Gallows Hill Park

A public park on the hill once believed to be the witch trial execution site before Proctor's Ledge was confirmed. While not the true hanging location, the area witnessed the procession of condemned prisoners to their deaths nearby.

Gallows Hill sits on the outskirts of Salem, a dark scar on the landscape that witnessed one of America's greatest miscarriages of justice. For centuries, this rocky outcropping was believed to be where nineteen innocent people were hanged during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, their bodies left to swing as warnings before being unceremoniously dumped into shallow crevices between the rocks. Though the Gallows Hill Project confirmed in 2016 that the actual executions occurred at nearby Proctor's Ledge, the hill itself remains a nexus of supernatural activity—perhaps because the condemned were dragged up its slopes en route to their deaths, or perhaps because of the tragedies that followed.

The victims included Bridget Bishop, hanged June 10, 1692; Rebecca Nurse, Sarah Good, and three others executed July 19; Reverend George Burroughs and John Proctor among five hanged August 19; and eight more souls on the bloody final execution date of September 22, including 77-year-old Margaret Scott. The Puritans refused to build proper gallows, believing such labor would insult God. Instead, they strung the accused from a gnarled tree, letting them die slowly of asphyxiation and broken necks. Families who dared retrieve their loved ones' bodies did so under cover of night, risking accusations of witchcraft themselves. Benjamin Nurse reportedly rowed up the North River to recover his mother Rebecca from the rocky crevice where her body had been cast.

Today, Gallows Hill serves as a public park—complete with baseball diamonds and children's playgrounds—but the land has never truly rested. Ghost tour guides who once led visitors up the steep slopes have largely abandoned the route, convinced that something malevolent lingers among the trees. Visitors report being overwhelmed by sudden waves of inexplicable dread and despair; some burst into tears upon entering the park without understanding why. Strange sounds emerge from the woods at night—knocking, thumping, and disembodied shrieking that wakes nearby residents from sleep. Full-bodied apparitions have been spotted walking among the trees, most notably a spectral Lady in White who materializes briefly before vanishing into the darkness.

The site's paranormal activity may be amplified by its continued association with tragedy. Local historian Tim Maguire of Salem Night Tour documented that Gallows Hill became a common location for suicides in subsequent centuries, with paranormal researchers theorizing this created a self-perpetuating cycle of negative energy. In October 1992, marking the 300th anniversary of the trials, nearly two hundred people from area churches gathered atop the hill for a spiritual cleansing. The Salem Evening News reported they formed a tight circle, raised their arms skyward, and chanted "The curse over Salem with witchcraft is broken" before performing a "laying on of hands" on the hilltop water tower, which bears the image of a witch. Whether this exorcism succeeded remains an open question.

Bone fragments have allegedly been discovered on the grounds, though the Peabody Essex Museum notes their origin can never be confirmed. Cold spots permeate the area year-round. Photographs and videos taken at Gallows Hill frequently capture unexplained orbs, shadowy figures, and eerie mists. Those who walk the grounds at twilight sometimes glimpse the shadows of the condemned—including, some say, the ghost of Giles Corey, the 81-year-old farmer who was pressed to death under heavy stones for refusing to enter a plea, and who allegedly cursed Salem and its sheriffs with his dying breath. In 2017, CBS News listed the location among "America's 5 Most Haunted Places." The nineteen victims are now properly memorialized at Proctor's Ledge below, where granite stones bear their names and execution dates—but the spirits, it seems, still wander the hill where their final journey began.