"Salem Witches Institute is home to young witches and wizards hailing from the New England area (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont), as well as the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. This makes Salem one of the largest American wizarding schools in terms of student population, as well as one of the most diverse
Salem was originally conceived as an elite, hidden-in-plain-sight, all-female academy. Prominent American witches in New England protested that they were far more likely to be persecuted by muggles than their male counterparts, and thus deserved a school all their own. However, Salem only lasted a few decades past its founding in 1695, in the wake of infamous Salem Witch trials, before it opened its halls to young wizards (as well as Native American and non-Puritan/English students) in 1727.
The school continued to expand as immigrants flooded rapidly growing cities as such as New York and Boston, and Salem quickly found itself moving beyond the one manor house that had originally been expected to contain all of the students and faculty. The school played a noted role in the American Revolution as hiding place for New England rebels on the run from Redcoats, and claims (correctly or not) that several prominent figures in the war were among its alumni. It memorably staged its own Tea Party in the Salem Harbor, while 'fireworks depicting a cackling witch on broomstick chasing King George danced through the sky above'.
The Institute is located near the coastal city of Salem, Massachusetts. Heavily shielded from the muggle public and notoriously difficult to locate, even by fellow wizards, the school is said to be located on a hill overlooking the city and harbor. Secret underground tunnels connect the Institute to downtown Salem, and are frequently used by older students to visit the muggle community, although Salem has a vibrant witching district hidden within the city itself. During the autumn season, the school eases up on its strict rules of secrecy and allows students to visit Salem more freely, so long as they pass themselves off as 'witch enthusiasts' rather than actual witches.
Salem's founders (said to be a group of witches who survived the Trials, although historians and their descendants continue to argue over who the 'official' founder and first preceptor was) rejected the concept of houses, claiming that American witches needed to remain one unified force 'lest we be permanently exterminated by the fires of muggle ignorance'. While dormitories known as 'Crow House, Lynx House' and so on were established, and have become subject to certain stereotypes over the years, students are assigned to their dormitory at random, and they are kept as purposefully diverse as possible, in order to promote loyalty towards one's fellow students.
Dormitories are co-educational (although floors and rooms are single-sex), and one professor is in charge of each house, living alongside their students. Salem does not appoint prefects or heads but rather has an established Student Council, and each year elects their representatives at the beginning of the term, typically one male, one female. These representatives are sometimes derisively referred to as 'Goody Name', after the Puritan fashion of 'Goodwife'. Faculty and students dine together for meals in the main building, Good Hall. Salem does not have a force of house elves to maintain the school, and students are frequently put to work in the kitchens or cleaning, as the staff still uphold the New England ideal of 'idle hands are the devil's playthings'.
Good Hall is the administrative building (containing the headmistress' office), library, hospital wing, and dining hall. Classes are taught in Nurse Hall, Martin Hall, and Wildes Hall, all named after victims of the Salem Witch trials, which make up the outer circle of the campus, with the dormitory buildings and commons within the center. A prominent statue of Tituba, the slave (now thought to be an indigenous woman from modern day Venezuela) used as the initial scapegoat during the Trials, marks the exact center of campus. The bronze statute depicts Tituba demonstrating her magic to several curious young Puritan girls, with the inscription: Only wisdom can extinguish fear and hatred in the heart of man."
Salem was originally conceived as an elite, hidden-in-plain-sight, all-female academy. Prominent American witches in New England protested that they were far more likely to be persecuted by muggles than their male counterparts, and thus deserved a school all their own. However, Salem only lasted a few decades past its founding in 1695, in the wake of infamous Salem Witch trials, before it opened its halls to young wizards (as well as Native American and non-Puritan/English students) in 1727.
The school continued to expand as immigrants flooded rapidly growing cities as such as New York and Boston, and Salem quickly found itself moving beyond the one manor house that had originally been expected to contain all of the students and faculty. The school played a noted role in the American Revolution as hiding place for New England rebels on the run from Redcoats, and claims (correctly or not) that several prominent figures in the war were among its alumni. It memorably staged its own Tea Party in the Salem Harbor, while 'fireworks depicting a cackling witch on broomstick chasing King George danced through the sky above'.
The Institute is located near the coastal city of Salem, Massachusetts. Heavily shielded from the muggle public and notoriously difficult to locate, even by fellow wizards, the school is said to be located on a hill overlooking the city and harbor. Secret underground tunnels connect the Institute to downtown Salem, and are frequently used by older students to visit the muggle community, although Salem has a vibrant witching district hidden within the city itself. During the autumn season, the school eases up on its strict rules of secrecy and allows students to visit Salem more freely, so long as they pass themselves off as 'witch enthusiasts' rather than actual witches.
Salem's founders (said to be a group of witches who survived the Trials, although historians and their descendants continue to argue over who the 'official' founder and first preceptor was) rejected the concept of houses, claiming that American witches needed to remain one unified force 'lest we be permanently exterminated by the fires of muggle ignorance'. While dormitories known as 'Crow House, Lynx House' and so on were established, and have become subject to certain stereotypes over the years, students are assigned to their dormitory at random, and they are kept as purposefully diverse as possible, in order to promote loyalty towards one's fellow students.
Dormitories are co-educational (although floors and rooms are single-sex), and one professor is in charge of each house, living alongside their students. Salem does not appoint prefects or heads but rather has an established Student Council, and each year elects their representatives at the beginning of the term, typically one male, one female. These representatives are sometimes derisively referred to as 'Goody Name', after the Puritan fashion of 'Goodwife'. Faculty and students dine together for meals in the main building, Good Hall. Salem does not have a force of house elves to maintain the school, and students are frequently put to work in the kitchens or cleaning, as the staff still uphold the New England ideal of 'idle hands are the devil's playthings'.
Good Hall is the administrative building (containing the headmistress' office), library, hospital wing, and dining hall. Classes are taught in Nurse Hall, Martin Hall, and Wildes Hall, all named after victims of the Salem Witch trials, which make up the outer circle of the campus, with the dormitory buildings and commons within the center. A prominent statue of Tituba, the slave (now thought to be an indigenous woman from modern day Venezuela) used as the initial scapegoat during the Trials, marks the exact center of campus. The bronze statute depicts Tituba demonstrating her magic to several curious young Puritan girls, with the inscription: Only wisdom can extinguish fear and hatred in the heart of man."
