February 11, 2025 • 34 mins
Dive into the spellbinding world of Laurie Cabot, Salem’s official witch and one of modern witchcraft’s most iconic figures. In this episode of Weirder After Dark, we uncover her journey from an artist to a groundbreaking spiritual leader who brought witchcraft into the mainstream. Explore her rituals, her influence on Salem’s identity, and the controversies that followed her rise. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, this story enchants you.
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Sources:
Heyward, Jasmine. "How Salem’s First Witch Shop Started a Movement." Boston Globe, Oct. 31, 2017.
Laurie Cabot Official Website. Copyright © 2013, 2022. https://lauriecabot.com.
"Laurie Cabot." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_Cabot.
Neuhaus, Cable. "Salem's Official Witch, Laurie Cabot, Finds Grave Errors in Eastwick." People, June 29, 1987.
Aury, Mat. "The True Story of the Witch Who Solved a Murder." Patheos, Jan. 8, 2019; updated Jan. 12, 2020.
Mehren, Elizabeth. "The Trials of Being a Witch." Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31, 1991.
Cabot, Laurie. The Power of the Witch: The Earth, the Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment, 1990.
Cabot, Laurie, and Tim Cowan. Love Magic, 1992.
Cabot, Laurie. Celebrate the Earth: A Year of Holidays in the Pagan Tradition, 1994.
Cabot, Laurie. The Witch in Every Woman: Reawakening the Magical Nature of the Feminine to Heal, Protect, Create, and Empower, 1997.
Cabot, Laurie, Penny Cabot, and Christopher Penczak. Laurie Cabot's Book of Shadows, 2015.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Who is the official witch of Salem?
Why does Salem, MA have an official witch in the 1st place
and why is she on one hand so beloved but also heeded by her
community? Join us at Waiter After Dark as
we explore the enchanted story of Lauren Cabin and her
complicated relationship with her hometown of Salem, MA.
(00:34):
Welcome back to Weirder After Dark, the podcast.
We get into everything New England weird.
My name is Sean and I'm here with my two Co hosts.
Hi, I'm Chris and. I'm Kathy and we have an
absolutely enchanting episode. Is that right, Chris?
Enchanting works. Yeah.
We're going to be talking a little bit about Salem, MA and
the official Witch of Salem. All right, all right.
That's not even a little late for Halloween, Chris.
(00:54):
I think we're a couple months. After that, late, late.
Yeah, Speaking of late. Yeah.
Oh, it's just really. Doing this here.
Yeah, I'm not really sure you get to criticize the people or
events being on time. Let's bring in the listeners in
on this I. Beat you here.
We were also an hour late, yes. And you only beat us because you
(01:15):
ran a stop sign to take the turnin front of us to get into your
driveway. That might be true, but the
statue of limitations for running the stop signs, can we
put that into the universe? I'm pretty sure it's I'm you're
safe all right. Manchester PD has better things
to do. OK, OK, OK.
(01:36):
You can call me late, you can call me whenever you want, but I
still beat your asses, so. Our niece Gretchen, her first
time being here, she was what, 10-15 minutes early and it's
your house and she's like, I'm here.
Am I at the Bright House Like he's not there, is he?
OK, Alright, alright, fine, fine.
You know, I was a little late. You said 5:00.
(01:58):
We said let's everybody show up at 6:00.
It's not a problem, we'll just plan on an hour and a half late.
I was at a birthday party. I was at a birthday party for a
four year old. OK, You know, I was on a bounce
house. I got lost in the time.
I can't. I don't know.
I don't. Say, who's your 4 year old
friend? OK, OK.
(02:19):
It was a friend's kid. Get out of here.
Don't make this weird. Anyways, it's Chris.
Get us out of here. What are we doing?
That's what you're sharing today.
I'm. Going to share a story with you
guys. So in 1991, a local artist from
Salem, MA named Martha Brownsfield was reported
missing. The family of Martha reported
last they heard, she had plannedto go sailing with the local man
(02:41):
named Tom Maniani. The police investigated further
and followed the evidence that led them to Tom's home to
question him. The police asked Tom the 1st and
obvious question. Have you seen Martha?
Now Tom, who was obviously a criminal mastermind toying with
the police, answered. Who's Martha?
Martha who? Meta?
(03:04):
I've never seen it. So this is when the clever and
cunning detectives who had clearly met their intellectual
match in Tom, confronted Tom about his plans to go sailing
yesterday. Tom then changed his story to
yeah, that Martha, she never showed up.
Weird. The police obviously outwitted
by Tom, this chess grandmaster of human psychology.
(03:27):
They were fooled and decided to turn their investigation
elsewhere. So he's like, I don't know who
Martha is. She didn't show up.
And they're like, OK. Yeah, we see here we got to go
look for more evidence. Yeah.
So the police confused. This is going to end.
Well. They decided to return to the
boat docks to search for more evidence in leads.
They quickly found 4 witnesses that saw Martha get onto Tom's
(03:49):
boat that day. Shocker.
The police now having more questions than answers.
Society go back and question Tomagain.
Tom, the tenured professor at the University of Future Bond
villains that he is, slightly and cunningly changed the story
to throw off the detectives. Now the seasoned Salem
detectives picked up on the small change to his story.
I'm curious if you 2 will pick up on the same small shift in
(04:12):
the story that tipped off these experienced detectives.
OK. When confronted by the police
about the four witnesses that saw Martha get on to Tom's boat
that day, Tom then changed his Tory to yes we went sailing but
Martha fell off the boat. What?
No way. Clearly this makes sense.
The police were suspicious of the slight change and but Tom,
(04:34):
with ice water in his veins, stayed true to his alibi of
yeah, the girl fell off the boat.
I mean, I believe him. I believe.
Him too the unshakable detectives needing more evidence
to build a case for foul play. The police began to search the
Bay for Martha's body but could not find it.
They also sent divers out into the Bay and they could not find
her body either. They interviewed friends and
family. Nobody could confirm her motive
(04:56):
without further evidence. Tom's mastery laid out plans of
deceptions were working. He was going to get away with
it. Does he happen to be a lawyer?
I'm looking for a lawyer. At this point, he was only going
to be charged with not reportingan accident, no a short of the
dashedly crimes the police suspected him of.
That's when one of the investigators reached out to the
official Witch of Salem, Laurie Cabot, who was world renowned
(05:19):
for her psychic abilities. Now Laurie was provided with
Martha's name, last known location and her date of birth.
Laurie went into a trance like state when Laurie had a vision
and glimpses of Martha's traumatic and violin end.
Laurie reports that she saw Tom make sexual advances on Martha
and when she rejected him he dragged her to the side the boat
and struck her in the head. What?
(05:40):
Yeah, that's a reasonable response to being told no.
Reasonable. Yeah.
In her vision, Tom proceeded to put weight on her hips and tie
an anchor to Martha's feet before tossing her overboard.
Lori described Martha's body as being in the Bay.
So this is a witch. She's a psychic witch.
And she's having a vision. She goes into a trans like state
and she reports this to the police.
(06:02):
So shortly after this magical interview, the police caught a
break. Literally.
A lobster fisherman found Martha's body tangled up in his
equipment when hauling in his traps in the Bay.
Martha had an anchor tied to herfeet in a diving belt around her
waist, just as Laurie had predicted.
The Witch. Yeah.
Tell me more, Chris. Yeah, I'm.
On the edge of my seat, bro. So when Martha's body was
(06:24):
discovered, Tom always three steps ahead of the detectives
from this intricate play of cat and mouse, he went on the run
they didn't have. Anybody watching him?
They were not watching him at the time.
The local police were not watching their prime suspect in
a murdered investigation right after releasing the news that
they had found Martha's body to the public.
I don't know why. This is great.
Are we shocked right now? So with Tom missing, the police
(06:49):
completely bamboozled. Not a loss.
They turned to Lori Cabot again,who went into a trance like
state and had another vision. Which?
Which which? In this vision, she saw Tom
shaving in a cabin and since he was on his way to cross into
Canada, Lori now knowing she wasworking with the best and the
brightest of the Salem Police. Department I'm sorry she.
(07:11):
Performed a binding spell to ensure Tom would make a mistake
that would get him caught. And.
Three days later, in a small town in Vermont near the
Canadian border, police arrived at a cabin.
Neighbors of the cabin had called the police because they
spotted a car in the driveway they did not recognize and
lights were on in the cabin. When they knew the owners were
out of town. Police discovered signs of
(07:33):
forced entry and found Tom in the cabin.
He had shaved off his mustache and had been planning on
crossing the Canadian border, just as Laurie had a vision.
In 1993, Tom was found guilty ofsecond degree murder and
sentenced to life in prison, where he eventually died.
Chris, this is real. So yeah, I played around with
the story to have some fun with the Salem PD and Tom, but the
(07:54):
facts of the story we're taking directly out of the Salem
newspaper who interviewed Laurieand the police detectives at the
time. So if you don't believe in
psychic abilities, I can't help explain this one to.
You, I mean, OK, so can I play skeptic here?
Yes. We have a missing person.
They've already searched the water.
She knows that. And if the weights and stuff
(08:15):
being tied to her to hold the body down.
OK. I mean, I watched and listened
to enough true crime that that'spretty common what they do.
They already searched the waters, they had divers out
there. They already went ahead and
looked and she's basically saying you're wrong, she's
there, the body's down there. That's still crazy.
Not just not just that. Yeah.
Then shaving in a cabin on his way to cross into Canada.
(08:36):
I mean, how do you explain that part?
Well, I mean, because if a guy is going to like, if he's got a
beard and a guy's got to go on the run, he needs to change his
appearance. What's the first, John?
You got a beard. What's the first thing you're
going to do if you change your appearance?
OK. Maybe I've shaved my beard.
Common sense kind of stuff that maybe a little bit.
But I really can't explain this story other than she truly has
(08:58):
some psychic abilities. He shaved off his mustache.
OK, but he was in a cabin. Yeah.
In this town in Vermont, right across the Canadian border.
And she? Predicted the cabin too.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's. Yeah, I don't know how to.
The fact that she had weights put on her hips and she used a
diving belt to keep her body submerged below the water.
(09:19):
That's like so specific. Like, yeah, I.
Feel like more than she's a psychic You could convince me
she was in on the murder with how specific.
It is like it does seem too on point so.
Chris, this is the stories aboutLori Cat about a psychic witch.
So this story is about Lori Cabot and how Salem, MA got an
official witch. And it's really about the
relationship between Lori and the town of Salem and how they
(09:41):
clash. But they kind of grew together
over time. The City of Witches is clashing
with a witch. It wasn't always known as the
City of Witches. Oh, OK.
She kind of came around the sametime that they started to
embrace that title and she played a big role in that, but
she was not welcome in this townright away.
Oh, all right. I'm like where this is going
though. We'll get into a little bit
(10:02):
about Salem first. Now, despite all the hysteria
and hype about the now infamous Salem Witch Trials in 1692,
there were no real witches during this time.
This is a very sad story about 19 innocent people being
murdered by a town swept up in the religious fervor and
paranoia. Yeah, there were no actual
witches. There was just a bunch of
Puritans in the woods that were looking for people to blame for
(10:25):
bad fortune. And there's a whole witch story.
Despite no real witches being hung during this tragic time in
history, Salem overtime become known and embrace the title of
Witch city and at least something have shamelessly
profited from this town's traumatic history.
In fact, Salem is obsessed with witches.
The Salem High School mascot is the emblem of a witch silhouette
(10:48):
on her broom crossing the moon, as are the town's fire and
police badges. The town is known for its two
witch museums. Salem hosts 12 different
witchcraft shops offering mediums, tarot card readings,
herbs and crystals, and psychic readings in this relatively
small town. Now, to put this in perspective,
a quick Google search shows Boston, MA having nine places to
(11:10):
get tarot card readings. As you guys know, Boston is
much, much bigger than Salem. Salem and witchcraft seem
inseparable today, but it hasn'talways been that way.
Salem hosts a Halloween event called Haunted Happenings every
year and this takes over most ofthe city.
It starts in early October and lasts until Halloween night or
the morning after Halloween night to be more accurate.
(11:31):
I can personally attest that theweek leading up to Halloween in
Salem, parking for the event starts in Beverly about 2 * a.
Week. This event includes haunted and
historical tours, historical reenactments of the witch
trials. You'll see countless people
dressed up in costume. There's a bizarre that takes up
the entire City Park selling allkinds of trinkets and gifts.
(11:54):
From children's light up magic wands to potions and sages for
magical spells. Seemingly hundreds of psychics
and mediums and witches from allover the world come to partake
in this month long event. Salem takes its Halloween very
seriously. Salem is also the only town I
know that has an official which Laurie Cabot.
So cool. So Laurie Cabot was born March
(12:16):
6th, 1933. She was born Mercedes Elizabeth
Karsney in Oklahoma. As a child, Mercedes had an
ability to read people's thoughts and talk about events
before they happened. According to Cabot, when she was
seven she had a vision of a young boy falling off his bike
and getting stuck in a train. Trussell She was so sure of her
(12:38):
vision that her mother called the police and shortly
thereafter the boy was rescued. Wow, yeah, that's that's pretty
crazy. The family moved to the East
Coast where Mercedes as a teenager changed her name to
Laurie Cabot. While living in Boston now, she
changed her name due to her belief she was related to the
prominent Boston Brigham Cabot family.
The Brigham Cabot family were key in starting Harvard
(13:01):
University and provided the namesake for the Bring Women's a
Women's Hospital in Boston. Oh, so these are big people, big
haters? Oh yeah.
And she thinks that she's related to them.
Yeah, it's unclear. And from from my research as to
why she believed this was true and took their name.
I I don't know, maybe one of ourlisteners knows and can fill us
in. Or in my mind psychics will do
(13:22):
progressive past lives meditation so maybe she found a
connection that way. But OK.
It was just I couldn't really find why she changed her name.
But she felt that there was a connection there.
She thought she was related to this family in some way, so she
reports. While in Boston, she would study
all things Wiccan or the Hermetic religion.
(13:42):
Both of these belief systems involved the use of magic.
She would frequent the Boston Public Library, often reading
everything she could about her craft.
Laurie says she met a librarian at the Boston Public Library who
identified as a witch and recognized her psychic
abilities. Cabot studied under her guidance
until age 16. Now Laurie moved to Revere in
(14:04):
her early 20s. Fun fact, this is when Laurie
Cabot was roommates with my AuntPenny and friends with my mom
and my Aunt Judy. Kathy, insert mother-in-law joke
here. Your mom would be friends with
the witch. Wait, wait, wait.
Really? They they they knew Laurie
Cabot. Yeah, my aunt Penny was a
roommate. Yeah, in Revere back in the 20s.
Like what A. Connection.
(14:24):
How cool is that? Yeah, I didn't know that until I
started researching the story, you know?
So I was telling my mom, she's like, Oh yeah, I know her.
Yeah, she sounded. Exactly like your mom.
That was actually a pretty good.Impression.
Yeah. Well, Lori.
Yeah, I know, Lori. Let me call Judy.
Bob, get the phone. Let me call Judy.
(14:45):
Used to hang out in the parlour.Judy, do you remember?
We love you, Robin. So Lori in the late 20s moved
away to the big city, the brightlights to see it never sleeps.
She wanted her piece of New YorkCity, but after a divorce in a
failed nightclub business, she then moved back to Salem, MA in
her early 30s. This was reportedly not by
(15:06):
choice, but due to financial restraints.
You could not afford the Boston area anymore and had to move to
the cheaper suburbs of Salem. It ain't cheap anymore.
Not. Cheap anymore, but yeah, back in
the 70s it was. Random thought so you said that
Salem's high school their their mascot was like a witch on a
broom. Yes like men definitely created
the idea and emblem of what a witch looks like, right?
(15:28):
Like they're just like all right, what would a witch look
like? Well, women's would have a broom
so obviously. They need a fast getaway.
They just hop on it and. Fly away?
Yeah, they hop on the only thingthey know, the broom.
It's funny, Laurie Cabot takes issue with that as well.
Yeah. Oh, really?
Yeah. She feels like that's pretty
sexist. That's what I'm saying.
I was like this is pretty messedup.
Yeah, I'm also thinking too, though, like it's kind of you're
(15:49):
a witch or even just someone whopractices the Wiccan religion.
It's kind of like a little bit of an insult, right?
Like. I would think so.
I mean that folklore from the old world, nothing really to do
with the Wiccan or medic religions or modern witchcrafts.
I mean, maybe, maybe not, maybe maybe they embrace it.
But yeah, I don't know. It was a thought I had.
(16:10):
Sounds like maybe we're going tohear some thoughts.
Laurie Yeah. Not like Cabot, but we'll get
into that. OK, so when she moved back to
Massachusetts and moved back to Salem, Cabot opened her first
witchcraft shop with help from friends.
It sold herbs, jewels, tarot cards and other items used in
the witchcraft. Cabot reported there were a few
places to buy these types of items back then, so she made
(16:32):
most of them herself. Her first shop in Salem was
simply called the Witch Shop. This was enough because there
were no other similar shops in town or really in the area at
the time. Remember today there are 9
witchcraft shops in Salem, so she was the only one back in the
70s. So only two weeks after opening
her new place, a woman ran into a shop screaming that Cabot was
(16:53):
going to hell and was going to bring the devil to Salem.
Oh. My God, yeah.
That's a little. Dramatic.
Simmer down. Another time a man stopped his
car to yell at her that they aregoing to burn and hang you
again. What?
As she walked through Salem withher two young children.
Oh, it's so messed up. So wait, they're just doing this
because she's they're like, you're a witch and we.
Don't want to wear? She's got like a shop called the
(17:14):
Witch Shop and they're like, wow, we're just gonna be Dick
heads to you. Because she's openly practicing
at it was a witch and Salem was not as open to it back then.
That he's gonna age poorly? Yeah.
So it wasn't exactly a warm welcome by the town of Salem.
And right away she was a controversial figure.
She later moved her shop to an old gambrel roof house on Essex
(17:37):
St. and renamed it the Crow Haven Corner.
The cool name the. Shop is still open today but
it's no longer owned or managed by Cabot.
I will link a picture on Instagram of the shop because
it's just spooky looking. I wonder.
If we've been there, we we went into a couple of the shops.
Down there. Oh yeah, I remember.
It's right on Pickering Wharf. I remember passing it several
times. OK.
(17:58):
I don't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday.
Good memory, yes. I didn't remember it in Seoul, I
saw the picture again, but yes. So at one point while living at
18 Chestnut St. in Salem, her cat got stuck in a tree.
Now our cat was considered family to her.
And cats play a big role in somewitchcraft belief system.
Was it a black cat? Yes.
Yes, it was she nice. She called the fire department
(18:20):
for help and was ignored for three days and.
The cat was just in the tree forthree days.
So on day three, instead of calling the fire department, she
called the local newspaper and claimed I'm a witch, that cat is
my familiar, and the town is denying me services.
Get em Lori. That's it.
So later that day, the fire department showed up, but also
the local paper and photographers and the mayor.
(18:42):
Hell yeah, they. Did all seemingly smelling a
story or a scandal to be avoided.
So her daughters were bullied sobad at school that Lori ended up
having to homeschool them? Oh.
That's sad. That's not nice.
Yeah, the. Parents and religious leaders
used to protest when she was invited to give talks about her
theories on in history behind witchcraft.
During Halloween, evangelical Christian groups would take to
(19:05):
the streets with signs and bull horns declaring witchcraft as a
form of devil worship. Cabot Shop would take the brunt
of the hatred and the town of Salem did very little to assist
back then. So yeah, it wasn't exactly an
easy Rd. for her. Yeah.
So despite all the hatred, Salemwas also changing.
In 1970's the TV show Bewitched,its studio in California burnt
(19:29):
down. With some clever rewriting.
They changed the location to Salem, MA to play into the Salem
Witch Trials, and they filmed a few episodes on location at
Salem where the main character went back in time and faced the
witch trials. Now, this show created a renewed
interest in the city and its connection to witchcraft.
More attractions such as the Salem Witch Museum opened to
(19:50):
capitalizing the interest in theSalem Witch Trials.
Cabot's shop became much more popular in a destination for
people who are interested in or practice in the weakened
religions. According to Cabot, from then
on, she was still frequently harassed whenever she walked
through Salem's downtown. However, her story was also met
with curiosity sometimes. She started to receive interview
(20:11):
requests and began to appear on national talk shows, including
Oprah and Today Show. So her story was kind of getting
out there in a bigger way now. Cabot did walk around Salem
dressed in all black robes with dark black eye makeup, fueling
the controversy and notoriety and becoming a lightning rod for
harassment and ridicule. She refused to stay in the
(20:33):
background to tone it down, but at the same time she was staying
true to herself and her community.
So is it fair to say, say, Chris, that this situation with
her cat being stuck in the tree was a tipping point to like her
notoriety more so in the town, but like nationally, is that
really the tipping point to leadoff to all that?
I think it's a mix of several things.
I think the town at first reallyhated her.
(20:55):
Not the entire town, but most ofthe town really wanted her gone.
But as Salem started to benefit more from its association with
the witch trials and Halloween and all those things, I think
some people people started to slowly kind of let her in.
There's still some harassments 6decades later, and it's getting
(21:16):
better, moving in that direction.
But it's it's a long road for her.
Yeah. So despite the hatred, Cabot
stood her ground and continued to spread her philosophy
centered around positivity, loveand inclusion and do no harm to
others. Sounds like a wholesome witch.
Yeah, right. I mean, compared to the
evangelical Christian, she sounds like the good person of
(21:37):
the story. Yeah.
So in the mid 1970s, Governor Michael Dukakis bestowed upon
Cabot the State Patriot Award. This historical award is issued
by the Governor to honor citizens of the state for public
services which lead to the betterment, enrichment and
welfare of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
So she's simultaneously honored and despised.
(21:59):
I feel like that's just people. I mean, I think anybody who's in
the spotlight of any kind, you're going to have both sides
coming at you, right? Anybody whose difference going
to be celebrated by some and despised by others?
And the fact that once the town started financially benefiting
from her and the publicity that she was bringing to the town,
(22:20):
people are like, Oh yeah, let mebe nice to you.
But it also would probably like open the door for people who
maybe weren't anti her, kind of be more open to the idea of
getting to know her and be nice to her.
Her relationship with the town gets even crazier. 1986, the
movie Witches of Eastwick began filming nearby at the Crane
(22:41):
Estate in the town of Ipswich, afew towns over from Salem.
Cabot became alarmed by the film's inaccurate portrayal of
witchcraft and tried to get the studio not to release the movie.
When this failed, Cabot formed the Witch's League of Public
Awareness, now known as the Witch's Civil Liberty League,
which helped get paganism recognized and protected as a
religion. And they continued this work
(23:02):
last day. So yeah, speaking to your point,
she was making moves in politicsat this point.
So Cabot was quoted in Time magazine as saying Satan worship
and the eye of new toe of frog days are gone, or more properly,
never were. She said.
When people come into my shop and ask me how I should worship
the devil, I say you're in the wrong place, Cabot reported.
(23:23):
Sadly, during this interview, I've had to explain that I don't
kill babies or drink blood. Cabus tirelessly tried to
enlighten many people over the years about their
misunderstandings and biases about witchcraft, oftentimes
falling on deaf ears. So Cabin a few fellow witches
started to attend Salem town meetings and started to advocate
for witches and speak up about what they saw as biases against
(23:45):
their practices. The following year, Cabot
actually ran for mayor of Salem against then Mayor Anthony
Salvo. And.
And she dropped out of the race accordingly to focus on her
first book, The Power of the Witch.
Truthfully, she was instrumentally behind in the
polls when she dropped out, as well as working on her first
book. Man, I'd be casting some spells
(24:06):
if I was in a race. I'm just throwing it out there
like I'd be doing some shit. I'd be up to no.
Good. I know you're not supposed to
use it to benefit yourself, but I might use it to benefit others
who would then be able to benefit me.
If you read any of her words, that's that's a hard no.
You're not allowed to do that. There's got to be loopholes.
There's got to be. I'm just saying.
(24:27):
So as a business owner, Cabot did not pay her taxes for
several years. And because of a notoriety, this
was a big scandal in town and she was in the public 9 and the
newspapers again, she was able to catch up on her missing taxes
and simply reported she was not on top of that aspect of her
business at the time. But everything she did was a big
scandal. So she was a very known person.
(24:49):
So something like that hit the papers right away.
So Cabot's final shop in Salem, the Cat the Crow on the Crown
I'm Pickering Wharf, was later renamed the official witch shop.
It closes doors on February of 2012.
Now, Cabot still maintains an online business and also sells
her handcrafted magic products at Enchantments, a witch shop on
(25:10):
Pickering Wharf in Salem, as well.
She's just playing a much smaller role these.
Days she's switching around, still OK.
So Cabot had an interesting and controversial relationship with
the Sound of Salem. Cabot was clearly benefiting
from the town's obsession with witchcraft.
At the same time, she was critical of the town's
exploitation of the innocent people accused of witchcraft
(25:31):
during the Salem witch trials. She is of the town's use of a
witch on a broomstick emblem, which she believes was insulting
to practicing witches and to women in general.
She had gained a lot of notoriety and business from the
interest in the Salem Witch Trials.
At the same time, despite a rough start and ongoing
harassment in town, she was alsobeloved by this town and held in
(25:54):
a place of honor. As we did already discussed, she
was willing to help her town using her psychic abilities.
If not the town, at least poor Martha and her family.
She even ran for mayor even though she sees herself as an
outsider. So she's a very complicated
person, a very complicated relationship with the town of
Salem. To get to what you guys were
both asking about earlier, her religion and belief system is
(26:16):
based in tolerance, love and respect, and magic can only be
used to protect oneself but not to harm others.
So she couldn't use it to win the mayor's office or to make up
her unpaid taxes. If you believed she could or not
is a different story. But I mean if you believe in her
magic abilities, she could have reigned terror on this town and
our tormentors but chose not to in her own way.
(26:40):
Cabot, an independent female business owner who work on
religious rights, was part of the second wave of the feminist
movie and our long held beliefs and values were beaking to many
women who saw themselves as stuck as second class citizens.
Yeah, I kind of was thinking like you made the comment about
how, you know, she walked aroundthe town and, you know, wearing
all black and. Yeah, she's wearing black robes
(27:02):
and. Medallions even.
Just because someone's walking around and all black doesn't
mean that like the people can just treat her the way that they
want. You know what I mean?
Like it kind of like made her anoutsider.
Like, well, So what? Like they don't get to like yell
at her in front of her kids and shit and like be mean to her.
I don't know. I hate.
I hate bullies. Yes, that's more of what we need
(27:24):
in the world today. What tolerance, less people
seeing each other separate. But yes, she was just really
interesting character in this town, right?
So by the early 90s she became known as an American witch High
Priestess, the highest honor youcan receive in this community.
She has authored and co-authoredseveral books including The
Power of the Witch, Love Magic, Celebrating the Earth, the Year
(27:47):
and Pagan Holidays, The Witch and Every Woman.
The Laurie Cabot Book of Shadowsso fairly accomplished author as
well. Today she still teaches classes
on witchcraft and mentors many of its practitioners.
She continues to advocate for the rights of her religious
beliefs and works with the Witches Civil Liberty League,
(28:08):
which she started. Today, it is estimated that over
2000 people in Salem practice inthe Wiccan or Hermetic
religions. These include the use of magic
and witchcraft. Laurie's able to pave the way
for, if not make a safer place for others to practice.
So this woman's not just the Witch of Salem, she's like,
she's an icon for this like community.
(28:29):
Yeah, in this community, she's avery important figure.
Absolutely. Not even like for people who
practice Wiccan as a person in general, right?
Like she has her beliefs and what is important to her and her
values, which aren't anything that's hurting anybody.
And despite all of the negative responses that she gets and the
(28:49):
way that people are treating her, she stays true to who she
is and continues on her path. And she ends up doing really
well for herself and lives a very fulfilling life where she's
helping so many people. And it's inspiring.
And think about that. Since the 70s, Yeah.
So she's been fighting this fight for five decades.
Yeah. And.
I mean, yeah. And it's, you know, regardless
(29:11):
of whether you believe she's a real witch or not, I think that
there's something to take away from just her as a person.
Yeah. Yeah, Laurie Cabot, she's
complicated. I mean, many see her as this
provoking figure capital realizing on her controversy as
a savvy businesswoman. Every time that she was in the
news, it was good for her business, right?
Other seers are tireless human rights activists and a teacher
(29:34):
of inclusion from the stance of non judgement.
And yeah, why not both, right? Yeah.
Yeah, like I think both can be true.
And you can still be a good person, right?
You can be really doing amazing things to your community and be
a witch and just so happened to be in the right spot, the right
town where that blows up. And you would get the benefit
from everything you stand for and who you are.
That's just some really the fantastic luck.
(29:55):
Yeah. I mean, from my research, I
think Laurie can be summed up asa private person who is called
to action to kind of protect herbeliefs and the people in her
life. She has maybe stubbornly spend
most of her adult life in Salem despite her issues with the
locals. She's had a difficult but
beneficial relationship with thetown of Salem.
(30:17):
She's both ridiculed and reveredby her community.
So very interesting dynamic in person life lived.
She sounds like a strong ass woman.
Yeah. And I was just going to kind of
touch on the the fact that you said like she was kind of lucky
being in the right place and right circumstances, but she
also kind of created that luck, right, Like fire department,
they're not coming out to help her.
(30:37):
So she's like, you know what, I'm going to take this
situation, I'm going to take control of it.
Yeah. And you know, yeah.
And I think just like by taking all the negative situations that
she was sort of maybe dealt by taking control of it and turning
the tables. Dare we say manifested?
Nickname maybe manifested. Yeah.
I mean putting out the energies into the world to get back what
(30:59):
she felt she deserved. I mean, she started in this town
as a very controversial figure, but I believe the arc of time
has started to see her as a person true to her values and
character, and the message of tolerance and love and love is
seemingly starting to outlast the message of hatred and
separation. She's really becoming a big part
(31:19):
of our community and more and more accepted.
You know, without getting too preachy, I think this is a life
lived that we could all learn from.
We could all benefit from learning to drop out of
judgments and identifying what separates us and lean into
Lori's message of inclusion and respect.
I really admire her. As I was doing this research and
got into the story, that's very.Cool.
(31:40):
And she she's still. Alive.
She's still alive. Yeah.
All right. She tried to talk to the the
witch sound. Lori Cabot, would you try to get
in contact with her? That'd be cool.
I sent an e-mail through her website.
I have not heard anything back yet but definitely love to have
interview her. That'd be.
So cool. Maybe talk to her on the
podcast, if not on the podcast, just to be able to talk to her
(32:00):
and get some some things answered.
If you could ask her one question right now.
What would it be? One question.
I mean, I first of all I want toknow how she believes she was
related to the Cabots and how she why she changed her name
but. OK, I I want to know like what
does she use her powers for? Like what do you what do you do?
Helping people, I assume. But like how?
I don't know. Just I'd love to hear more.
What kind of spells are you doing on a Tuesday night?
(32:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're recording this podcast.
What were you doing? On Friday, what all you got
there? I think I would probably ask her
what she feels like her greatestlife achievement was.
Oh, OK. That's like, what?
What's that one thing that she'sthe most proud of?
I'd also like to know if she knew this was gonna be a 50 year
(32:42):
uphill battle to feel included. I think she was going to have
that fight no matter how badly it went.
She definitely has some stringent morals because as you
pointed out like there's multiple times through the store
that she if she truly does have powers and can't do stuff,
easily could have used them for bad multiple times.
I'm just imagining right now my girlfriend has some cats if Wan
(33:03):
was stuck in a tree and she called for help to.
Make. Me calm man.
Yeah, she'd be using those powers for evil.
I was thinking I'd be using my powers for evil for the person
that cut me off the last time I was on my way to the store.
Yeah, you would not be using. Your powers for good.
No magic for you. Kathy would have so much
podcast. Marriage, right bosses.
(33:25):
I have so many ideas. So, yeah, whether you believe
that she can perform magic or not, she stayed in this town for
a long time. She could have moved away.
She could have changed a lot of things, but she stayed true to
herself. And you got to respect that.
Chris, this. Is like such a uplifting and
wholesome and beautiful story. I like stories where the people
(33:48):
who just kind of get the raw endof the stick, they end up coming
out on top and being being happy.
Well, Chris, thanks again for the story.
And gang, if you consider yourself a witch, enlighten us a
little bit. If something was missed, any of
our questions out there. But like how you use magic, you
know, these answers, we want to know.
We're here to learn. We're here to embrace it.
And yeah, we really would love that.
As always, let's do a little wrap here.
(34:09):
We just want to thank you so much for listening to this
podcast. We would be absolutely nowhere
without each and every single one of you.
So if you could like this podcast, share this podcast, get
it out there to everyone. Make sure you also take a few
seconds, visit our Instagram. Chris has done a ton of research
here on this story. We'll make sure that we drop
some images on there to help bring this story to life.
(34:29):
Make sure you get us there at Weirder After Dark.
As always, everyone, it always gets a little weirder after
dark. Bye.
Thank you guys.
Who is the official witch of Salem?
Why does Salem, MA have an official witch in the 1st place
and why is she on one hand so beloved but also heeded by her
community? Join us at Waiter After Dark as
we explore the enchanted story of Lauren Cabin and her
complicated relationship with her hometown of Salem, MA.
(00:34):
Welcome back to Weirder After Dark, the podcast.
We get into everything New England weird.
My name is Sean and I'm here with my two Co hosts.
Hi, I'm Chris and. I'm Kathy and we have an
absolutely enchanting episode. Is that right, Chris?
Enchanting works. Yeah.
We're going to be talking a little bit about Salem, MA and
the official Witch of Salem. All right, all right.
That's not even a little late for Halloween, Chris.
(00:54):
I think we're a couple months. After that, late, late.
Yeah, Speaking of late. Yeah.
Oh, it's just really. Doing this here.
Yeah, I'm not really sure you get to criticize the people or
events being on time. Let's bring in the listeners in
on this I. Beat you here.
We were also an hour late, yes. And you only beat us because you
(01:15):
ran a stop sign to take the turnin front of us to get into your
driveway. That might be true, but the
statue of limitations for running the stop signs, can we
put that into the universe? I'm pretty sure it's I'm you're
safe all right. Manchester PD has better things
to do. OK, OK, OK.
(01:36):
You can call me late, you can call me whenever you want, but I
still beat your asses, so. Our niece Gretchen, her first
time being here, she was what, 10-15 minutes early and it's
your house and she's like, I'm here.
Am I at the Bright House Like he's not there, is he?
OK, Alright, alright, fine, fine.
You know, I was a little late. You said 5:00.
(01:58):
We said let's everybody show up at 6:00.
It's not a problem, we'll just plan on an hour and a half late.
I was at a birthday party. I was at a birthday party for a
four year old. OK, You know, I was on a bounce
house. I got lost in the time.
I can't. I don't know.
I don't. Say, who's your 4 year old
friend? OK, OK.
(02:19):
It was a friend's kid. Get out of here.
Don't make this weird. Anyways, it's Chris.
Get us out of here. What are we doing?
That's what you're sharing today.
I'm. Going to share a story with you
guys. So in 1991, a local artist from
Salem, MA named Martha Brownsfield was reported
missing. The family of Martha reported
last they heard, she had plannedto go sailing with the local man
(02:41):
named Tom Maniani. The police investigated further
and followed the evidence that led them to Tom's home to
question him. The police asked Tom the 1st and
obvious question. Have you seen Martha?
Now Tom, who was obviously a criminal mastermind toying with
the police, answered. Who's Martha?
Martha who? Meta?
(03:04):
I've never seen it. So this is when the clever and
cunning detectives who had clearly met their intellectual
match in Tom, confronted Tom about his plans to go sailing
yesterday. Tom then changed his story to
yeah, that Martha, she never showed up.
Weird. The police obviously outwitted
by Tom, this chess grandmaster of human psychology.
(03:27):
They were fooled and decided to turn their investigation
elsewhere. So he's like, I don't know who
Martha is. She didn't show up.
And they're like, OK. Yeah, we see here we got to go
look for more evidence. Yeah.
So the police confused. This is going to end.
Well. They decided to return to the
boat docks to search for more evidence in leads.
They quickly found 4 witnesses that saw Martha get onto Tom's
(03:49):
boat that day. Shocker.
The police now having more questions than answers.
Society go back and question Tomagain.
Tom, the tenured professor at the University of Future Bond
villains that he is, slightly and cunningly changed the story
to throw off the detectives. Now the seasoned Salem
detectives picked up on the small change to his story.
I'm curious if you 2 will pick up on the same small shift in
(04:12):
the story that tipped off these experienced detectives.
OK. When confronted by the police
about the four witnesses that saw Martha get on to Tom's boat
that day, Tom then changed his Tory to yes we went sailing but
Martha fell off the boat. What?
No way. Clearly this makes sense.
The police were suspicious of the slight change and but Tom,
(04:34):
with ice water in his veins, stayed true to his alibi of
yeah, the girl fell off the boat.
I mean, I believe him. I believe.
Him too the unshakable detectives needing more evidence
to build a case for foul play. The police began to search the
Bay for Martha's body but could not find it.
They also sent divers out into the Bay and they could not find
her body either. They interviewed friends and
family. Nobody could confirm her motive
(04:56):
without further evidence. Tom's mastery laid out plans of
deceptions were working. He was going to get away with
it. Does he happen to be a lawyer?
I'm looking for a lawyer. At this point, he was only going
to be charged with not reportingan accident, no a short of the
dashedly crimes the police suspected him of.
That's when one of the investigators reached out to the
official Witch of Salem, Laurie Cabot, who was world renowned
(05:19):
for her psychic abilities. Now Laurie was provided with
Martha's name, last known location and her date of birth.
Laurie went into a trance like state when Laurie had a vision
and glimpses of Martha's traumatic and violin end.
Laurie reports that she saw Tom make sexual advances on Martha
and when she rejected him he dragged her to the side the boat
and struck her in the head. What?
(05:40):
Yeah, that's a reasonable response to being told no.
Reasonable. Yeah.
In her vision, Tom proceeded to put weight on her hips and tie
an anchor to Martha's feet before tossing her overboard.
Lori described Martha's body as being in the Bay.
So this is a witch. She's a psychic witch.
And she's having a vision. She goes into a trans like state
and she reports this to the police.
(06:02):
So shortly after this magical interview, the police caught a
break. Literally.
A lobster fisherman found Martha's body tangled up in his
equipment when hauling in his traps in the Bay.
Martha had an anchor tied to herfeet in a diving belt around her
waist, just as Laurie had predicted.
The Witch. Yeah.
Tell me more, Chris. Yeah, I'm.
On the edge of my seat, bro. So when Martha's body was
(06:24):
discovered, Tom always three steps ahead of the detectives
from this intricate play of cat and mouse, he went on the run
they didn't have. Anybody watching him?
They were not watching him at the time.
The local police were not watching their prime suspect in
a murdered investigation right after releasing the news that
they had found Martha's body to the public.
I don't know why. This is great.
Are we shocked right now? So with Tom missing, the police
(06:49):
completely bamboozled. Not a loss.
They turned to Lori Cabot again,who went into a trance like
state and had another vision. Which?
Which which? In this vision, she saw Tom
shaving in a cabin and since he was on his way to cross into
Canada, Lori now knowing she wasworking with the best and the
brightest of the Salem Police. Department I'm sorry she.
(07:11):
Performed a binding spell to ensure Tom would make a mistake
that would get him caught. And.
Three days later, in a small town in Vermont near the
Canadian border, police arrived at a cabin.
Neighbors of the cabin had called the police because they
spotted a car in the driveway they did not recognize and
lights were on in the cabin. When they knew the owners were
out of town. Police discovered signs of
(07:33):
forced entry and found Tom in the cabin.
He had shaved off his mustache and had been planning on
crossing the Canadian border, just as Laurie had a vision.
In 1993, Tom was found guilty ofsecond degree murder and
sentenced to life in prison, where he eventually died.
Chris, this is real. So yeah, I played around with
the story to have some fun with the Salem PD and Tom, but the
(07:54):
facts of the story we're taking directly out of the Salem
newspaper who interviewed Laurieand the police detectives at the
time. So if you don't believe in
psychic abilities, I can't help explain this one to.
You, I mean, OK, so can I play skeptic here?
Yes. We have a missing person.
They've already searched the water.
She knows that. And if the weights and stuff
(08:15):
being tied to her to hold the body down.
OK. I mean, I watched and listened
to enough true crime that that'spretty common what they do.
They already searched the waters, they had divers out
there. They already went ahead and
looked and she's basically saying you're wrong, she's
there, the body's down there. That's still crazy.
Not just not just that. Yeah.
Then shaving in a cabin on his way to cross into Canada.
(08:36):
I mean, how do you explain that part?
Well, I mean, because if a guy is going to like, if he's got a
beard and a guy's got to go on the run, he needs to change his
appearance. What's the first, John?
You got a beard. What's the first thing you're
going to do if you change your appearance?
OK. Maybe I've shaved my beard.
Common sense kind of stuff that maybe a little bit.
But I really can't explain this story other than she truly has
(08:58):
some psychic abilities. He shaved off his mustache.
OK, but he was in a cabin. Yeah.
In this town in Vermont, right across the Canadian border.
And she? Predicted the cabin too.
Oh yeah, yeah, that's. Yeah, I don't know how to.
The fact that she had weights put on her hips and she used a
diving belt to keep her body submerged below the water.
(09:19):
That's like so specific. Like, yeah, I.
Feel like more than she's a psychic You could convince me
she was in on the murder with how specific.
It is like it does seem too on point so.
Chris, this is the stories aboutLori Cat about a psychic witch.
So this story is about Lori Cabot and how Salem, MA got an
official witch. And it's really about the
relationship between Lori and the town of Salem and how they
(09:41):
clash. But they kind of grew together
over time. The City of Witches is clashing
with a witch. It wasn't always known as the
City of Witches. Oh, OK.
She kind of came around the sametime that they started to
embrace that title and she played a big role in that, but
she was not welcome in this townright away.
Oh, all right. I'm like where this is going
though. We'll get into a little bit
(10:02):
about Salem first. Now, despite all the hysteria
and hype about the now infamous Salem Witch Trials in 1692,
there were no real witches during this time.
This is a very sad story about 19 innocent people being
murdered by a town swept up in the religious fervor and
paranoia. Yeah, there were no actual
witches. There was just a bunch of
Puritans in the woods that were looking for people to blame for
(10:25):
bad fortune. And there's a whole witch story.
Despite no real witches being hung during this tragic time in
history, Salem overtime become known and embrace the title of
Witch city and at least something have shamelessly
profited from this town's traumatic history.
In fact, Salem is obsessed with witches.
The Salem High School mascot is the emblem of a witch silhouette
(10:48):
on her broom crossing the moon, as are the town's fire and
police badges. The town is known for its two
witch museums. Salem hosts 12 different
witchcraft shops offering mediums, tarot card readings,
herbs and crystals, and psychic readings in this relatively
small town. Now, to put this in perspective,
a quick Google search shows Boston, MA having nine places to
(11:10):
get tarot card readings. As you guys know, Boston is
much, much bigger than Salem. Salem and witchcraft seem
inseparable today, but it hasn'talways been that way.
Salem hosts a Halloween event called Haunted Happenings every
year and this takes over most ofthe city.
It starts in early October and lasts until Halloween night or
the morning after Halloween night to be more accurate.
(11:31):
I can personally attest that theweek leading up to Halloween in
Salem, parking for the event starts in Beverly about 2 * a.
Week. This event includes haunted and
historical tours, historical reenactments of the witch
trials. You'll see countless people
dressed up in costume. There's a bizarre that takes up
the entire City Park selling allkinds of trinkets and gifts.
(11:54):
From children's light up magic wands to potions and sages for
magical spells. Seemingly hundreds of psychics
and mediums and witches from allover the world come to partake
in this month long event. Salem takes its Halloween very
seriously. Salem is also the only town I
know that has an official which Laurie Cabot.
So cool. So Laurie Cabot was born March
(12:16):
6th, 1933. She was born Mercedes Elizabeth
Karsney in Oklahoma. As a child, Mercedes had an
ability to read people's thoughts and talk about events
before they happened. According to Cabot, when she was
seven she had a vision of a young boy falling off his bike
and getting stuck in a train. Trussell She was so sure of her
(12:38):
vision that her mother called the police and shortly
thereafter the boy was rescued. Wow, yeah, that's that's pretty
crazy. The family moved to the East
Coast where Mercedes as a teenager changed her name to
Laurie Cabot. While living in Boston now, she
changed her name due to her belief she was related to the
prominent Boston Brigham Cabot family.
The Brigham Cabot family were key in starting Harvard
(13:01):
University and provided the namesake for the Bring Women's a
Women's Hospital in Boston. Oh, so these are big people, big
haters? Oh yeah.
And she thinks that she's related to them.
Yeah, it's unclear. And from from my research as to
why she believed this was true and took their name.
I I don't know, maybe one of ourlisteners knows and can fill us
in. Or in my mind psychics will do
(13:22):
progressive past lives meditation so maybe she found a
connection that way. But OK.
It was just I couldn't really find why she changed her name.
But she felt that there was a connection there.
She thought she was related to this family in some way, so she
reports. While in Boston, she would study
all things Wiccan or the Hermetic religion.
(13:42):
Both of these belief systems involved the use of magic.
She would frequent the Boston Public Library, often reading
everything she could about her craft.
Laurie says she met a librarian at the Boston Public Library who
identified as a witch and recognized her psychic
abilities. Cabot studied under her guidance
until age 16. Now Laurie moved to Revere in
(14:04):
her early 20s. Fun fact, this is when Laurie
Cabot was roommates with my AuntPenny and friends with my mom
and my Aunt Judy. Kathy, insert mother-in-law joke
here. Your mom would be friends with
the witch. Wait, wait, wait.
Really? They they they knew Laurie
Cabot. Yeah, my aunt Penny was a
roommate. Yeah, in Revere back in the 20s.
Like what A. Connection.
(14:24):
How cool is that? Yeah, I didn't know that until I
started researching the story, you know?
So I was telling my mom, she's like, Oh yeah, I know her.
Yeah, she sounded. Exactly like your mom.
That was actually a pretty good.Impression.
Yeah. Well, Lori.
Yeah, I know, Lori. Let me call Judy.
Bob, get the phone. Let me call Judy.
(14:45):
Used to hang out in the parlour.Judy, do you remember?
We love you, Robin. So Lori in the late 20s moved
away to the big city, the brightlights to see it never sleeps.
She wanted her piece of New YorkCity, but after a divorce in a
failed nightclub business, she then moved back to Salem, MA in
her early 30s. This was reportedly not by
(15:06):
choice, but due to financial restraints.
You could not afford the Boston area anymore and had to move to
the cheaper suburbs of Salem. It ain't cheap anymore.
Not. Cheap anymore, but yeah, back in
the 70s it was. Random thought so you said that
Salem's high school their their mascot was like a witch on a
broom. Yes like men definitely created
the idea and emblem of what a witch looks like, right?
(15:28):
Like they're just like all right, what would a witch look
like? Well, women's would have a broom
so obviously. They need a fast getaway.
They just hop on it and. Fly away?
Yeah, they hop on the only thingthey know, the broom.
It's funny, Laurie Cabot takes issue with that as well.
Yeah. Oh, really?
Yeah. She feels like that's pretty
sexist. That's what I'm saying.
I was like this is pretty messedup.
Yeah, I'm also thinking too, though, like it's kind of you're
(15:49):
a witch or even just someone whopractices the Wiccan religion.
It's kind of like a little bit of an insult, right?
Like. I would think so.
I mean that folklore from the old world, nothing really to do
with the Wiccan or medic religions or modern witchcrafts.
I mean, maybe, maybe not, maybe maybe they embrace it.
But yeah, I don't know. It was a thought I had.
(16:10):
Sounds like maybe we're going tohear some thoughts.
Laurie Yeah. Not like Cabot, but we'll get
into that. OK, so when she moved back to
Massachusetts and moved back to Salem, Cabot opened her first
witchcraft shop with help from friends.
It sold herbs, jewels, tarot cards and other items used in
the witchcraft. Cabot reported there were a few
places to buy these types of items back then, so she made
(16:32):
most of them herself. Her first shop in Salem was
simply called the Witch Shop. This was enough because there
were no other similar shops in town or really in the area at
the time. Remember today there are 9
witchcraft shops in Salem, so she was the only one back in the
70s. So only two weeks after opening
her new place, a woman ran into a shop screaming that Cabot was
(16:53):
going to hell and was going to bring the devil to Salem.
Oh. My God, yeah.
That's a little. Dramatic.
Simmer down. Another time a man stopped his
car to yell at her that they aregoing to burn and hang you
again. What?
As she walked through Salem withher two young children.
Oh, it's so messed up. So wait, they're just doing this
because she's they're like, you're a witch and we.
Don't want to wear? She's got like a shop called the
(17:14):
Witch Shop and they're like, wow, we're just gonna be Dick
heads to you. Because she's openly practicing
at it was a witch and Salem was not as open to it back then.
That he's gonna age poorly? Yeah.
So it wasn't exactly a warm welcome by the town of Salem.
And right away she was a controversial figure.
She later moved her shop to an old gambrel roof house on Essex
(17:37):
St. and renamed it the Crow Haven Corner.
The cool name the. Shop is still open today but
it's no longer owned or managed by Cabot.
I will link a picture on Instagram of the shop because
it's just spooky looking. I wonder.
If we've been there, we we went into a couple of the shops.
Down there. Oh yeah, I remember.
It's right on Pickering Wharf. I remember passing it several
times. OK.
(17:58):
I don't remember what I ate for lunch yesterday.
Good memory, yes. I didn't remember it in Seoul, I
saw the picture again, but yes. So at one point while living at
18 Chestnut St. in Salem, her cat got stuck in a tree.
Now our cat was considered family to her.
And cats play a big role in somewitchcraft belief system.
Was it a black cat? Yes.
Yes, it was she nice. She called the fire department
(18:20):
for help and was ignored for three days and.
The cat was just in the tree forthree days.
So on day three, instead of calling the fire department, she
called the local newspaper and claimed I'm a witch, that cat is
my familiar, and the town is denying me services.
Get em Lori. That's it.
So later that day, the fire department showed up, but also
the local paper and photographers and the mayor.
(18:42):
Hell yeah, they. Did all seemingly smelling a
story or a scandal to be avoided.
So her daughters were bullied sobad at school that Lori ended up
having to homeschool them? Oh.
That's sad. That's not nice.
Yeah, the. Parents and religious leaders
used to protest when she was invited to give talks about her
theories on in history behind witchcraft.
During Halloween, evangelical Christian groups would take to
(19:05):
the streets with signs and bull horns declaring witchcraft as a
form of devil worship. Cabot Shop would take the brunt
of the hatred and the town of Salem did very little to assist
back then. So yeah, it wasn't exactly an
easy Rd. for her. Yeah.
So despite all the hatred, Salemwas also changing.
In 1970's the TV show Bewitched,its studio in California burnt
(19:29):
down. With some clever rewriting.
They changed the location to Salem, MA to play into the Salem
Witch Trials, and they filmed a few episodes on location at
Salem where the main character went back in time and faced the
witch trials. Now, this show created a renewed
interest in the city and its connection to witchcraft.
More attractions such as the Salem Witch Museum opened to
(19:50):
capitalizing the interest in theSalem Witch Trials.
Cabot's shop became much more popular in a destination for
people who are interested in or practice in the weakened
religions. According to Cabot, from then
on, she was still frequently harassed whenever she walked
through Salem's downtown. However, her story was also met
with curiosity sometimes. She started to receive interview
(20:11):
requests and began to appear on national talk shows, including
Oprah and Today Show. So her story was kind of getting
out there in a bigger way now. Cabot did walk around Salem
dressed in all black robes with dark black eye makeup, fueling
the controversy and notoriety and becoming a lightning rod for
harassment and ridicule. She refused to stay in the
(20:33):
background to tone it down, but at the same time she was staying
true to herself and her community.
So is it fair to say, say, Chris, that this situation with
her cat being stuck in the tree was a tipping point to like her
notoriety more so in the town, but like nationally, is that
really the tipping point to leadoff to all that?
I think it's a mix of several things.
I think the town at first reallyhated her.
(20:55):
Not the entire town, but most ofthe town really wanted her gone.
But as Salem started to benefit more from its association with
the witch trials and Halloween and all those things, I think
some people people started to slowly kind of let her in.
There's still some harassments 6decades later, and it's getting
(21:16):
better, moving in that direction.
But it's it's a long road for her.
Yeah. So despite the hatred, Cabot
stood her ground and continued to spread her philosophy
centered around positivity, loveand inclusion and do no harm to
others. Sounds like a wholesome witch.
Yeah, right. I mean, compared to the
evangelical Christian, she sounds like the good person of
(21:37):
the story. Yeah.
So in the mid 1970s, Governor Michael Dukakis bestowed upon
Cabot the State Patriot Award. This historical award is issued
by the Governor to honor citizens of the state for public
services which lead to the betterment, enrichment and
welfare of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
So she's simultaneously honored and despised.
(21:59):
I feel like that's just people. I mean, I think anybody who's in
the spotlight of any kind, you're going to have both sides
coming at you, right? Anybody whose difference going
to be celebrated by some and despised by others?
And the fact that once the town started financially benefiting
from her and the publicity that she was bringing to the town,
(22:20):
people are like, Oh yeah, let mebe nice to you.
But it also would probably like open the door for people who
maybe weren't anti her, kind of be more open to the idea of
getting to know her and be nice to her.
Her relationship with the town gets even crazier. 1986, the
movie Witches of Eastwick began filming nearby at the Crane
(22:41):
Estate in the town of Ipswich, afew towns over from Salem.
Cabot became alarmed by the film's inaccurate portrayal of
witchcraft and tried to get the studio not to release the movie.
When this failed, Cabot formed the Witch's League of Public
Awareness, now known as the Witch's Civil Liberty League,
which helped get paganism recognized and protected as a
religion. And they continued this work
(23:02):
last day. So yeah, speaking to your point,
she was making moves in politicsat this point.
So Cabot was quoted in Time magazine as saying Satan worship
and the eye of new toe of frog days are gone, or more properly,
never were. She said.
When people come into my shop and ask me how I should worship
the devil, I say you're in the wrong place, Cabot reported.
(23:23):
Sadly, during this interview, I've had to explain that I don't
kill babies or drink blood. Cabus tirelessly tried to
enlighten many people over the years about their
misunderstandings and biases about witchcraft, oftentimes
falling on deaf ears. So Cabin a few fellow witches
started to attend Salem town meetings and started to advocate
for witches and speak up about what they saw as biases against
(23:45):
their practices. The following year, Cabot
actually ran for mayor of Salem against then Mayor Anthony
Salvo. And.
And she dropped out of the race accordingly to focus on her
first book, The Power of the Witch.
Truthfully, she was instrumentally behind in the
polls when she dropped out, as well as working on her first
book. Man, I'd be casting some spells
(24:06):
if I was in a race. I'm just throwing it out there
like I'd be doing some shit. I'd be up to no.
Good. I know you're not supposed to
use it to benefit yourself, but I might use it to benefit others
who would then be able to benefit me.
If you read any of her words, that's that's a hard no.
You're not allowed to do that. There's got to be loopholes.
There's got to be. I'm just saying.
(24:27):
So as a business owner, Cabot did not pay her taxes for
several years. And because of a notoriety, this
was a big scandal in town and she was in the public 9 and the
newspapers again, she was able to catch up on her missing taxes
and simply reported she was not on top of that aspect of her
business at the time. But everything she did was a big
scandal. So she was a very known person.
(24:49):
So something like that hit the papers right away.
So Cabot's final shop in Salem, the Cat the Crow on the Crown
I'm Pickering Wharf, was later renamed the official witch shop.
It closes doors on February of 2012.
Now, Cabot still maintains an online business and also sells
her handcrafted magic products at Enchantments, a witch shop on
(25:10):
Pickering Wharf in Salem, as well.
She's just playing a much smaller role these.
Days she's switching around, still OK.
So Cabot had an interesting and controversial relationship with
the Sound of Salem. Cabot was clearly benefiting
from the town's obsession with witchcraft.
At the same time, she was critical of the town's
exploitation of the innocent people accused of witchcraft
(25:31):
during the Salem witch trials. She is of the town's use of a
witch on a broomstick emblem, which she believes was insulting
to practicing witches and to women in general.
She had gained a lot of notoriety and business from the
interest in the Salem Witch Trials.
At the same time, despite a rough start and ongoing
harassment in town, she was alsobeloved by this town and held in
(25:54):
a place of honor. As we did already discussed, she
was willing to help her town using her psychic abilities.
If not the town, at least poor Martha and her family.
She even ran for mayor even though she sees herself as an
outsider. So she's a very complicated
person, a very complicated relationship with the town of
Salem. To get to what you guys were
both asking about earlier, her religion and belief system is
(26:16):
based in tolerance, love and respect, and magic can only be
used to protect oneself but not to harm others.
So she couldn't use it to win the mayor's office or to make up
her unpaid taxes. If you believed she could or not
is a different story. But I mean if you believe in her
magic abilities, she could have reigned terror on this town and
our tormentors but chose not to in her own way.
(26:40):
Cabot, an independent female business owner who work on
religious rights, was part of the second wave of the feminist
movie and our long held beliefs and values were beaking to many
women who saw themselves as stuck as second class citizens.
Yeah, I kind of was thinking like you made the comment about
how, you know, she walked aroundthe town and, you know, wearing
all black and. Yeah, she's wearing black robes
(27:02):
and. Medallions even.
Just because someone's walking around and all black doesn't
mean that like the people can just treat her the way that they
want. You know what I mean?
Like it kind of like made her anoutsider.
Like, well, So what? Like they don't get to like yell
at her in front of her kids and shit and like be mean to her.
I don't know. I hate.
I hate bullies. Yes, that's more of what we need
(27:24):
in the world today. What tolerance, less people
seeing each other separate. But yes, she was just really
interesting character in this town, right?
So by the early 90s she became known as an American witch High
Priestess, the highest honor youcan receive in this community.
She has authored and co-authoredseveral books including The
Power of the Witch, Love Magic, Celebrating the Earth, the Year
(27:47):
and Pagan Holidays, The Witch and Every Woman.
The Laurie Cabot Book of Shadowsso fairly accomplished author as
well. Today she still teaches classes
on witchcraft and mentors many of its practitioners.
She continues to advocate for the rights of her religious
beliefs and works with the Witches Civil Liberty League,
(28:08):
which she started. Today, it is estimated that over
2000 people in Salem practice inthe Wiccan or Hermetic
religions. These include the use of magic
and witchcraft. Laurie's able to pave the way
for, if not make a safer place for others to practice.
So this woman's not just the Witch of Salem, she's like,
she's an icon for this like community.
(28:29):
Yeah, in this community, she's avery important figure.
Absolutely. Not even like for people who
practice Wiccan as a person in general, right?
Like she has her beliefs and what is important to her and her
values, which aren't anything that's hurting anybody.
And despite all of the negative responses that she gets and the
(28:49):
way that people are treating her, she stays true to who she
is and continues on her path. And she ends up doing really
well for herself and lives a very fulfilling life where she's
helping so many people. And it's inspiring.
And think about that. Since the 70s, Yeah.
So she's been fighting this fight for five decades.
Yeah. And.
I mean, yeah. And it's, you know, regardless
(29:11):
of whether you believe she's a real witch or not, I think that
there's something to take away from just her as a person.
Yeah. Yeah, Laurie Cabot, she's
complicated. I mean, many see her as this
provoking figure capital realizing on her controversy as
a savvy businesswoman. Every time that she was in the
news, it was good for her business, right?
Other seers are tireless human rights activists and a teacher
(29:34):
of inclusion from the stance of non judgement.
And yeah, why not both, right? Yeah.
Yeah, like I think both can be true.
And you can still be a good person, right?
You can be really doing amazing things to your community and be
a witch and just so happened to be in the right spot, the right
town where that blows up. And you would get the benefit
from everything you stand for and who you are.
That's just some really the fantastic luck.
(29:55):
Yeah. I mean, from my research, I
think Laurie can be summed up asa private person who is called
to action to kind of protect herbeliefs and the people in her
life. She has maybe stubbornly spend
most of her adult life in Salem despite her issues with the
locals. She's had a difficult but
beneficial relationship with thetown of Salem.
(30:17):
She's both ridiculed and reveredby her community.
So very interesting dynamic in person life lived.
She sounds like a strong ass woman.
Yeah. And I was just going to kind of
touch on the the fact that you said like she was kind of lucky
being in the right place and right circumstances, but she
also kind of created that luck, right, Like fire department,
they're not coming out to help her.
(30:37):
So she's like, you know what, I'm going to take this
situation, I'm going to take control of it.
Yeah. And you know, yeah.
And I think just like by taking all the negative situations that
she was sort of maybe dealt by taking control of it and turning
the tables. Dare we say manifested?
Nickname maybe manifested. Yeah.
I mean putting out the energies into the world to get back what
(30:59):
she felt she deserved. I mean, she started in this town
as a very controversial figure, but I believe the arc of time
has started to see her as a person true to her values and
character, and the message of tolerance and love and love is
seemingly starting to outlast the message of hatred and
separation. She's really becoming a big part
(31:19):
of our community and more and more accepted.
You know, without getting too preachy, I think this is a life
lived that we could all learn from.
We could all benefit from learning to drop out of
judgments and identifying what separates us and lean into
Lori's message of inclusion and respect.
I really admire her. As I was doing this research and
got into the story, that's very.Cool.
(31:40):
And she she's still. Alive.
She's still alive. Yeah.
All right. She tried to talk to the the
witch sound. Lori Cabot, would you try to get
in contact with her? That'd be cool.
I sent an e-mail through her website.
I have not heard anything back yet but definitely love to have
interview her. That'd be.
So cool. Maybe talk to her on the
podcast, if not on the podcast, just to be able to talk to her
(32:00):
and get some some things answered.
If you could ask her one question right now.
What would it be? One question.
I mean, I first of all I want toknow how she believes she was
related to the Cabots and how she why she changed her name
but. OK, I I want to know like what
does she use her powers for? Like what do you what do you do?
Helping people, I assume. But like how?
I don't know. Just I'd love to hear more.
What kind of spells are you doing on a Tuesday night?
(32:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're recording this podcast.
What were you doing? On Friday, what all you got
there? I think I would probably ask her
what she feels like her greatestlife achievement was.
Oh, OK. That's like, what?
What's that one thing that she'sthe most proud of?
I'd also like to know if she knew this was gonna be a 50 year
(32:42):
uphill battle to feel included. I think she was going to have
that fight no matter how badly it went.
She definitely has some stringent morals because as you
pointed out like there's multiple times through the store
that she if she truly does have powers and can't do stuff,
easily could have used them for bad multiple times.
I'm just imagining right now my girlfriend has some cats if Wan
(33:03):
was stuck in a tree and she called for help to.
Make. Me calm man.
Yeah, she'd be using those powers for evil.
I was thinking I'd be using my powers for evil for the person
that cut me off the last time I was on my way to the store.
Yeah, you would not be using. Your powers for good.
No magic for you. Kathy would have so much
podcast. Marriage, right bosses.
(33:25):
I have so many ideas. So, yeah, whether you believe
that she can perform magic or not, she stayed in this town for
a long time. She could have moved away.
She could have changed a lot of things, but she stayed true to
herself. And you got to respect that.
Chris, this. Is like such a uplifting and
wholesome and beautiful story. I like stories where the people
(33:48):
who just kind of get the raw endof the stick, they end up coming
out on top and being being happy.
Well, Chris, thanks again for the story.
And gang, if you consider yourself a witch, enlighten us a
little bit. If something was missed, any of
our questions out there. But like how you use magic, you
know, these answers, we want to know.
We're here to learn. We're here to embrace it.
And yeah, we really would love that.
As always, let's do a little wrap here.
(34:09):
We just want to thank you so much for listening to this
podcast. We would be absolutely nowhere
without each and every single one of you.
So if you could like this podcast, share this podcast, get
it out there to everyone. Make sure you also take a few
seconds, visit our Instagram. Chris has done a ton of research
here on this story. We'll make sure that we drop
some images on there to help bring this story to life.
(34:29):
Make sure you get us there at Weirder After Dark.
As always, everyone, it always gets a little weirder after
dark. Bye.
Thank you guys.
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