Summary

--SUPERS-- 13 - 17 Met Museum 17 - 19 Stacy Tilney Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum 20 - 25 Met Museum 26 - 30 Stacy Tilney Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum 38 - 41 Stacy Tilney Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum 42 - 47 Met Museum 48 - 52 Stacy Tilney Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum 1:02 - 1:06 Mayor Kim Driscoll Salem, MA 1:22 - 1:31 Lesley Bannatyne Author, Halloween Expert --LEAD IN-- A CHILL IS IN THE AIR AND THE MOON IS SHINING BRIGHT AS GHOSTS AND GHOULS ROAM THE STREETS OF HISTORIC SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT THE SITE OF THE 1692 WITCH TRIALS, SALEM CELEBRATES ITS SPOOKY HISTORY EACH YEAR WITH AMERICAS BIGGEST HALLOWEEN PARTY THOUSANDS DESCEND UPON THE QUAINT NEW ENGLAND CITY EACH OCTOBER TO SUMMON THE SPIRITS, DINE WITH THE DEAD, AND IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN HALLOWEEN SPOOKINESS OMAR JIMENEZ IS IN SALEM -- EXPLORING THE HAUNTED HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF THIS UNIQUE CITY --REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS-- ON HALLOWEEN ITS A CELEBRATION IN SALEM MASSACHUSETTSBUT ONE ASSOCIATED WITH A DARK PAST OVER 300 YEARS AGO, FEAR AND HYSTERIA TRIGGERED THE LARGEST WITCH HUNT IN AMERICAN HISTORY Stacy Tilney/ Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum: As more and more people are accused of being witches, it becomes a conflagration where theres no stopping this out of control snowball IN TOTAL 20 PEOPLE WERE EXECUTEDAND THOSE EVENTS-- FOREVER IMPRINTED ON THE AMERICAN PSYCHE Stacy Tilney/ Director of Communications, Salem Witch Museum: The Salem Witch Trials serves as an example of how people, when theyre under a great deal of stress, can become so myopic and afraid that they dont use reason and calm judgement to solve the problem THREE CENTURIES LATER, STORIES OF HAUNTINGS AND STRANGE HAPPENINGS IN THIS HISTORIC TOWN DRAW THOUSANDS EACH OCTOBER FOR A MASSIVE CELEBRATION Mayor Kim Driscoll/ Salem, MA: People are dressed up, its a great holiday, salems definitely the capital of Halloween-people are here to celebrate ORIGINALLY AN ANCIENT CELTIC FESTIVAL MARKING THE END OF THE HARVEST, THE CELTS BELIEVED THE WORLDS BETWEEN THE LIVING AND DEAD BLURRED ON HALLOWEENALLOWING SPIRITS TO ROAM THE EARTH A LOTS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND *TODAY ITS TRUE MEANING DEPENDS ON WHO YOU ASK Lesley Bannatyne/ Author: For a five-year-old its costumes and candy, for an adult it might be communing with the ancestral dead or some kind of self-expression or exhibitionism The time you get to be whoever you want KEEPING THE TRADITIONS AND HALLOWEEN SPIRIT ALIVE IN SALEM, MA IM OMAR JIMENEZ -----END-----CNNSCRIPT-----