New Salem Philanthropic Society

New Salem Philanthropic Society
Organisation information
Founded	Early 1920s
Dissolved	1926
Leader(s)	Mary Lou Barebone
Known members	Mary Lou Barebone Chastity Barebone Modesty Barebone Credence Barebone (reluctantly)
Headquarters	Second Salem Church
Intentions	To expose and destroy wizardkind
Affiliation	No-Maj community
Enemies	Wizardkind

"We have to fight — join us, the Second Salemers, in our fight!"

— The Second Salemers fighting against wizardkind

The New Salem Philanthropic Society (NSPS), also known as the Second Salemers, was a fanatical American No-Maj group which sought to expose and destroy wizardkind.

This group was led by the extremist Mary Lou Barebone, a descendant of Scourers, and her three adopted children Credence (actually himself a repressed wizard), Chastity and Modesty. Their meeting place was a "dingy" church in Pike Street, New York City where they ran a soup kitchen for poor children to whom they distributed anti-witchcraft leaflets.

When Credence Barebone's Obscurus killed Mary Lou and destroyed the whole Salem church, the end came for the New Salem Philanthropic Society.

History

The New Salem Philanthropic Society were active in the 1920s and were led by Mary Lou Barebone. Mary Lou was a descendant of an unknown Scourer that escaped capture in the 17th century. She was also related to Bartholomew Barebone, the man who propelled one of the largest ever breaches of the International Statute of Secrecy. It is very possible that her hatred of magic and therefore the Society's hatred of magic steams from her connection to Bartholomew.

Porpentina Goldstein lost her job as an Auror after stopping Mary Lou Barebone from whipping her son Credence with a belt. The followers who saw Tina use magic had to be Obliviated, and her actions were considered a breach of the Statute of Secrecy and Rappaport’s Law dividing wizards and No-Majs.

In December of 1926, they picketed a rally held by supporters of Senator Henry Shaw Junior, presumably to try to get him to support their anti-witchcraft views.

Chastity Barebone in the Second Salem Church's main room

Based at Pike Street, New York, they held weekly meetings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays. They also published and distributed a pamphlet entitled Witches Live Among Us!. They would have orphans distribute the pamphlet in exchange for food and water. Chastity Barebone was in charge of handing out the pamphlets to the children.

The group came to an end following the destruction of their church by Credence Barebone's Obscurial form and the deaths of Mary Lou and Chastity that it caused as well.

Behind the scenes

• Members of the New Salem Philanthropic Society may be of Scourer descent. The Scourers were a band of wizarding vigilantes who wrought terror in North America in the 17th century. Some of them managed to escape justice by marrying No-Majs and integrating into No-Maj society. In revenge for their exile from the wizarding world, they instilled in their non-magic descendants an abiding belief that magic exists, and that witches and wizards should be wiped out.
• Their banner depicts a wand being snapped over a large fire, possibly a reference to both the stopping of magical practises and the Salem Witch Trials.
• In the film inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Langdon Shaw refers to the group as the "New Salem Preservation Society" when introducing Mary Lou Barebone to his father. This is the only time the group is referenced by this name; it may have been a slip of the tongue of actor Ronan Raftery's, since that same line reads "New Salem Philanthropic Society" on the original script or an improvisation to show his character's insobriety or carelessness.

Appearances

• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay
• The Archive of Magic: The Film Wizardry of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald