Well, that’s a loaded title, isn’t it? Last weekend my husband Gary and I took a trip to Salem, Massachusetts to see a new exhibition at PEM (Peabody Essex Museum). It’s called Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums, and it runs until February 2, 2025. We’ve visited Salem many times and have been to PEM four or five; it’s always greatly enjoyable. When I had read about this new exhibition, I just had to go.
The spirit world
I’ve always been intrigued by mediumship – or claims of mediumship. After my dad passed away in 2022 I read several books on the subject. I’m also very intrigued by spiritualism, haunted houses, ghost hunting, seances, even the tradition of Ouija and other spirit boards… basically discussions of “the spirit world” in general. I am not a complete true believer, but believer I am. I have had too many of my own experiences to simply dismiss. But I do not immediately believe, and I do not believe without considering more concrete or reasonable explanations.
The exhibition
We arrived in Salem just after PEM opened. The museum already had a good number of visitors, and the exhibition was popular and busy. It’s actually pretty cool that there were so many people there. I think that despite our inclination to doubt before we believe, there is still at least the desire for something to believe in. We aren’t all just automatic skeptics.
The exhibition was great. We were impressed by the extent and variety of the pieces on display, and by how well each piece was presented and described. The posters and newspaper advertisements for different mediums or magicians were thought-provoking. Supposed “spirit photography” was so interesting to see, considering that people at one time truly believed it to be authentic. A photo of a child who had passed was protected by a heavy curtain, so visitors could decide whether or not to look at this object (I actually declined to look). The death mask of a very old woman was probably the most poignant item for me personally.
The curators did an excellent job selecting these pieces, as well as recreating devices that in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were claimed to bring forth spirits and other entities. This wasn’t quite a hands-on experience, and certainly it was experienced through a contemporary filter, but it did very much demonstrate what people would have seen.
Some major figures were represented as well. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was apparently very much a believer. Not only that, he was a defender of mediumship as well as fairy photography. Harry Houdini was honored with quite a bit of exhibit space, and a number of famous (or infamous) mediums were of course also represented.
Memorabilia and souvenirs
I was not able to take photos during the exhibition, but I did purchase the accompanying exhibition book. Also for sale were a selection of prints of posters from the exhibition, as well as a good number of titles on ghost hunting, mediumship, and even a Salem Ouija Board (that I was so tempted to buy!). I had been hoping for a t-shirt – I have a t-shirt from an earlier PEM exhibition (It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection) that I love – but I admit I do not need any more graphic tees!
Salem Witch Trials 1692 Exhibition
After enjoying Conjuring the Spirit World, we grabbed a late lunch around the corner, then returned to PEM to see the Salem Witch Trials 1692 exhibition.
In all the times we have been to the museum, we had not checked this one out. A smaller, ongoing exhibition, it was effective in portraying the time, and just how brutal the accused’s fates were. Much respect was shown to the accused men and women, and there was appropriate messaging regarding intolerance and injustice. The exhibition featured historic court documents, as well as recorded testimonies of the accused. There were a number of pieces preserved from victims and their families: a walking stick, a cane, a cabinet; leaded glass windows, a (beautiful) wooden door, and heavy wooden pieces of a wall from a jail cell. This last was quite moving to see; it was immense and foreboding, when considering it had held an innocent person in their final days.
I would suggest that despite its smaller size, this exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in the witch trials. And of course, I highly recommend seeing Conjuring the Spirit World. If you can get there in October, even better for enjoying the city. Salem – the Witch City – in October is a very fun experience, and can’t be missed for a great Halloween season. I already look forward to my next trip to Salem, and to PEM.
We wrapped up our afternoon in Salem, having spent all of our time at the museum. Then we headed north to the shore. I do love Salem, and love walking around and shopping in the Witch City… but the beach was calling…
~ Nellie