Current Press Release

TOMS RIVER – The Ocean County Library Toms River Branch will host archivist-historian Mickey DiCamillo’s presentation, “When There Were Witches: An Exploration of the Salem Witch Trials,” at two branches:

• Toms River Branch – 101 Washington Street, (732) 349-6200, 7 PM Tuesday, October 4
• Manchester Branch – 21 Colonial Drive, (732) 657-7600, 7 PM Monday, October 24

In January of 1692, a strange illness that seized five young girls in Salem Village caused townsfolk to believe they had come “under an evil hand”. Events soon spiraled out of control, with local divisions and a splintered colonial government feeding the frenzy.

Accusations of witchcraft soon emerged, and the number of suspects mushroomed. The ensuing trials led to the deaths of 19 people by execution, and several more by torture.

Mickey will unravel the events using archival documents from the period. Program attendees will have the opportunity to take part in reading transcripts of the interrogations undergone by suspected witches.

The Moorestown resident’s expertise has been employed by the University of Pennsylvania,  the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and the Hagley Museum and Library, a Smithsonian-affiliated research library in Wilmington, Delaware.

He serves on the Moorestown Historical Society’s Board of Trustees, frequently lectures about United States and New Jersey history, and has written for the Journal of Film and History and the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.

Registration at www.theoceancountylibrary.org/events is required for this free program. For more details, visit the Toms River Branch, 101 Washington Street, or call (732) 349-6200.

Keep up with Library programs and events at www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, and Pinterest.

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