History, Documentary | 01 January 1993

Witchcraft first cast its dark spell in America over Salem, Massachusetts 300 years ago, igniting hysteria, court trials, and burnings at the stake. But the cult of the supernatural could not be snuffed out, for it has always possessed the dreadful power to rekindle itself. As it did in 19th-century New Orleans, where a notorious voodoo queen presided over bloody rituals and bestial orgies. Or in 1928 Pennsylvania, where three men slaughtered an alleged witchdoctor to break a hex. Examine these and other gruesome historical events through interviews with real-life witches - including actual descendants of the Salem Witch Trials - who insist that their practice is a force for both good and evil. In the end, they offer a live ritual ceremony as haunting evidence of their eternal legitimacy.