Get a Clue! How a Murder in Salem Could Have Inspired a Board Game 128 Essex Street - Salem, Massachusetts

Photo credit: Marisa DeRoma (a.k.a The Wandering Oddball)

The Salem Witch Trials were not the only notorious thing to happen in Salem. In the 1800’s a murder of a wealthy man would draw fascination from the public, which would inspire both literature and possibly a game. You probably played this game as a kid with your family or even still have it somewhere, possibly in your attic or basement.  This is the story of how the Parker Brothers possibly took inspiration from a real-life murder and put it in their game Clue

The Murder of  Capt. Joseph White

On April 6th, 1830, Capt. Joseph White was found with his head bludgeoned and with

multiple stab wounds. Captain Joseph White was an 82-year-old widower who fathered no children throughout his life. He lived in an elegant red brick home on 128 Essex Street that was built in 1804. The home was the most exquisite in Salem at the time. At the time, he lived with his niece, Mary Beckford and her daughter, also named Mary, domestic servant Lydia Kimball, and handyman Benjamin White.  However, with great wealth comes misfortune. 

The Culprits 

The investigation led to Richard and George Crowninshield, who were hired by John Francis and Joseph Knapp. They were the nephews of Captain White. The motivation for their heinous crime was wealth. The brothers were found guilty and hanged for their crime. This case was considered Salem’s most brutal murder of that century.

Before it inspired a game it inspired literature

Many people who heard of this case were drawn to it. The murder would serve as a source of inspiration to literary works for Edgar Allan Poe for the story The Tell-Tale Heart and a plot in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.  Many people believe It could have also inspired the Parker Brothers to create the well known boardgame Clue. Coincidentally, the founder, George Swinnerton Parker, was born in Salem, Massachusetts. Though there are some that counter that, otherwise saying it was not the inspiration for the game. 

Salem and its grim correlation with Death

While the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 is what people think of when it comes to horrific events, other incidents would get overshadowed. The murder of Captain Joseph White would be one of those. Similar to the Witch Trials of 1692, it would inspire many works as well.  It is possible that with Salem’s reputation, anything horrific that happens in Salem after the trials probably gets more limelight with the preexisting history.