1: of Salem, Massachusetts, a town forever etched in the American

0:29 Speaker 1: psyche for witch trials, paranoia, and puritanical mayhem. Sits a

0:35 Speaker 1: cemetery so old, so drenched in sorrow and superstition, that

0:40 Speaker 1: even the gravestones seem to whisper after dark. This, dear listeners,

0:45 Speaker 1: is the story of the Old Burying Point Cemetery, also

0:49 Speaker 1: known as the Charter Street Cemetery. And believe me, the

0:53 Speaker 1: dead here they don't rest easy. So grab a lantern,

0:58 Speaker 1: avoid stepping on any cursed graves, and whatever you do,

1:02 Speaker 1: don't follow that shadowy figure between the headstones. Let's get

1:06 Speaker 1: into it.

1:07 Speaker 2: A cemetery older than America.

1:11 Speaker 1: Let's rewind the clock. The year is sixteen thirty seven,

1:15 Speaker 1: only seventeen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.

1:19 Speaker 1: The colonies are still raw, brutal, and teetering on the

1:23 Speaker 1: edge of survival. That's when Old Burying Point was established.

1:27 Speaker 1: That makes it one of the oldest cemeteries in the

1:29 Speaker 1: United States, older than the country itself. Located on Charter

1:34 Speaker 1: Street in downtown Salem, the cemetery is tightly packed, surrounded

1:39 Speaker 1: by old brick buildings and cobblestone streets. It doesn't stretch far,

1:43 Speaker 1: yet it holds almost four hundred years of death, history

1:47 Speaker 1: and mystery. And here's a wild twist. Despite Salem's infamous

1:52 Speaker 1: witch trials in sixteen ninety two, not a single witch

1:56 Speaker 1: was buried here. You see, those convicted of witchcraft weren't

2:01 Speaker 1: given proper burials. They were hanged, sometimes left in shallow graves,

2:07 Speaker 1: or buried in unmarked spots by their families under the

2:10 Speaker 1: cover of night. So, why, you might ask, is Old

2:13 Speaker 1: Burying Points so haunted?

2:16 Speaker 2: Well, buckle in the dead who won't stay dead?

2:20 Speaker 1: One of the most infamous spirits said to haunt the

2:23 Speaker 1: cemetery isn't a witch at all, but rather a man

2:26 Speaker 1: responsible for killing them. Enter Judge John Hathorne, the so

2:31 Speaker 1: called hanging judge of the Salem witch trials. He wasn't

2:35 Speaker 1: just a judge. He was the only magistrate from the

2:38 Speaker 1: trials who never repented or expressed remorse for his role

2:42 Speaker 1: in the deaths of nineteen people and the torture of

2:45 Speaker 1: many more. He's buried right here, beneath a weathered headstone

2:49 Speaker 1: near the center of the cemetery. People leave coins, crosses,

2:53 Speaker 1: and even notes, pleading with him to apologize from beyond

2:57 Speaker 1: the grave. Unsurprisingly, he hasn't responded, but his ghost allegedly has.

3:04 Speaker 1: Numerous visitors report seeing a tall man in colonial garb

3:08 Speaker 1: wandering near his grave. He vanishes when approached. Others feel

3:13 Speaker 1: an intense cold or an overwhelming sense of dread. One

3:17 Speaker 1: woman swears she heard a man whisper in her ear.

3:21 Speaker 1: They were guilty, but no one was there except the

3:25 Speaker 1: ghost of a man who still thinks he was right.

3:29 Speaker 1: Oh and fun fact, John Hathorne's great great grandson was

3:33 Speaker 1: none other than Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of the Scarlet Letter.

3:37 Speaker 1: He added a W to the family name out of shame.

3:41 Speaker 1: Can't blame him.

3:42 Speaker 2: The lady in white, because of course there's one.

3:47 Speaker 1: Now, what would a haunted cemetery be without your classic

3:50 Speaker 1: lady in white? This ghostly figure has been spotted floating

3:54 Speaker 1: between the gravestones, her face obscured by a lace veil,

3:59 Speaker 1: wearing what appears to be a wedding dress or morning gown,

4:02 Speaker 1: depending on who you ask. Tour guides say she's most

4:06 Speaker 1: active on foggy nights, especially around the grave of Captain

4:09 Speaker 1: Richard Moore, one of the Mayflower pilgrims. Some believe she's

4:14 Speaker 1: a grieving widow. Others think she was wrongly accused during

4:17 Speaker 1: the witch trials and is searching for the remains of

4:20 Speaker 1: a loved one never properly buried. One terrified tourist from

4:24 Speaker 1: Chicago claimed she saw the woman gliding toward her. Her

4:28 Speaker 1: feet didn't touch the ground, she said, and when she

4:31 Speaker 1: tried to snap a photo, her phone died. When it restarted,

4:35 Speaker 1: the photo app was open, but the image was pitch black.

4:39 Speaker 1: No woman, just static.

4:42 Speaker 2: Gravestone whispers and phantom hands.

4:46 Speaker 1: Old Burying Point is full of stories like these. People

4:50 Speaker 1: report hearing whispers coming from the gravestones, especially near the

4:54 Speaker 1: older ones carved with eerie winged skulls and grinning death's heads.

4:59 Speaker 1: Some claimed to feel phantom hands brushing their backs or

5:03 Speaker 1: tugging at jackets. One man said he was standing near

5:06 Speaker 1: the entrance when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

5:10 Speaker 1: He turned, no one. He turned again, and this time

5:14 Speaker 1: there was a face right in his face. He described

5:19 Speaker 1: it as hollow eyed, with skin like wax. It vanished instantly.

5:24 Speaker 1: He left in a dead sprint, probably faster than any

5:27 Speaker 1: tour guide has ever moved.

5:29 Speaker 2: The Giles Cory curse and why you should take him seriously.

5:35 Speaker 1: Now, Technically Giles Corey wasn't buried in old Burying Point either,

5:39 Speaker 1: but he's definitely haunting the area. Corey was pressed to

5:44 Speaker 1: death during the Salem witch trials. Yes you heard me right,

5:47 Speaker 1: pressed as in they put a wooden board on him

5:50 Speaker 1: and stacked stones on top, trying to force a confession.

5:54 Speaker 1: It took him three days to die. His last words.

5:58 Speaker 1: More weight legend says that just before his death, Corey

6:03 Speaker 1: cursed the town of Salem, and specifically the sheriff. Since then,

6:08 Speaker 1: every sheriff of Essex County has reported some strange illness

6:11 Speaker 1: or misfortune, some even stepping down from office. One suffered

6:16 Speaker 1: a mysterious heart attack, another claimed to be plagued by

6:20 Speaker 1: paranormal activity in his home until he left office. Corey's

6:23 Speaker 1: ghost has reportedly been spotted wandering through the cemetery or

6:27 Speaker 1: nearby Howard Street where he died. Locals say his appearance

6:31 Speaker 1: is an omen of disaster, especially before major tragedies like

6:36 Speaker 1: the Great Salem Fire of nineteen fourteen. So yeah, maybe

6:41 Speaker 1: take curses seriously, especially if the guy was crushed to

6:44 Speaker 1: death and never got justice.

6:47 Speaker 2: More haunts and the ghost tour effect.

6:51 Speaker 1: Over the years, the cemetery has become a hotbed for

6:54 Speaker 1: ghost tours, amateur ghost hunters, and even a few rogue

6:58 Speaker 1: occultists trying to communicate with the dead. Some say this

7:03 Speaker 1: has only stirred things up. One guide claims that after

7:06 Speaker 1: leading a tour group through the graveyard and telling the

7:09 Speaker 1: story of Bridget, bishop Salem's first witch trial victim, he

7:13 Speaker 1: returned home to find claw marks on his bedroom mirror

7:16 Speaker 1: and a small pile of dirt on his pillow. No explanation,

7:21 Speaker 1: no break in, just dirt. You don't want grave dirt

7:24 Speaker 1: showing up in your bed, folks. Another story tells of

7:27 Speaker 1: a group using a spirit box during a late night

7:30 Speaker 1: ghost hunt. When they asked, is anyone here with us?

7:34 Speaker 1: The box crackled and clearly said get out. Needless to say,

7:39 Speaker 1: they listened.

7:40 Speaker 2: The strange history beneath our feet.

7:43 Speaker 1: Beyond the hauntings, Old Burying Point is a snapshot of

7:47 Speaker 1: early American history, filled with cryptic epitaphs, outdated spellings, and

7:52 Speaker 1: imagery that will send shivers down your spine. The cemetery

7:56 Speaker 1: holds soldiers from the Revolutionary War, ship capped merchants, and politicians,

8:03 Speaker 1: but it also holds the collective trauma of a town

8:05 Speaker 1: that accused its own neighbors of devilry, then tried to

8:09 Speaker 1: move on without ever really facing the consequences. In a way,

8:13 Speaker 1: Old Bearing Point isn't just haunted by ghosts. It's haunted

8:16 Speaker 1: by guilt, fear, and injustice. And maybe that's what keeps

8:21 Speaker 1: the dead from resting. So the next time you find

8:24 Speaker 1: yourself in Salem, don't just stop for the witch museums

8:27 Speaker 1: and black cat souvenirs. Take a quiet walk through Old

8:31 Speaker 1: Bearing Point, just maybe not alone, especially after dark. You

8:36 Speaker 1: might hear a whisper or feel a chill, or maybe,

8:40 Speaker 1: just maybe you'll catch a glimpse of the past reaching

8:44 Speaker 1: out to remind you it's not done with us yet.

8:47 Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me on this journey into the shadowy

8:50 Speaker 1: corners of Salem. Be sure to like and share the

8:53 Speaker 1: Strange History podcast with your fellow ghost hunting friends. And

8:57 Speaker 1: if you've ever had an eerie encounter of your own,

8:59 Speaker 1: I'd love to hear about it. Until next time, I'm

9:02 Speaker 1: Amy reminding you that history may be written by the living,

9:06 Speaker 1: but the dead they have stories too. Don't forget to

9:09 Speaker 1: subscribe so you never miss an episode, rate and review.

9:13 Speaker 1: We appreciate it when you do that.