Historian Richard Trask is a leading authority on the Salem witch-hunt of 1692. He serves as Town Archivist for Danvers (formerly Salem Village), Massachusetts, where he is custodian of all early town records, the Brehaut Witchcraft Collection, and tens of thousands of manuscripts. He is also curator of the Rebecca Nurse Homestead and vice-president of the Danvers Alarm List Company, an 18th century militia organization. He chaired the Salem Village Witchcraft Tercentennial Committee from 1990 to 1992.

Trask has written numerous books and articles on Salem, including a dissertation on the village demographics of 1692. His family has lived in the area since 1627, and two of his ancestors were hanged as witches. He restored the 17th-century house where he dwells with his wife and daughter.

We thank our readers for their thoughtful questions, and we hope you’ll read Richard Trask’s insightful replies. Due to pressing commitments, he is not available for further questions from our online audience.

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