Podcast Summary: Woo Woo with Rachel Dratch

Episode: Sebastian Crane: The Ghosts of Salem
Air Date: October 29, 2025
Host: Rachel Dratch
Guest: Sebastian Crane (Salem Night Tour Guide)
Co-host: Irene Bremis

Main Theme

A Halloween-timed deep dive into the haunted history and enduring folklore of Salem, Massachusetts. Rachel Dratch and Irene Bremis, joined by local ghost tour guide Sebastian Crane, explore tales of Salem’s most notorious spirits, discuss the role of ghost stories in American culture, and reflect on how contemporary Salem honors—and profits from—its spectral past.

Episode Breakdown

1. Salem Field Trip and Introduction

• Rachel and Irene share excitement about their first podcast “field trip” to Salem, taking the Salem Night Tour guided by Sebastian Crane.
• This episode focuses on Salem’s ghost stories and haunted sites; next episode(s) will shift to the factual witch trial history.
• Rachel jokes about the “dark history” of the witch trials clashing with Halloween fun, invoking her Debbie Downer persona:

  “Hope you’re also commemorating the relentless persecution of the marginalized back in 1692.” — Rachel Dratch (01:36)

2. Meet Sebastian Crane (02:33–07:06)

• Sebastian shares his background: Chicago native, trained actor, moved to Salem in 2016, accidentally became a ghost tour guide out of fascination with local occult and alternative history.
• Discusses performing in Rocky Horror Picture Show as Frank-N-Furter (05:44), never having seen the movie before acting in it.
• Proud of working for a local, historian-run ghost tour company operating year-round (except Christmas/New Year’s Eve).

  “I love that we’re unscripted... as I learn even more new things, I can incorporate them into the tour.” — Sebastian (08:05)

3. Salem’s Haunting Reputation & Collecting Ghost Stories (08:54–12:22)

• Sebastian claims Salem is the “most haunted city in New England,” referencing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s view that New England homes are all “possessed by spirits.”
• Ghost stories and spirit sightings are ubiquitous among locals—everyone from shopkeepers to baristas has a tale of something lurking.
• Haunted places highlighted:
  • Gardner-Pingree House (aka the “Clue House”): Murder of Captain White.
  • Charter Street Cemetery: Home of the spectral Lady in White.
  • Howard Street Cemetery: Ghost of Giles Corey.
• Shares bizarre work moment: getting a management text warning guides to avoid Howard Street Cemetery due to a recent Giles Corey sighting.

4. The Legend and Curse of Giles Corey (14:02–21:14)

• Giles Corey: Pressed to death in 1692 after refusing to enter a plea during his witchcraft trial, to protect his wealth for his descendants.

  “Are you innocent or guilty of the crime of witchcraft?” [Corey:] “More. Wait.” — (16:09) “He also glared at our sheriff and declared, ‘I curse you, Sheriff Corwin and all of Salem.’” — Sebastian (17:45)

• The “curse” supposedly led to every Salem sheriff dying of heart complications until the office relocated in 1991.
• Corey’s malevolent ghost signals disaster for the city.

  “Whenever Giles appears, he’s said to appear as a full-bodied apparition... an omen of terror and destruction.” — Sebastian (20:18)

5. The Role of Ghost Stories in Processing History (21:14–25:29)

• Sebastian reflects on why ghost stories linger:

  “If history is a house, ghost stories are all the stuff that we’ve put up in our attic that we cannot bear to throw away, but we never show to other people.” — Sebastian (22:25)

• Ghost stories offer catharsis—processing “taboo” histories, trauma, and cultural guilt.

  “Our ghosts... are angry, are determined to be remembered, are looking for comfort. And are we not, as a society, still angry about this happening?” — Sebastian (24:11)

• Rachel and Irene are struck by the deeper academic meaning behind ghost stories as “emotional residue” from history’s “cold, hard facts” (24:39).

6. The Lady in White of Charter Street Cemetery (28:59–33:54)

• Sightings:
  • Seen by both locals and tourists, often on misty mornings or when the cemetery is quiet/off-season.
  • The Lady seems to avoid crowds and cameras and may be caught in a residual “loop.”
  • The ghost might be of Irish or Scottish descent, as theorized by local guides (32:15).

  “She doesn’t seem to discriminate. She just wants to be seen.” — Sebastian (31:57)

• Rachel describes the emotional impact of seeing the stone markers for each witch trial victim—chilling and powerful (33:57).

7. Memorializing the Witch Trials (34:25–38:31)

• Salem Witch Trials Memorial (est. 1992): 20 benches for the executed victims, constantly adorned with tributes.
• The Puritan government denied the accused proper burials and funeral rights; city efforts now seek to right the historic wrong.
• Sebastian emphasizes that witch hunts always start by targeting “outcasts”—usually marginalized women.

  “Witch hunts were convenient vehicles by which quietly hateful communities could turn on their most vulnerable... Not to make a very fun job overly serious, but... if we forget the lessons of the past, we are doomed to repeat them.” — Sebastian (36:51)

8. Truths, Myths, and Corrections: The Witch Trial “Land Grab” (38:47–39:38)

• Rachel clarifies, based on another historian’s input, that witch trial authorities confiscated possessions but not actual land from victims—Sebastian agrees.

9. The Murder of Captain Joseph White – Salem’s Most Haunted Mansion (42:24–48:57)

• Captain Joseph White: Wealthy, hated slave trader murdered in 1830 by “aristocrat on aristocrat crime”—niece’s husband hires “bad boy” Richard Crowninshield Jr.
• White’s ghost is often seen glaring from his former bedroom window, especially when headlights sweep the house at night.

  “He’s standing there with pale white hair in a beautifully pressed suit, glaring down at passersby on the street below.” — Sebastian (48:53)

• The Gardner-Pingree (Clue) House’s haunted reputation inspired by this notorious murder.

10. The Parker Brothers and Salem: The “Clue” House (49:31–51:00)

• Parker Brothers, headquartered in Salem, invented Clue right down the street from the murder mansion.
• Locals nickname the Gardner-Pingree House “the Clue House”; regardless of historical accuracy, the game’s theme fits perfectly with Salem’s haunted lore.

11. Ghostland: Ghost Stories as America’s Shadow History (52:04–57:18)

• Sebastian’s “bible” for ghost tours is Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey.
• Dickey’s thesis: American ghost stories reveal what society cannot admit—crimes, shames, and taboos unaddressed by mainstream history.

  “Our country’s ghost stories are themselves the dreams or nightmares of a nation... crimes left unsolved or transgressions we now feel guilty about.” — (55:14, quoting Dickey)

• Storytelling is how cultures process the unresolved and ambiguous—oral tradition keeps the past alive (55:07).

12. Sebastian’s Religious Background and Salem’s Witch Community (57:31–63:13)

• Sebastian, son of an evangelical pastor; childhood biblical scholarship informed later fascination with interrogating history and dogma (57:46).

  “Now I’m a goth ghost tour guide in Salem. Here I am.” — Sebastian (57:49)

• Discussion of contemporary Salem: more witches per capita than anywhere, thriving small business community, and a modern embrace of witchcraft as cultural and feminist reclamation (60:03).

  “If you’re a witch, it is a great place to live because you have your supplies right down the street. You have great community.” — Sebastian (61:53)

• Shout-out to Irene’s cousin’s shop, New England Magic (62:34).

13. The Pendulum (Penji) Ritual (63:38–65:05)

• Show tradition: ask a yes/no question of a pendulum.
• This week, due to lost pendulum, Rachel uses a bird necklace (the substitute “Penji”).
• Sebastian’s question: “Is the lady in white Irish or Scottish?” The answer: Yes.

14. Closing Remarks (65:39–end)

• Rachel and Irene praise Sebastian and recommend the Salem Night Tour.
• Social handles shared.

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• On ghost stories in history:

  “If history is a house, ghost stories are all the stuff that we've put up in our attic that we cannot bear to throw away, but we never show to other people.” — Sebastian (22:25)

• On the poltergeists of Salem:

  “The poltergeists in Salem were vicious, deplorable humans that were also very inhumane... and they still maintain their horrendous and rancid disposition in death.” — Irene (49:55)

• Corey’s curse:

  “I curse you, Sheriff Corwin and all of Salem.” — Legend of Giles Corey (17:45)

• On American ghost stories:

  “Our country’s ghost stories are themselves the dreams or nightmares of a nation...” — Colin Dickey via Sebastian (55:14)

• On Salem’s modern witchy community:

  “We have the most witches per capita here in Salem than anywhere in the world... Even if they don’t look like a witch, your CVS checkout person is probably a witch.” — Sebastian (60:03)

• On being a tour guide in Salem:

  “Oops, I fell into something that I really care about.” — Sebastian (57:08)

Useful Time Stamps for Key Segments

• Introductions & Field Trip Recap: 00:30–02:33
• Sebastian’s Backstory: 03:28–07:06
• Salem’s Haunting Reputation: 08:54–12:22
• Giles Corey and His Curse: 14:02–21:14
• Processing History Through Ghost Stories: 21:14–25:29
• The Lady in White: 28:59–33:54
• Witch Trials Memorial: 34:25–38:31
• Captain White and the Clue House: 42:24–51:00
• Ghostland and Academic View on Ghost Stories: 52:04–57:18
• Sebastian’s Faith Background & Salem’s Modern Magic Scene: 57:31–63:13
• Pendulum Ritual: 63:38–65:05

Tone and Style

The episode deftly balances Sebastian’s theatrical storytelling and incisive historical analysis with the hosts’ characteristic humor, wonder, and gentle skepticism. There is respect for both the fun and seriousness of Salem’s haunted legacy.

Summary

A rich, lively exploration of Salem’s most infamous haunts, tales of ghostly vengeance and unfinished business, and the deeper meaning behind the ghost stories Americans insist on telling. Sebastian Crane, with humor, knowledge, and an actor’s flair, guides listeners through the spectral and historical landscape of Salem, reminding us why the ghosts—and history itself—still matter.

Highly recommended episode for fans of history, folklore, and the unexplainable.