Kristin Harris is a Historian and Folklorist originally from the Philadelphia area, who has lived in Salem for the past 10 years as of this writing. She received her B.A. in American Studies from Penn State focusing on early American history, and her M.A. in American Studies focusing on depictions of death and the supernatural in popular media, and its impact on public history.
Kristin has been in the paranormal world in some fashion for over 15 years, independently investigating in early college, and then researching for years more. In 2015 while finishing her Master’s thesis, she met and joined with MGHPS, and was an investigator and team member until 2017, until she took a step back to focus on work. With the team, Kristin had the opportunity to speak about Salem History at the TAPS family reunion in 2016, which was held in Salem, and helped to plan Salem Con for the last few years it was held at the Hawthorne Hotel. The team investigated sites like the Houghton Mansion, Gettysburg, Pennhurst Asylum, SK Pierce Mansion, and more. In 2022, she rejoined the chase, so to speak, and has now joined with the Phantom Finders of New England as a Researcher and Investigator. https://www.phantomfindersne.org/
Kristin has been working as a historian for over 10 years, working at historic sites in Salem such as the Witch House, Pioneer Village, and as a public historical tour guide. Currently, she works as the Research Coordinator at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, where she is responsible for coordinating the Boston Tea Party Participant grave marker project, and the Descendants program, which will be a genealogical resource pertaining to participants in the Boston Tea Party. She also works as a historian and dramaturg with Intramersive Media LLC, an immersive theater company based in Salem, and is a full time member of the Creative team. Kristin has consulted for the Peabody Essex Museum for their community discussion on the Salem Witch Trials, and their exhibit Reckoning and Reclaiming, which was a special exhibit focusing on descendants of the Salem Witch Trials and how they explored their legacy with the history through various mediums.
In 2021, Kristin’s research on Charles Foster, a medium from Salem, was published in the all women’s paranormal journal The Feminine Macabre Vol. 2, which is the first journal to focus on womens’ work and contributions to the paranormal. https://spookeats.com/femininemacabre/
The relationship between the paranormal and historical research is one that is sometimes looked upon with triviality by historians. Join historian Kristin Harris and come on a journey into the darker secrets of history, lifting the veil between the unknown, and current historical understanding. This podcast will explore the macabre culture and practice of peoples around the world, with the goal of bringing a better understanding how the stranger things in our past can tell us more about our future.