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We call it a spectral attack – the work of witches.
— Cotton Mather[src]

A Specter, sometimes referred to as Hag, is a malevolent spirit at the service of a witch that is commonly employed to haunt and scare a witch's victim for various reasons. This occurrence is referred to as a spectral attack.

Description

Vanishing hag

Mary's spectre fading away

A specter is a supernatural entity at the disposal of a witch in a similar fashion to a familiar, albeit with different tasks. The specter appears as a hideous hag. Whenever a witch looks at their reflection in the mirror, they see the specter that is suppose to reflect their damned soul. However, witches can prevent this and cast a human reflection as well so as not to arouse suspicion. These entities can be conjured on command and projected wherever the witch desires to cause trouble. The methods of conjuration may be different and in line with the habits of the witch in question. A witch with an affinity with the element of water, like theCountess Von Marburg, may resort to wells as a conduit to her spectral attacks whereas another witch may prefer staring at the flames of the fireplace like Mary Sibley did to haunt Mercy Lewis. A specter can be send to haunt victims and feed on them, as this was the case of Mercy Lewis.

Notable Specters

Anne Hale's Specter

Anne's spectre gif 307

Anne Hale showing her true self

The specter of Anne Hale, a powerful cradle witch has the appearance of a hag with a charred body, bloodshot yellow eyes and burned clothing. This is possibly the most frightening of the specters the haunted Salem, Massachusetts. Except for a single instance of Mary Sibley's spectral attack, Anne Hale's specter is the only one shown several times acting as a separate entity from its mistress rather than a terrifying projection of the witch's consciousness as it not only haunted her victims, but Anne herself. Interestingly enough, Anne's specter has the likeness of a charred hag while that of her mother, Countess Von Marburg, that of a hag with the body of a drowned corpse.

Countess Von Marburg's Specter

Countess Von Marburg's Specter is a hag with livid skin, a hooked nose, and large clawed hands. The appearance of this specter is reminiscent of someone who died at sea, or at least of a being that has submerged underwater for an extended time. This can be noticed by the rotting clothes, soaking wet hair and livid and swollen skin. The specter is also dressed in fishing nets and soaked rags.

Mary Sibley's Specter

Mary Sibley's Specter was a hag with shriveled skin and sparse strands of greasy hair. This specter is covered by an old rag that hides the pudenda. This specter has been widely used by Mary Sibley for her purposes, especially haunting the daughter of local minister, Mercy Lewis in order to pull the strings behind the Salem Witch Trials. This hag fed on Mercy Lewis, leaving bite-marks and bruises in areas of the body that Mercy could not have inflicted on herself according to the statements of Reverend Cotton Mather. The hag often appeared as Mary's reflection in the mirrors as she contemplated her descent into darkness. The hideous appearance cast into a mirror dissolved in smoke when Mary Sibley ceased to be a witch after the Devil stripped her of all his dark gift via a reckoning.

Mercy Lewis' Specter

Mercy Lewis spectre with Dorcas

Mercy's spectre draws Dorcas into a trap

Mercy Lewis proved to be skilled and wicked enough in her craft, despite her young age and training, as she was able to project a ghastly specter to kidnap little Dorcas in the middle of the night. Mercy's specter appears as a ghost from old ballads, covered by a veil that recalls the shroud of the dead, or that of a bride. The specter has a livid incarnate, and clawed hands. In order to attract the little girl, the voice was that of Dorcas' deceased mother.

Throughout Salem

Mercy Lewis was terrorized by a hideous hag visible only to her eyes. During a brief moment of lucidity from her crisis, the girl told Cotton Mather that witches sent this specter to feed on her blood and her life force. The specter fed on Mercy Lewis, causing the girl impossible to be self-inflicted wounds. [1]

Countess Von Marburg conjured a malevolent hag in Knocker's Hole's well, luring an unsuspecting innocent child into her trap. The child became a vessel of her spell, carrying poisonous water in her belly. Upon reaching the House of the Seven Gables, the girl vomited a blackish substance into the water tank. This allowed the Countess's hag to travel through the water and reach Mary Sibley's bathtub. As the unsuspecting Essex witch entered her bathtub, the Specter tried to drown her.[2]

Mary Sibley, however, survived the attack thanks to Tituba's aid. The following night, Mary ordered Anne Hale to walk with her to Knocker's Hole and descend within its well to break the spell that allowed the mysterious hag to come to Salem. Whilst Anne was immersed in the putrid water, the ginger witch was attacked by the same specter but she was quick enough to banish it by resorting to a counter-spell, thus preventing further apparitions. [3]

Anne attacking Alden

Anne attacking John Alden

Upon his return to Salem, John Alden attempted to rescue Cotton Mather from his wife. Unfortunately for him, Anne was a force to reckon with. During an argument on the faults of those who brought the Devil in Salem, Anne grew so angry at him that she blasted Captain Alden against a wall on the opposite side of the room, choking him with a spectral hand. [4]

Sometimes later, a resurrected Mary Sibley was tortured by The Sentinel. As the Fallen Angel employed an Angelic Box of Anguish to torment the woman by haunting her own mind, she was attacked by her own specter but she was able to banish it, casting it into the darkness it came from. [5] Following the Dark Lord stripping her of all his dark gift, Mary's specter vanished. [6]

Gallery

Videos

SCENES_FROM_SALEM_Episode_4_--_Mercy_and_the_Hag

SCENES FROM SALEM Episode 4 -- Mercy and the Hag

Notes

References

  1. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Richard Shepard (director). April 20, 2014. "The Vow". Salem. Season 1. Episode 1. WGN.
  2. Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson (writer) & Alex Zakrzewski (director). July 13, 2014. "From Within". Salem. Season 2. Episode 3. WGN.
  3. Joe Menosky & Adam Simon (writer) & Allan Kroeker (director). July 13, 2014. "Book of Shadows". Salem. Season 2. Episode 4. WGN.
  4. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Nick Copus (director). November 2, 2016. "After the Fall". Salem. Season 3. Episode 1. WGN.
  5. Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson (writer) & Wayne Yip (director). November 16, 2016. "The Reckoning". Salem. Season 3. Episode 3. WGN.
  6. Brannon Braga & Adam Simon (writer) & Joe Dante (director). November 30, 2016. "Night's Black Agents". Salem. Season 3. Episode 4. WGN.
  7. Salem WGN America – Tumblr Verified Account

See Also

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