For my review of a museum website, I chose to look at the website for the Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The museum is designed to look old and creepy, with its description of the museum written like a novel. It describes what a description of a with would have looked and acted like according to 1692 superstition. There is even an exhibit dedicated to the perception of witches through the years and even to the present day practice of witchcraft. This is a description taken from the website:
"You are invited into the exhibit space by a picture of Macbeth's three witches, examples of the stereotype. Next you see nine images on a wall - all can be labeled "witch" but by their variety you conclude that file definition of the word has changed as our beliefs and customs have evolved. The images range from the witch in Hansel and Gretel to the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz to Joan of Arc and John and Elizabeth Proctor of the Salem trials."
The website also includes a list of frequently asked questions about witches including those women, and five men, who were convicted and put to death during the Salem Witch Trials. There is even a link posted so that you can trace your ancestry to see if you are related to anyone involved in the trials.
Not only this, but the website has a description of the history of Salem itself. Overall, I would love to visit this museum given the chance, and the website is a valuable tool in determining your level of interest in the museum.
That website and museum sound very interesting! I especially liked the part where you can trace your families lineage and see if you are related to any of the people that went through the trial. The dark and ominous novelesque descriptions on the website and the styling of the building seem to play into the whole witchery and dark magic theme. I also found it interesting that the museum had not only historical witches but also witches from television and children's stories. One thing I have often wondered is how people in the olden days would think of us now. I mean we have magic talking picture boxes (TV), we can control fire through lighters and other devices, and we can even fly through the air with the aid of planes and helicopters. I think it is funny how the definition of a witch has changed and that any one of us could be considered one back in the day.
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