Why is everybody so fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials?

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When discussing this project, I’ve observed how people’s eyes invariably light up at the subject. Is it the “once upon a time” aspect that excites them? The witches? The trial? Or perhaps it’s the combination: the legal system in all its order and pragmatism entwined with everything chaotic and ethereal and informed by the passions. We say our current nation is built on the strict separation of these two realms, but in the last few weeks, as a new Supreme Court Justice is sworn in on the eve of a presidential election, it’s hard not to question that assertion. It’s hard to believe the Salem witches don’t haunt us still.

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Upon reflection, I think the story of the Salem Witch Trials is one of redefined community. A community that built itself turned on itself, forcing each member to question what it meant to be a neighbor, what it meant to trust and believe in those who live beside us. We live with those cracks to this day, and I hope, if anything, Salem: Post-Mortem can bring people together. Its creation certainly brought us together. We filmed across time zones and countries, each actor recording their part individually, throwing a part of themselves out into a void, trusting that, somehow, magically, everything would come together. I’m so proud of what we’ve created, together, however impossible it seemed at first, and hope it is only the beginning of new communities coming together.