New Salem Philanthropic Society

• Type: Anti-Witchcraft Organization; No-Maj Activist Group (Fantastic Beasts)
• Alias: The Second Salemers (Fantastic Beasts)
• Location: New York City, United States of America (Fantastic Beasts)
• Leader: Mary Lou Barebone (Fantastic Beasts)
• Known Members: Credence Barebone, Modesty Barebone, Chastity Barebone (Fantastic Beasts)
• Core Beliefs: To expose the existence of witches and wizards to the No-Maj community and seek their destruction (Fantastic Beasts).

The New Salem Philanthropic Society, also known as the Second Salemers, was a fanatical anti-witchcraft group active in New York City in 1926. Led by the zealous Mary Lou Barebone, the group was dedicated to proving that magic and magical people were real, not figments of imagination, and that they posed a grave danger to the non-magical populace. (Fantastic Beasts) Members typically dressed in drab, conservative clothing reminiscent of Puritan attire. Their methods involved public rallies, distributing pamphlets with slogans like “Witches Live Among Us!”, and operating a soup kitchen to attract destitute children whom Mary Lou Barebone would then indoctrinate with her beliefs. (Fantastic Beasts) The organization's name and mission are a direct allusion to the historical Salem Witch Trials, aiming to incite a modern-day “witch hunt” against the hidden wizarding community. Their headquarters also served as the Barebone family home and an orphanage for the children Mary Lou had adopted. (Fantastic Beasts)

The New Salem Philanthropic Society is a central antagonist group in the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Their activities first draw the attention of Tina Goldstein, an Auror for the MACUSA, who investigates them against orders. (Fantastic Beasts) Newt Scamander and Jacob Kowalski encounter the group during one of their rallies. However, the society's most significant role is its connection to Credence Barebone. The severe physical and psychological abuse inflicted upon Credence by his adoptive mother, Mary Lou Barebone, caused him to develop a parasitic magical force known as an Obscurus. (Fantastic Beasts) Credence's suppressed magic ultimately lashes out, killing both Senator Henry Shaw Jr. and Mary Lou Barebone. The destructive rampage of the Obscurus across New York City becomes the primary crisis that Newt Scamander and MACUSA must contain, directly linking the society's hateful ideology to the film's main conflict. (Fantastic Beasts)

The New Salem Philanthropic Society does not appear in the original seven Harry Potter novels. The organization and its members were created specifically for the screenplay of the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. (J.K. Rowling) The name “Second Salemers” explicitly connects the group's extremist views to the real-world Salem Witch Trials of the late 17th century in Massachusetts, providing a historical American context for the conflict between the magical and non-magical communities. (Fantastic Beasts)