By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Salem is getting its witch.

Officials in the Massachusetts town last night approved the installation of a nine-foot statue of broomstick-riding Samantha Stephens, the sorceress played by Elizabeth Montgomery on the 1960s TV comedy "Bewitched." The bronze, a gift from TV Land, the cable rerun network, has divided Salem residents, some of whom think it will be a moneymaking tourist attraction and others who think it will trivialize local history. Salem, of course, is the place where 19 people were executed in 1692 after being accused of witchcraft.

The pro-statue vote by the Salem Redevelopment Authority was 4 to 0, but sentiments among those in attendance were far from unanimous.

"I just think it's a frightening thing when TV Land gets to decide the identity of a city that's been around for more than 300 years," said Ann Whittier, 50, who spoke by phone immediately after the vote. "We're really moving in the wrong direction."

The statue is scheduled for a mid-June unveiling. Kate Sullivan, chief of staff for the mayor of Salem, is looking forward to it.

"The city of Salem is eight square miles and you can't step anywhere without stepping on history," she said in a phone conversation last night. "And if you use that as a constraint, you'll never move forward."