City officials in Salem, Massachusetts want to erect a bronze statue of Samantha from the TV show Bewitched. The idea (and money) comes from TV Land, the network behind the statue of Honeymooner Ralph Kramden at NYC’s Port Authority and Sheriff Andy Taylor and son Opie in Raleigh, North Carolina. Witches in Salem are not pleased. From the Los Angeles Times:
“It is kind of disrespectful, because we are striving to get away from that TV image,” said Melissa Coombs, 23, who said she has been a witch since she was 14.Coombs, who works in a witch store, said: “This is a religion, not something to make fun of. As it is, people come into the store and think we can make stuff move for them…”
“Our network is all about celebrating classic television. We put them on the air, and in these cases, we literally put them on pedestals,” said Robert Pellizzi, TV Land senior vice president, in New York. “It’s a fun way to get people to smile and think about their favorite TV shows.”
Pellizzi said a trip to Salem last Halloween convinced TV Land executives that the “Bewitched” statue belonged there. He said the statue was aimed at “fun, pop culture” and was not a statement about history.
“This is not about 1692,” he said, referring to the year when 19 citizens accused of witchcraft were hanged in Salem.
UPDATE: BB reader Liz says:
I live in Salem, and I am not Wiccan… but this isnt really a Wiccan issue, it is a community one. There are residents in Salem (Wiccan and not) who are on both sides of this fence. Basically the mayor took the money and said “hey great idea” without asking anyone else, some people are pissed, some are excited, just as it would be with any town and any statue. They have already started construction for the nine foot statue on the site at Washington and Essex streets where they will place the statue sometime this month. Link
UPDATE: Coombs says that the quotes above were misattributed to her.