EVANSVILLE, Ind. - As Halloween approaches, Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) is featuring an exhibit focused on the Salem Witch Trials. This initiative is managed by students enrolled in a course dedicated to studying the witch craze in colonial New England.
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To complement the serious subject matter of the exhibit, OCTC partnered with It Takes a Village animal shelter to host a cat adoption event. Avery Bowlds, a sophomore at the college, expressed the importance of this opportunity, stating, "I think it’s such a great opportunity to get these cats adopted. Again, it brings so many people together and it’s just great."
Matt Alstadt, a professor at OCTC, explained that the adoption event was designed to provide a positive aspect to the exhibit's darker themes. He noted that records from the witch trials often mentioned animals, such as cats and toads, as companions for witches, contributing to the negative perceptions of cats, especially black ones. “We thought it would be a nice way to make sure that these animals are going to good homes,” Alstadt said.
The Salem Witch Trial exhibit will remain open through Halloween at the college library.