In which present-day state did the Salem witch trials take place?

The Salem witch trials took place in the present-day state of Massachusetts.

The trials occurred in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, an English colony that later became part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The accusations began in Salem Village, which is now Danvers. The formal examinations and trials were held mainly in Salem Town, now the city of Salem, which served as the regional center.

The crisis was not confined to modern Salem. Accusations, arrests, imprisonments, and examinations also reached communities such as Andover, Ipswich, Topsfield, and Boston. Nineteen people were executed by hanging, Giles Corey died under pressing after refusing to enter a plea, and several others died in jail between 1692 and 1693.

A common geographical mistake is to treat Salem Village and Salem Town as the same place. They were separate communities in the colonial period, although both are in present-day Massachusetts. Another mix-up is confusing the Salem trials with witchcraft prosecutions elsewhere in New England, including Connecticut. Salem is the best-known episode, but it formed part of a wider colonial history of witchcraft accusations.