Jim Regan - Site Reviews
The "Witches" of Burkittsville and The Salem Witchcraft Trials
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First up is The "Witches" of Burkittsville, created by residents of the real village fictionally portrayed in the underground movie hit "The Blair Witch Project." Apparently, overenthusiastic fans are having a difficult time separating fact from fiction, and the site -- which could be subtitled "People, it's just a movie!" -- is an attempt to put everything back into its proper perspective.
(Living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I was witness last summer to a similar phenomenon arising from the movie Titanic -- as people travelled thousands of miles to place flowers on the grave of a below-decks crewman who happened to have the same last name as a fictional passenger portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Of course, Halifax's population was large enough to more easily absorb the invasion, and commercial interests were fairly drooling over the opportunities presented by the premature deaths of some 1500 people, but the 200 citizens of Burkittsville don't even have a pay phone with which to squeeze some compensation from the misguided pilgrims, and they would rather that everyone just calmed down and got a grip on the facts.)
This attempt at anti-disinformation is divided into four sections. First is Truth? You Can't Handle The Truth!, which offers information about the film makers (with links to their sites) as well as some genuine Burkittsville history and folklore. Just The Facts Ma'am is a FAQ page, directly addressing specific points, while Burning News From Burkittsville provides a glimpse of the very real impact from the movie -- from stolen signs to fires in the graveyard. (It would seem that some fans also had trouble grasping the effect that an open flame -- candles -- might have in the immediate vicinity of drought dried grass.)
Still, the citizens are maintaining a sense of humor about the hype, and in an effort to appease determined souvenir hunters, You Want A Piece Of This? offers written correspondence from "real" volunteer witches and wizards -- complete with a Burkittsville postmark -- to anyone who sends a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Finally, at the bottom of the home page is an indication of just what the people of Burkittsville are up against. This site is a part of The Blair Witch Project Webring, which at last count included 69 Websites. (It's safe to assume that the majority are not of the 'debunking' variety.)
The week's second featured site moves from the fictional to the all too real - The Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692. Part of the not quite accurately named "Famous Trials of the 20th Century" Website, maintained by the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School, The Witchcraft Trials provides not only the facts of the trials themselves, but also a glimpse at the motivations and perceptions that helped bring them about.
The primary link from the homepage is An Account of Events in Salem, a hyperlinked narrative of the trials, describing the various circumstances that led to the execution of 19 men and women between June and September of 1692. Links in the text, as well as those on the homepage, take the visitor to more detailed information, such as Biographies of the main characters, an example of an Arrest Warrant, transcripts of Examinations and Evidence and petitions of condemned witches awaiting execution, as well as those of survivors asking for compensation.
Also included is the text of the book, "Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions," written three years before the trials, and known to be in the library of Samuel Parris -- the Salem minister whose daughter first displayed the 'symptoms' of witchcraft.
In a very different times, in very different contexts, both these sites show the consequences of people holding on to whatever confirms their wishes, while ignoring all evidence to the contrary. Fortunately for the people of Burkittsville, they only have to deal with movie groupies, but both sites show that, regardless of when or why, "Some people are just going to believe what they want to believe."
At least that's what I overheard Elvis saying in a donut shop last week.
The "Witches" of Burkittsville can be found at http://www.burkittsville.org/.
The Salem Witchcraft Trials can be found at http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/salem.htm. (Note: The author regrets that he can not reveal the location of the above mentioned donut shop, for reasons of public safety and crowd control.)
Jim Regan provides 'Today's Links' to the e-Monitor. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.