Warwick. Historical Society to host ‘the social autopsy’ of the Salem Witch Trials on May 10

The Warwick Historical Society welcomes Shannon Fisher, a member of the Salem and Peabody historical societies in Essex County, Mass., for a Hands-on-History presentation, “The Real History of the Salem Witch Trials,” on Wednesday, May 10, at 7 p.m. at the A.W. Buckbee Center, 2 Colonial Ave., Warwick.

Fisher is referred to as a “professional amateur historian,” with a particular focus in medieval history and disaster studies and is currently a professional emergency manager with more than 20 years of experience in studying disasters and disaster causation.

Shannon describes her workshop:

“The presentation itself is what I refer to as a ‘social autopsy’ where we review a day-by-day chronological overview of the events in Salem and how they tie into each other to bring about the disaster itself,” Fisher said. “Disasters don’t just happen – they are a series of events that must take place in a specific order for the disaster to unfold, it is in the study of that order that the true disaster lay.”

The Real History of the Salem Witch Trials looks beyond the “common knowledge” of events into the causation behind the tragedy, often exposing our common knowledge to be little more than folklore and fairytales.

The evening will include a look at political unrest across two continents, tax maps, family ancestry and historical accusations, contagious mental health phenomena, and legal-historical contributing factors.

Reservations are not required but recommended, walk-ins permitted as space allows. The Hands-on-History workshops are presented in partnership with the Village of Warwick and intended to spark interest in a variety of topics.

Call 845-986-3236 for more information.