'Warlock' slapped with restraining order
in new Salem witch trial
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[October 30, 2015]
By Valerie Vande Panne
SALEM, Mass. (Reuters) - A judge in Salem,
Massachusetts, on Wednesday granted a self-proclaimed witch's request
for a restraining order to keep a self-proclaimed warlock and business
rival from harassing her.
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Lori Sforza, 75, who calls herself a psychic and a "hereditary
high priestess" had appealed to Salem District Court Judge Robert
Brennan to issue an order stopping Christian Day, who calls himself
the "world's best-known warlock" and owns magic-themed stores in
Salem and New Orleans from making what she said were harassing phone
calls.
The two are well-known in Salem, infamous as the site of 17th
century trials that led to the executions of 20 people found guilty
of witchcraft. Modern-day Salem capitalizes on its morbid reputation
with tourist attractions both ghoulish and historic that help the
city draw about 1 million visitors a year, with crowds peaking in
the run-up to Halloween.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Oct/30/images/ads/current/farmers_grain_sda_Ffarm_daily_2015.png) Sforza, who serves as founder and Head Mother of Our Lord and Lady
of the Trinacrian Rose Church, in the waterfront city 16 miles (26
km) northeast of Boston, welcomed the ruling. "I love Salem so much," she told reporters after leaving the
courthouse. "No one should ever be abused, man or woman."
Day told reporters he had never harassed Sforza.
"All of this comes from business competition. All of this comes from
when you're the best at what you do, you're going to have people who
want you to fail," Day said. "We get people who get jealous. Might I
have had a snarky comment on the Internet once in a while? Sure, but
that's free speech. Do I call people with private numbers? Never."
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Day hosts a "Festival of the Dead" in Salem, where participants can
learn to become a paranormal investigator, hear from departed loved
ones, or cast a magic circle on Salem Common.
Salem's tourism office estimated that tourism brought $100 million
in economic activity to the city of almost 43,000 people last year.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler)
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