John Proctor’s home for sale

PEABODY, MASS. (AP) >> A house where a victim of the Salem witch trials once lived is on the market for $600,000 just in time for Halloween.

The nearly 4,000-squarefoot (371-sqare-meter) home built in 1638 was once the home of John Proctor, who was convicted of witchcraft and hanged in 1692. The six-bedroom, two-bathroom home is in Peabody, which at the time was part of Salem.

Real estate agent Joe Cipoletta, of J. Barrett and Co., said some parts of the original structure, including wooden beams, are still visible. It has been modernized and includes an inground pool.

The home’s owner died earlier this month.

Michael Bonfanti, vice president of the Peabody Historical Society, tells The Salem News the organization is looking into whether it’s feasible to purchase the home and make it a public resource.

Giant hammer stolen

HEALDSBURG, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in Northern California are looking for a hammer. A really, really big one.

The Santa Rosa PressDemocrat says police in Healdsburg in California’s wine country are looking for an enormous artwork that vanished over the weekend.

The artwork was an 800-pound ball-peen hammer made of metal with a long redwood handle. The hammer measures 21 feet long and the head is 6 feet tall.

The piece, valued at $15,000, was loaned by the artist about a year ago to the Healdsburg Community Center. It vanished from the lawn sometime Friday night or Saturday morning.

The artist, Doug Unkrey, says it would have required about eight people or a flat- bed trailer with a winch to carry off his work.

Police, of course, want to nail the thieves.