 In 1692, the Salem witch trials saw more than 200 people accused and 20 executed and they were mostly single women land owners on charges of witchcraft, fuelled by religious hysteria, misogyny, and fear of the "other." It was a moral panic that punished non-conformity, independence, and female power. Over three centuries later, and the ghosts of those trials haven’t gone away. As Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation once said: “The trial never ended.” And for witches like Gretchan Wylder in 2025, that line feels less like fantasy and more like autobiography.
This isn’t allegory. It’s a true story. Gretchan, a self-described tarot card-reading lesbian witch, finds herself harassed and threatened with eviction by a Christian cult who live in the woods of modern-day Salem. It sounds absurd until you remember where we are in Salem: the town that once burned witches, and now sells fridge magnets of them. Salem today is a contradiction: on one hand, a Halloween mecca that leans into its witch past with gift shops and guided tours. On the other, it remains home to devout evangelical communities who see Gretchan’s mere existence as a threat. “There’s no hate quite like Christian love,” Gretchan quips a line delivered with so much painful accuracy it earns both laughter and a wince. Raised in the church herself, Gretchan knows exactly what kind of “love” they offer. This is a religion that would rather send her to a conversion camp to “zap and pray the gay out of her” than accept her as she is. Her story takes us from the conservative Midwest to New York’s performance scene, before landing in Salem where she finds a cottage and dares to make it her home. The trouble is, witches aren’t supposed to have homes. And so begins the campaign of harassment, and whispers of arson—new methods for old crimes, but still rooted in the desire to burn the witch. What elevates the show is not just its story but its storytelling. Gretchan doesn’t just recount events but she performs them. Using video footage and donning costumes and wigs to play an entire cast of characters, she breathes life into the absurdity and horror of her experiences with razor-sharp wit. From evangelical preachers to nosy neighbours with pitchfork energy, she shifts voices and personas with great comic’s timing. Beneath the humour, there’s an urgent feminist critique pulsing through the piece. Gretchan draws sharp attention to how Christianity, over centuries, has systematically erased women’s influence from scripture and structure alike. The Bible, she argues, has been trimmed and tailored to uphold patriarchy, its original female voices buried or rewritten. Her performance becomes a reclamation—not just of space, but of history. At once hilarious and harrowing, Gretchan’s story is a reminder that while witch hunts may look different today, they haven’t gone away. Whether it’s the 1690s or the 2020s, the punishment for being too queer, too outspoken, too female or simply too different remains chillingly familiar. Lee Hutchison 2025 Salem Witch Trial Venue: Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street Dates: August 6th - 23rd (excluding 10th and 17th) Time: 2200 Tickets: 2025 Salem Witch Trial | Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
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