Witch Hunt - history told in music, sound, and story

The history of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials told through music and story-telling in a format recalling an old time radio drama with a modern experimental prog-rock twist. Witch Hunt borrows freely from original sources of information from the time of the trials such as letters, books, poems, transcriptions of the trials themselves, as well as melodies from the Puritan hymn books. The music is highly original art-rock ranging from soft ambient soundscapes to heavy power riffs with many other stops along the way. The narrator provides a story teller voice that weaves a historical thread throughout each episode. Witch Hunt is conceived, written, and produced by Brian O'Connell, who records and produces the show, playing a wide variety of instruments and voice parts. O'Connell is a well known bassist and composer in New England who has performed with: Arukah, Dead Man's Waltz, Uncle Sammy, Gordon Stone, Gary Backstrom, Dave Brunyak, Interminable, and many others. In 2012 Brian debuted his rock opera Over The Line, a Jungian journey through modern consciousness, for a successful series of performances in Boston. Brian O'Connell - voice, 6 and 12 string guitars, fretted and fretless bass, upright bass, touch guitar, sintir, keyboards, moog synth, percussion Mike Harmon - drums, cymbals, percussion Rachel Koppelman - accordion www.brianvoconnell.com

Episodes

Episode 6 - A Gospel Woman

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntThis episode tells the story of Martha Corey, the fourth person accused of witchcraft. She was the wife of Giles Corey who is famously known for being cru...

October 31, 2024 • Episode 6 • 31:38

Episode 5 - Examinations

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntThe three suspected witches are now in custody in Salem Village and are publicly examined by colonial magistrates at the Meeting House. The first two suspects, local beggar woman Sarah Good and the scan...

October 30, 2023 • Episode 5 • 37:59

Episode 4 - Accusations

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntThe hysterical and violent fits of the young girls in Salem Village spreads from the family of Minister Samuel Parris to that of Thomas Putnam, the head household of one of the most powerful families in...

October 26, 2022 • 21:40

Episode 3 - Fits

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntDuring the extremely cold winter of 1692 an intense frustration has been building in Salem Village, a small farming community up the road from the more prosperous and worldly port city of Salem Town.&nb...

March 09, 2021 • Season 1 • Episode 3 • 27:14

Episode 2 - The City on a Hill

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntSamuel Parris takes on the job as minister to Salem Village, a marginalized farming community split by rivalry and controversy. Salem Village is overshadowed by the larger and much more prosperous Salem...

October 31, 2020 • Season 1 • Episode 2 • 23:12

Episode 1 - Tituba's Journey

https://www.patreon.com/Witch_HuntThis is the story of an Arawak woman called Tituba: how she was kidnapped by the English from South America when she was just a young girl and enslaved. Growing up on a plantation in Barbados, she absor...

September 29, 2020 • Season 1 • Episode 1 • 25:37