Chez Chesler

BostonHerald.com - Local/ Regional News: Salem's `Bewitched' statue ready for closeup The statue is one of five that TV Land has had installed across the country "to honor people, places and moments from our TV heritage". As popular as the TV show was, some residents of Salem are less than thrilled that Samantha is getting a prominent place in the city. During the 1692 witchcraft hysteria, 19 men and women were executed. If Salem, all of Salem, treated the event solemnly, they'd have a leg to stand on. This is the city with Halloween as its national holiday, that celebrates modern witches, and whose witch museum is touristy kitsch. (Better to visit the House of Seven Gables, Salem Willows, or Pickering Wharf.) In any case, what is the connection between the witches of folklore, like in MacBeth, turning people into frogs, and modern practitioners of wicca? So much of what I hear is "No, that is not us at all" -- so why share the name?