Salem on Halloween Night.... 2014
I went to downtown Salem Halloween night and experienced the large crowds, the mini concerts and a haunted house. My friends and I walked from Salem State University all the way to downtown Salem. The walk was good until we got towards the outer rim of downtown. The crowd on Halloween was insane. Me and the group of people I was with had to form a human chain to make sure we didn’t lose each other. Other than the large group of people, there wasn’t much going on. People had some neat costumes like Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc. The most exciting part was the concerts. There were little mini concerts going on all around downtown Salem. My friends and I listened and sang along with the musicians. Some were put on radio stations.
I was hoping that downtown was going to be more fun than it was. Everything was way too crowded and there wasn’t anything to really do. It was a little over whelming. We decided to go to a haunted house in hopes that it would be a little bit more fun. The haunted house cost eight dollars to get in. There were three different levels of scariness to experience. I choose the scariest level. The decorations and sound effects were pretty good. It was extremely dark. Nothing really jumped out at me or frightened me. Only one guy followed my group around and jumped out at us at the end. After that we walked back to Salem State University and got in our pajamas and had a scary movie night. We watched Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween Two, and Jeepers Creepers Two. That was my Salem Halloween experience. I wish there was more to it, but it was still a fun time.
I was hoping that downtown was going to be more fun than it was. Everything was way too crowded and there wasn’t anything to really do. It was a little over whelming. We decided to go to a haunted house in hopes that it would be a little bit more fun. The haunted house cost eight dollars to get in. There were three different levels of scariness to experience. I choose the scariest level. The decorations and sound effects were pretty good. It was extremely dark. Nothing really jumped out at me or frightened me. Only one guy followed my group around and jumped out at us at the end. After that we walked back to Salem State University and got in our pajamas and had a scary movie night. We watched Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween Two, and Jeepers Creepers Two. That was my Salem Halloween experience. I wish there was more to it, but it was still a fun time.
Final Project:
The Deadly Side of Salem, Massachusetts
The Tragic Murder of Captain Joseph White
When people think of Salem the first thing that comes to mind is usually the Salem Witch Trials. Most other criminal acts have long been forgotten or have not been brought to the hype of that of the Salem Witch Trials. We rarely hear the story of Captain Joseph White, a victim of murder in Salem, Massachusetts that happened long after the witch trials.
It was the year 1830 on April 5th around 9:40 at night at 128 Essex Street, Salem, Massachusetts, when 82 year-old Captain Joseph White went off to bed. There was no way he could know that he would not be waking up the next morning. Sadly, his death did not occur from old age like most 82 year-old men. Captain Joseph White happened to be murdered in cold blood.
Captain Joseph White was a shipmaster and a trader. He built his house in the year 1804. By the time Captain White was 82 years old, he was widowed with no children. He now lived with his niece Mary Beckford, servant Lydia Kimball, and his distant relative Benjamin White.
The next morning, April 6th, at 6 o’clock Benjamin White awoke like every other day. He went down the stairs to the kitchen where he found the window in the back of the house was open and a plank was hanging against it. Unsure of what was going on, Benjamin went to find their servant, Lydia Kimball. The both of them realized that there was a potential break in. They decide to go check on Captain White. The two of them walked up the staircase to the second floor to find Captain White’s bedroom door wide open.
Captain White was laying on his right side across his bed on angle. There was a bruise on his left temple and blood coming from his chest. His body felt ice cold. Shocked by the old man’s death, Benjamin called Captain White’s nephew, Stephen White. Stephen White then sent for Salem physician, Samuel Johnson and Captain White’s businessman, William Ward. While waiting, the looked around to see if anything in the house was missing, but nothing was.
Johnson examined Captain White’s body. He found that Captain White had most likely been murdered three to four hours prior to his arrival. The body was not as cold as Benjamin and Lydia thought it was. While Johnson was busy examining the body, Ward found two muddy footprints next to the plank near the opened window. What once was Captain White’s house had become a murder scene.
During 1830, citizens were to decide if a crime took place by watching an autopsy be performed on the victim. Doctor Johnson performed a quick autopsy in front of the citizens of Salem. It was more than obvious from looking at the body, that someone wanted him dead. Captain White had a blow to the head and thirteen stab wounds to the chest area. Doctor Johnson figured that based on the wounds, only one person was involved in the slaying along with only one weapon.
A full autopsy was not performed until late afternoon on April 8th. Doctor Johnson was assisted by Doctor Abel Pierson to perform the autopsy. They discovered that the skull had been fractured by what was either a cane or a bludgeon.
Examining the chest wounds, they found that they were cause by a dirk, known as a sharp dagger. Though Doctor Johnson believed that there was still only one murderer, Doctor Pierson did not agree. Doctor Pierson felt that the wounds proved that there were multiple murderers at the scene.
When the autopsy report was finished, Stephen White decided to allow the Salem Gazette to post the autopsy report in the paper. The idea of well-known local man being murdered in what seamed to be cold blood, shook the town of Salem. Residents began to arm themselves fearing that they would be next. Not long after, the whole nation became immersed by the crime.
It didn’t take long for accusations to arise. One of the accused was Stephen White. Stephen’s brother-in-law accused him of being the murder due to the large inheritance of Captain White’s estate that he received after Captain White’s death. Not to long before Captain White’s death, Captain White changed his will giving Stephen most of his estate.
A week after Captain White’s death, Stephen received a letter from a man named Hitch. Hitch was in jail in New Bedford. In his letter he mentioned that he had information on the murder of Captain White. Hitch explained that he over heard Richard and George Crowninshield having a discussion in the Salem Commons about stealing Captain White’s iron chest.
Hitch testified before the Salem grand jury. The jury indicted Richard Crowninshield on murder charges on May 15th. George and two others were to be charged with abetting the crime. They were all detained in the Salem Gaol.
Soon after, Joseph Knapp Senior received a letter demanding 350 dollars signed by Charles Grant. Joseph Knapp Junior suggested to him that he give it to the Committee of Vigilance. The Committee decided to send Charles Grant 50 dollars anonymously. They traced the person who received the money. It turns out that the person was really John C. R. Palmer. Palmer was arrested as an accessory to the crime.
Palmer was promised immunity if he testified against Richard. Palmer admitted to over hearing George tell Richard that John Frank Knapp wanted them to kill Captain White and that Joe Junior Knapp would pay them 1,000 dollars to do it. The Knapp brothers were then arrested and placed in the Salem Gaol along side the Crowninshield brothers.
Joe also made a deal and was promised immunity for his testimony. Joe admitted that he attempted to steal Captain White’s will four days prior to Captain White’s murder. What he didn’t know was that the real will was with Captain White’s lawyer. White had already updated it from his grand niece, Mary Beckford Junior, to Stephen. Joe burned the stolen paper the day after the murder.
The Knapp brothers and the Crowninshield brothers met at 8 o’clock at night on April 2nd to discuss the plan. Joe had designed the club that was used to knock out Captain White. Richard climbed into Captain White’s house around 10 o’clock on April 5th and murdered Captain White.
On June 15th around 2 o’clock in the afternoon, Richard Crowninshield hanged himself in jail. Since Richard was not convicted yet of the crime, the jury was having difficulty convicting the others involved. The jury eventually did convict Frank Knapp for murder. September of 1830, Frank was hanged in front of Salem Gaol. Joseph was hanged in the same spot three months later after his same conviction. George on the other hand, was acquitted of all charges. The other two men involved were discharged without a trial.
Salem, Massachusetts is a city of more than just Halloween fun. It is a city filled with a rich history of violence. Besides the witch trials, there was a murder for hire, and it surely was not the last crime to take place. Underneath the persona of a beautiful and fun city, are the dead bodies of victims murdered in cold blood.
Work Cited :
Wagner, E. J. "A Murder In Salem." History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
"Murder for Hire in Salem: The 1830 Murder of Captain Joseph White - The Blood Sprayer." The Blood Sprayer. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
Chtistianson, Stephen G. "Francis & Joseph Knapp | Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers." Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
Salem Witch Trials. Digital image. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 July 2014. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Captain Joseph White's House. Digital image. Wikimedia.org. Web. 06 Dec. 2014.
Morrison, Dane Anthony., and Nancy Lusignan Schultz. "Margaret Press: Salem as Crime Scene." Salem: Place, Myth, and Memory. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2004. N. pag. Print