Our historian interview today is with Richard Drask. Since 1972 he served as the archivist

for the town of Danvers, that's old Salem Village, overseeing one of the most extensive

imprint collections on Salem Witchcraft in the country. His expertise in the Salem Witchcraft

era has allowed him to direct the excavation of the Samuel Paris Parcinage Archaeological

site. He's also served as curator of the 1678 Rebecca Nurse Homestead and is the author

of the book The Devil Half Been Raised and co-editor of the 2009 Cambridge University Press

Volume Records of the Salem Witch Hunt. Not only that, but he's a descendant of several

witchcraft victims. He has taught American history and architecture, was an 18th century

re-enactor for over two decades, and has lectured extensively throughout New England.

Trasca served as a consultant for CBS News, the President John F. Kennedy assassination

Records Review Board, and the National Archives. And I had a chance to sit down with Trasca

this past summer, and we had a great chat that I can't wait to share with you. So without

further delay, let's get on with the show. This is the Unabscured Interview Series for

Season 1. I'm Aaron Mankey.

My name is Richard Trasca. I'm a townie in the town of Danvers, and most people haven't

heard of the name Danvers before, but our old name was Salem Village. And this is

ground zero of the witchcraft of Salem Village in 1692. And as a kid, I used to go to my

grandparents very often, and my grandmother would tell me stories about one of our ancestors

who was hanged as a witch, Mary Estee. She was a sister of Rebecca Nurse, more well-known

of the witchcraft victims. And I used to look at a book in their small library, which was

an early 20th century book called Salem Witchcraft by, fell by the name of Nevans. And that

just got me very interested in the subject, and I've been with it since almost an adolescent.

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