Salem witch trial walkthrough runs at Fort Totten Park through Oct. 24

The Salem witch trials are the basis for a new Halloween walkthrough in Queens. A Bayside nonprofit for women, known as CWNY, is behind “Witches Among Us: The Treacherous Coven,” a show of roughly 25 minutes. Performances take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 17, 22, 23 and 24 in Building 207, the group’s home inside Fort Totten Park.

What the Fort Totten Halloween experience is like

Guests walk from one set to the next as live actors tell the story, surrounded by projections, sound and dramatic lighting. At first, the show encourages visitors to be afraid of the accused women. As it goes on, it reveals a different source of horror: prejudice, persecution and false accusations, along with the silencing of women.

Cecilia Venosta, who directs CWNY, said the group wanted a show tied to its mission. In her view, the story reflects how women fared in 1692 and also how vulnerable women go unheard today. The show, she said, “represents how many women were treated, how women were not heard and that their voices didn’t matter.”

Venosta brought the idea to producer Stewart Hamilton, and the two built the storyline together. Hamilton said people in Salem faced accusations backed by no evidence at all, or by so-called “spiritual evidence.” She explained that an accused woman could be pardoned if she pleaded guilty and named other women as witches. Many who were desperate to survive did so, often so their children would not be left without a mother. “No lawyer, no defense, and people were incentivized to accuse others,” Hamilton said.

Witches Among Us tickets and dates

Admission is $10 on Thursday nights. On Friday and Saturday nights it is $15. Tickets can be reserved through CWNY. After Saturday, Oct. 17, the last three nights run from Thursday, Oct. 22, through Saturday, Oct. 24.

Money from tickets pays for the nonprofit’s job training, education, empowerment, advocacy and wellness work, plus its support services, all aimed at women and their families. “It was like living history,” said a student who went on Oct. 15.