Giles Corey’s Ghost and Curse

Corey and his wife.

Giles Corey and his wife along with 25 other people were accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts by a group of young girls in 1692.

Corey, born in England in 1611, was a wealthy farmer who lived with his wife five miles southwest of Salem in what is today Peabody.

Corey’s accusers were three young girls, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam and Mercy Lewis, they along with two other girls had implicated most of the victims in the Salem Witch Trials.

Ann Putnam during trial.

Giles and his wife Martha were members of the Salem Town church where they were a part of a group of members who did not want Reverend Samuel Parris appointed the minister of this church in 1689.

Rev. Samuel Parris

Ironically, Abigail Williams was Parris’s 11-year old niece and one ringleader of the girls involved in the accusations. Putnam was the other leader.

Corey was brought before the local magistrates, he refused to enter a plea so he was thrown in jail.

On September 9^th his wife was sentenced to die along with five others.

At his trial the girls stated he was “in league with the devil.” Corey refused to enter a plea because he knew the law stated he could not be tried, condemned, and executed until he stated he was either innocent or guilty.

Historians believe that he was avoiding this because he knew he was going to be found guilty which meant his land would be confiscated. He wanted it turned over to his heirs. He and Martha had 3 children from previous marriages.

Since he stayed mute, the court decided that a confession should be forced out of him. Corey was ordered to undergo peine forte et dure or pressing.

On September 19^th he was dragged, naked to an open field where he was placed on a board that had been put in a shallow pit. Another board was placed on top of him.

Heavy stones and bricks were placed on top of him. For three days he endured this torturous pain, all the time remaining silent.

On September 22^nd the end was near. Corey’s mouth was dry with thirst and his face was swallow and red. George Corwin, whose ghost is mentioned in another post here, was the Essex County sheriff at the time.

He knelt on the ground next to Corey having seen his lips move. He felt that Corey was about to relent but instead Corey uttered these now famous words, “More weight!”

With his dying breath Corey called out. “I curse you, sheriff, and I curse all of Salem.” That same day Martha was hanged with eight other people.

The witch trial executions stopped after this. Salem's townspeople realized shortly after Corey's pressing that all the girl’s testimony had been lies.

Nineteen people were hanged, four or five others died in prison waiting for their trials or executions. And Corey died under stones.

This torturous death resulted in his ghost haunting the Howard Street Cemetery today. It is believed he also haunts the Joshua Ward House in Salem--more information about this is in the link above.

Stone that marks where
Corey was pressed.

This cemetery did not open until 1801 but it was on this land where Corey was pressed in a pit. It is believed his body is buried here as well.

Several witnesses have stated they have seen his apparition floating among the tombstones. Others state they have felt his clammy hands touch them.

As for the curse, George Corwin, the sheriff died of a heart attack. Other Essex County sheriffs suffered from heart conditions as well. Several over the years reported seeing Corey’s ghost in their bedrooms.

Those who reported this sight stated they felt a strong pressure on their chests that didn’t go away until Corey’s ghost disappeared.

There is also a legend that states when Corey’s ghost appears he acts as a harbinger. It is said people saw his ghost just before the June 25, 1914 Great Salem Fire that destroyed most of the city.

Some believe Corey’s curse caused this fire.

The Ghosts of Joshua Ward House

The cause for the following haunting is said to be the result of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in the late 1600s.

A Sadistic Sheriff

A wealthy merchant and sea captain by the name Joshua Ward built his home in 1784 on Washington Street in Salem, Massachusetts.

This large brick mansion is in the Georgian/Federal style and in more recent times has been used as a hotel and then for office space.

Ward had his new home built on the remaining foundation of the house that once stood on the property.

This original home belonged to George Corwin who was the High Sheriff of Essex County in Massachusetts.

Corwin was the sheriff who signed the arrest warrants for those accused of witchcraft in Salem between 1692-93.

Nineteen men and women were accused of witchcraft and executed under Corwin’s watch.

He was nicknamed The Strangler because he tortured the accused while they lay prone in his home’s cellar. He would tie their necks to their ankles until blood ran out of their noses--this was slow torturous strangulation.

The pressing of Giles Corey

When one of his last victims, Giles Corey refused to confess to witchcraft Corwin had stones placed upon his chest--crushing him to death.

It is said that Corey did not confess, but with his last breath he cursed Corwin for his despicable act of barbarism.

Some believe Corwin succumb to this curse for he died at a relatively young age in 1696 of a heart or blood ailment just four years after the witch trials ended.

At the time of his death, Corwin was so despised that his family and widow buried him in the cellar of his home fearful that an angry public-- would desecrate his corpse.

Later his body was moved to a more proper burial site.

A Haunted House

Joshua Ward House

The Joshua Ward House, for years, has been believed to have paranormal activity.

Initially, it was felt that two ghosts resided in the mansion, George Corwin and his last victim, Giles Corey.

Both these ghosts are restless. Items are often found out of place in the mansion.

Trashcans are found turned over, books are pushed off shelves, and various rooms are found in general disarray.

Candlesticks have been found on the floor with their tapers found melted into the shapes of letters.

Over two years, one alarm in the home was triggered over 60 times without explainable cause.

Cold spots are felt in specific parts of the home.

The apparition of Sheriff Corwin has been seen sitting on a chair near one fireplace.

In the mid-1980s several witnesses reported being choked by an unseen entity.

A Female Entity

Carlson Realty bought the home in the 1980s, with the intent to turn it into their main headquarters.

After they moved in, one realtor--Dale Lewinski took pictures of the staff with her Polaroid camera for a holiday welcome display she was putting together.

In one photo, she discovered a frightening image. In this shot, she had taken a picture of a female employee from the chest up, but instead, the image that developed was of a strange, full-length figure, a female with wild black hair.

This photo was first published in Robert Cahill's book entitled, Haunted Happenings.

Some believe this spirit is yet another victim wrongly accused of witchcraft.

The Joshua Ward House went up for sale at the beginning of this year.