CROMWELL -- For years, students from all over having been visiting the Salem Witch Museum in Salem, Mass. But now, the mother of a sixth-grader is worried that a middle school field trip there will lead students to investigate witchcraft.
The mother, who wished to remain anonymous, said she knows there are children in the community who are already practicing Wicca, a religion that includes worship of nature's seasons and magic.
"There's a lot of kids in town who are investigating Wicca," she said.
The field trip for Cromwell Middle School students will also bring students to Salem's Witch Dungeon Museum and the House of Seven Gables.
The students are making the trip as part of their study of the book "The Witch of Blackbird," by Elizabeth George Speare. The book, which won a Newbery Medal and was honored as an ALA Notable Children's Book, focuses on orphaned Kit Tayler as she moves from the Caribbean to the Connecticut colony in 1687 to live with her Puritan aunt and uncle. During her stay, Kit befriends a Quaker woman named Hannah, who is known as the witch of Blackbird Pond, and finds herself put on trial as a witch.
The mother says the trip has a "Wicca slant." She said she won't be sending her 11-year-old son on the trip, scheduled for April 24, and may try to convince other parents to follow suit.
Principal H.B. Dumeer doesn't know what the fuss is all about. He said the novel has been part of the school's curriculum for a decade and this spring will be the third trip to Salem.
"We've been taking our sixth-graders there for the last two years," Dumeer said.
He said that he was willing to talk to the parent about her concerns, adding no one has ever approached him before with similar concerns. This year, he has even received letters in support of the trip, he said.
The parent, who has been making calls to people in the community, has gained some support.Cromwell resident Pam Colavecchio, who has two young children, is in the process of deciding if she will send her children to public schools. Colavecchio, a born-again Christian, said she was appalled when she heard about the trip.
"This is black magic," she said.
She said people should take responsibility for what is being taught to children. She also said there are other things that the students could be learning about.
Tim Milleville, pastor at the Riverbend Christian Fellowship, said he was also concerned.
"Wicca is really a form of witchcraft," he said. "Society has enough trouble already without encouraging that kind of stuff."