19th September 1692, Salem resident Giles Cory refuses to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty being accused of being a Wizard, after his wife was accused of Witchcraft. Due to the proceeding of the law in 17th century New England, without a plea the Witchcraft court of Oyer and Terminer could not proceed with a trial, and the action was taken to proceed with ‘Peine Forte Et Dure’ or pressing under stones to force a plea; the only time this form of turture was ever used in American history. After two days of rocks and boulders being piled up on top of boards which covered the naked 80 year old Giles Corey, he finally died, all the time refusing to plead. His last words were recorded as either “More rocks.” orr, "Damn you. I curse you and Salem!" Three days later, his wife Martha Cory alongside Margaret Scott, Mary Easty, Alice Parker, Ann Pudeator, Willmott Redd, Samuel Wardwell, and Mary Parker are hanged upon the charges of Witchcraft. The last people to be executed during the Salem Witch Trials. As well as the ghosts of those executed recorded as being seen after their death, such as the ghost of Mary Easty who proclaimed their innocence to Mary Herrick of Wenham, MA on the 22nd of September, the same day the last victims of the trials were executed; some Salem legends also proclaim the sightings as a curse. One legend states that Giles Corey’s ghost is seen before a disaster is about to strike Salem. His ghost was reputedly seen the night before the ‘Great Fire’ of 1914, in which large areas of the city were destroyed. The position of Sheriff of Essex County, also was said to have been cursed, due to the involvement of (continued in the comments). #darkillustration #darkillustrations #witchcrafthistory #witchhistory #17thcentury #17thcenturyart #superstitions #folklore #strangehistory #witchtrials #witchfindergeneral #witchartist #morbidhistory #witchtrials1692 #historyofwitchcraft #witchpersecution #salemmassachusetts #salemwitch #salemwitchtrials #witchcraft #witchcrafttrials #historyofwitches #newenglandhistory #newenglandwitch #newenglandwitches #colonialnewengland #witchesofnewengland #newengland #witchcraftaesthetic #16thcenturyhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/CUNdnOVFBsu/?utm_medium=tumblr