The Witch House

Welcome, scholars and travelers, to the Jonathan Corwin House, universally and somewhat melodramatically known today as 'The Witch House.' As you stand before this imposing, dark-timbered structure, you are looking at an…

Before we cross the threshold, we must conduct a rigorous visual inspection of the exterior architecture. The Jonathan Corwin House is a superlative example of seventeenth-century New England colonial architecture, heavily…

Modern visitors are directed to enter the Corwin House through the rear entrance, a logistical necessity that nonetheless provides a fascinating psychological transition. As you step through the doorway, the ambient noise of the…

We now step into the primary parlor of the first floor, the formal heart of the Corwin residence. This room would have been utilized for entertaining guests of high social standing, conducting business, and quite possibly, as…

Moving deeper into the first floor, we enter the kitchen, dominated by its massive, cavernous hearth. In the seventeenth century, the hearth was the literal engine of survival. …

As we examine the various display cases distributed throughout the ground floor, we encounter a collection of artifacts that illuminate a fascinating paradox of Puritan life: the pervasive reliance on protective folk magic. While…

We now ascend the narrow, steeply pitched staircase to the upper chambers of the Corwin House. The physical act of climbing these stairs reminds us of the restrictive, cramped nature of colonial architecture. …

As we exit the Jonathan Corwin House and step back out into the bright, comparatively chaotic environment of twenty-first-century Salem, take a moment to look back at the dark, asymmetrical facade. We have just walked through the…