The Curse of Giles Corey: A Haunting Tale from Massachusetts

Brooklyn shakespeare
3 min readJun 16, 2023
Photo by Peter Kvetny on Unsplash

The Salem Witch Trials have long captivated the imagination with their dark history, but within this infamous chapter lies a particularly chilling story: the curse of Giles Corey. Giles Corey met a gruesome fate during the trials, enduring a slow death by pressing as heavy rocks were stacked upon him in an attempt to force a confession. What makes his tale even more unsettling is the legend that he uttered a curse against Salem in his dying moments. The curse has been associated with eerie occurrences, including Corey’s ghostly apparition appearing before impending disasters, such as a devastating fire in 1914. Additionally, the Salem sheriff’s office has been plagued by a series of tragedies, starting with the sudden death of George Corwin, the sheriff who presided over the trials.

Giles Corey’s Gruesome Fate:

During the Salem Witch Trials, Giles Corey, an accused individual, met a horrifying end. As a means of extracting a confession, Corey was subjected to the practice of pressing, where increasingly heavy rocks were placed upon his body. Refusing to enter a plea, he endured this excruciating torment until his eventual death. The brutality of Corey’s demise sets the stage for the haunting tale that follows.

The Curse Against Salem:

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