Screen depictions of the Salem witch trials (or their aftermath)
by GusF | created - 17 May 2019 | updated - 06 Feb 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Maid of Salem (1937)
Passed | 86 min | Drama
Young lovers fall afoul of repressive society as Salem elders get caught up in the witch hunts and trials of 17th century Massachusetts. One family in particular uses the hysteria to its ... See full summary »
Director: Frank Lloyd | Stars: Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Harvey Stephens, Gale Sondergaard
Votes: 347
2. I Married a Witch (1942)
Not Rated | 77 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A beautiful 17th-century witch returns to life to plague politician Wallace Wooley, descendant of her persecutor.
Director: René Clair | Stars: Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley, Susan Hayward
Votes: 7,121 | Gross: $0.31M
3.
You Are There (1953–1972)
Episode:
The Witch Trial at Salem, Massachusetts (August 1692)
(1953)
Drama, History
In Salem, Massachusetts, accused witches are sentenced to death.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Walter Cronkite, Joseph Anthony, Russ Bender, John Boruff
Votes: 7
4. The Crucible (1957)
145 min | Drama, History
Salem 1692. The young Abigail, seduced and abandoned by John Proctor, accuses John's wife of being a witch in revenge. It will be the beginning of a series of witchcraft trials and a dark moments in American history.
Director: Raymond Rouleau | Stars: Simone Signoret, Yves Montand, Jean Debucourt, Alfred Adam
Votes: 570
5. Bell Book and Candle (1958)
Approved | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A modern-day witch likes her neighbor but despises his fiancée, so she enchants him to love her instead.
Director: Richard Quine | Stars: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs
Votes: 10,048
6.
ITV Play of the Week (1955–1974)
Episode:
The Crucible
(1959)
Comedy, Drama
A Salem woman accuses her ex-lover's wife of witchcraft.
Director: Henry Kaplan | Stars: Sean Connery, Barbara Chilcott, Noel Willman, Susannah York
Votes: 16
7. Hexenjagd (1960 TV Movie)
105 min | Drama
A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
Director: Ludwig Cremer | Stars: Hans Christian Blech, Gisela Mattishent, Paul Dahlke, Beatrice Schweizer
8. The Crucible (1967 TV Movie)
135 min | Drama, History
In the Puritan New England town of Salem, Massachusetts, a group of girls go dancing in the forest with a black slave named Tituba. While dancing, they are caught by the local minister, ... See full synopsis »
Director: Alex Segal | Stars: George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst, Melvyn Douglas, Tuesday Weld
Votes: 82
9.
Bewitched (1964–1972)
Episode:
Samantha's Old Salem Trip
(1970)
TV-G | 25 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
When Sam and Darrin abruptly return home Sam is summoned back by the Witches Council. Esmerelda hastily sends Sam back to Salem - seventeenth century Salem.
Director: Richard Michaels | Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick Sargent, Agnes Moorehead, David White
Votes: 163
10.
In Search of... (1976–1982)
Episode:
Salem Witches
(1980)
23 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi
A celebration of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts featuring rare looks at coven rituals and an initiation ceremony. A scientist suggests a rational explanation lurks behind the hysteria that sparked the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93.
Stars: Leonard Nimoy, Linnda R. Caporael, Laurie Cabot, Jody Cabot
Votes: 18
11. The Time Machine (1978 TV Movie)
99 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
A scientist builds a machine that will enable him to travel back and forth in time, but when he puts it in motion, he gets more than he bargained for.
Director: Henning Schellerup | Stars: John Beck, Priscilla Barnes, Andrew Duggan, Rosemary DeCamp
Votes: 347
12. The Crucible (1981 TV Movie)
Drama, History
An adaptation of the famous play concerning the Salem witch trials.
Director: Don Taylor | Stars: Michael Harbour, Lynn Dearth, Daniel Massey, Eric Porter
Votes: 35
13.
Voyagers! (1982–1983)
Episode:
Agents of Satan
(1982)
49 min | Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi
In colonial Massachusetts, Phineas and Jeffrey must save themselves and Benjamin Franklin's mother from charges of witchcraft.
Director: Alan J. Levi | Stars: Jon-Erik Hexum, Meeno Peluce, Earl Boen, Marta DuBois
Votes: 49
14. Three Sovereigns for Sarah (1985– )
Drama, History
This is an accurate portrayal of the Salem witch trials of 1692, with real characters and original transcripts woven into the dialogue. The film is a powerful, moving story about three loving sisters accused of witchcraft.
Votes: 29
15.
Tales from the Darkside (1983–1988)
Episode:
The Apprentice
(1988)
TV-14 | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
College sophomore Sarah McBride accepts a job at Colonial Village, a tourist attraction that recreates Puritan life in 1692 Salem and allows nothing from the 20th century. But things aren't quite what they seem.
Director: Eleanor Gaver | Stars: Wayne Tippit, Haviland Morris, Katherine Elizabeth Neuman, Gary Lahti
Votes: 142
16. Hocus Pocus (1993)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A curious youngster moves to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz
Votes: 104,368 | Gross: $39.51M
17.
Saturday Night Live (1975– )
Episode:
Shannen Doherty/Cypress Hill
(1993)
TV-14 | 90 min | Comedy, Music
Director: Dave Wilson | Stars: Ellen Cleghorne, Chris Farley, Phil Hartman, Melanie Hutsell
Votes: 45
18. The Crucible (1996)
PG-13 | 124 min | Drama, History
A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
Director: Nicholas Hytner | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen
Votes: 35,572 | Gross: $7.34M
19.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996–2003)
Episode:
The Crucible
(1997)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
Sabrina is put on trial for witchcraft when her class visits historical Salem, Massachusetts.
Director: Gary Halvorson | Stars: Melissa Joan Hart, Caroline Rhea, Beth Broderick, Nate Richert
Votes: 250
20.
The Simpsons (1989– )
Episode:
Treehouse of Horror VIII
(1997)
TV-PG | 30 min | Animation, Comedy
Homer battles mutants after Springfield is annihilated by a neutron bomb; Bart has his DNA mixed with a fly; Marge is revealed to be a witch in colonial Springfield.
Director: Mark Kirkland | Stars: Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith
Votes: 1,994
21.
Charmed (1998–2006)
Episode:
The Witch Is Back
(1998)
PG-13 | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Prue is attacked by a warlock from the past, but Phoebe calls on an ancestor to help protect the sisters, and Piper works up her courage to ask Leo out.
Director: Richard Denault | Stars: Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Ted King
Votes: 727
22.
Histeria! (1998–2000)
Episode:
When America Was Young
(1999)
TV-Y | Animation, Comedy, Family
Directors: Bob Doucette, Stephen Lewis | Stars: Jeff Bennett, Julie Bernstein, Steven Bernstein, Maurice LaMarche
23.
Charmed (1998–2006)
Episode:
All Halliwell's Eve
(2000)
TV-PG | 42 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
The sisters are sent back in time on Halloween to save a baby from being born into the clutches of evil. Meanwhile, Leo and Darryl are left to keep the grimlocks at bay until the sisters return.
Director: Anson Williams | Stars: Shannen Doherty, Holly Marie Combs, Alyssa Milano, Brian Krause
Votes: 695
24. Salem Witch Trials (2002 TV Movie)
240 min | Drama, History
A masterful work accurately details the current consensus of what exactly occurred to prompt the colonial witch trials.
Director: Joseph Sargent | Stars: Kirstie Alley, Henry Czerny, Gloria Reuben, Jay O. Sanders
Votes: 739
25. The Lords of Salem (2012)
R | 101 min | Horror, Thriller
Heidi, a radio DJ, is sent a box containing a record - a "gift from the Lords". The sounds within the grooves trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past. Is Heidi going mad, or are the Lords back to take revenge on Salem, Massachusetts?
Director: Rob Zombie | Stars: Sheri Moon Zombie, Meg Foster, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips
Votes: 28,105 | Gross: $1.16M
26. The Conjuring (2013)
R | 112 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren work to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their farmhouse.
Director: James Wan | Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
Votes: 447,239 | Gross: $137.40M
27. The Secret Village (2013)
Not Rated | 89 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Two strangers research a mysterious outbreak of mass hysteria in a small village.
Director: Swamy M. Kandan | Stars: Jonathan Bennett, Ali Faulkner, Richard Riehle, Stelio Savante
Votes: 972
28. American Horror Story (2011– )
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
An anthology series centering on different characters and locations, including a house with a murderous past, an insane asylum, a witch coven, a freak show circus, a haunted hotel, a possessed farmhouse, a cult, the apocalypse, and a slasher summer camp.
Stars: Lady Gaga, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Sarah Paulson
Votes: 279,816
"American Horror Story: Coven" (2013)
29. Salem (2014–2017)
TV-MA | 60 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Supernatural horror loosely based on Salem's 17th century witch trials.
Stars: Janet Montgomery, Shane West, Seth Gabel, Tamzin Merchant
Votes: 22,246
30.
Timeless (2016–2018)
Episode:
The Salem Witch Hunt
(2018)
TV-PG | 43 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
While Wyatt sneaks away from the bunker to face an unbelievable truth, Lucy, Rufus and Flynn chase the Mothership to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials.
Director: Guy Ferland | Stars: Abigail Spencer, Matt Lanter, Malcolm Barrett, Paterson Joseph
Votes: 1,146
31.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (2016– )
Episode:
Witch Hunt
(2018)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Legends find themselves headed to the Salem witch trials, where they learn that a magical creature in town is causing problems they hadn’t expected.
Director: Kevin Mock | Stars: Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Tala Ashe, Jes Macallan
Votes: 1,418
32. The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope (1972)
35 min | Short, Drama, History
A bizarre series of events focused on young women in the village of Salem causes paranoia in the late 1600s. It ends with the lynching of the accused and subsequent releases from jail. Dark and gritty, but not frightening.
Director: Dennis Azzarella | Stars: Alek Primrose, Roman Makarenko, Irene Bunde, Graham Jarvis
Votes: 29
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