Fitch Bits: Mary Dyer - The Witch of the Common

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Watch the short above and read the article below!

This post was originally shared as a Facebook and Instagram "DID YOU KNOW" post.

We share them weekly and you can get in on the fun by liking us at Facebook.com/TheNewSlightlyOddFitchburg and following us at Instagram.com/SlightlyOddFitchburg! Now onto the odd story!


DID YOU KNOW

that there's a Witch of the Common?

Mary Dyer is her name, and getting unjustly executed is her game!

This woman was hanged on the Gallows Tree on Boston Common in 1660. If you don't know what the Gallows Tree is, it doesn't exist anymore. It was used to hang many a folk, back in the day, but it fell over in 1876.

Anyway, Mary was a Quaker in Puritan-run Boston and liked to preach her religion on the streets. That ruffled more than a few Puritan feathers, and there was nothing they enjoyed more than a good hangin'!

There's a lot to this fascinating story, but I'm limited in space with these posts, so I'd like to write a real story about her soon. Suffice it to say, she was executed by the Puritans and is said to return to the spot of her death "every 25 years to inspire some man or woman or boy or girl with the desire... of living a noble life."

That means that she's returning from the grave to continue preaching her Quaker faith, and that's a serious amount of dedication! Her next scheduled appearance is June 1, 2025, so mark your calendars! If you don't want to wait, you can see her statue right in front of the State House.

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About the Author

Ed Sweeney documents folklore, odd history, hauntings, and cryptid cases at SlightlyOddAmerica.com. He wrote Slightly Odd Fitchburg: The Odd and Haunted History of Central Massachusetts, is a content creator, and founder of the Slightly Odd Society

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