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January 7, 1997
I finally went to see The Crucible today. I searched every scene involving animals for a glimpse of Wilbur but I didn't spot him. I saw chickens, a dog, cows, horses, but no cats. I stayed for the credits (which no one does) to watch for the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society credit but the last section of the credits scrolled by so quickly and was so blurry that I have no idea what I saw. Maybe I'll have to see it again.
It is one powerful movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is excellent as John Proctor and Winona Ryder is ice cold as Abigail Williams - frighteningly evil. Despite my objective in seeing the movie being strictly to see Wilbur's scene, I got caught up in it. The ease with which seemingly sober and sensible judges and clergy could be overtaken by mob hysteria was chilling.
The plot wasn't exactly the way the Salem (and Andover, North Andover, and surrounding towns) got caught up in accusing their neighbors of witchcraft, but it wasn't supposed to be historically accurate. It did make me feel all over again the sickening nausea that comes over me when I visit Salem and see how they exploit the archetype of the "witch" with the black hat and broomstick and feline familiar in cheap trash souvenirs. A lot of people died for no reason in 1692. Because their neighbors were jealous or they were fearful themselves. Fear is a powerful emotion and clouds judgment and compassion.
And what happened in 1692 ain't all that different from many things that have happened since. People killing their neighbors based on fear whether created by powerful leaders or propaganda or religious preaching... They're doing the exact same thing all over the world right now.
This past autumn at the Town of Andover's 350th anniversary parade, members of the historical society dressed as witches, each carrying the name of an Andover resident who was named a witch in 1692. One of the marchers kept walking up to spectators saying: "You're next!"
Also this autumn, a group of Wiccans in nearby Haverhill applied for a permit to use a local park for their Samhain ritual. There was an outcry against "witchcraft" from one of the local ministers and a selectman, creating a huge controversy. Despite denunciations from the pulpit the Wiccans got their permit and held their ritual in peace under police protection with a crowd of supporters who were not Wiccan but came to show their support for freedom of religion in Haverhill. Even after the whole thing was over, hysterical letters to the editor still appeared in the local papers condemning the "witches" and their "witchcraft". This even made it into News of the Weird. Yes this was in 1996 not 1696.
Truth is way stranger than fiction: both in 1692 and 1996.