Practicing witches from around the world gathered in hundreds in Salem on Thursday evening to honor Stormy Daniels at their annual “Magic Circle” ceremony, which honors loved ones who have died.

Daniels – the adult film actress who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump and was at the center of his criminal trial in May, which led to the former president's conviction on 34 felony counts – was chosen to be honored at the Halloween ceremony, as organizers said assume that she was the victim of a modern witch hunt.

The event began at 5 p.m. at Salem Common in Salem, Massachusetts. was part of the Festival of the Dead, an annual series of events that explores the “macabre customs, heretical stories and strange rituals of death.”

The magic circle ceremony is intended to be a time to “renew connections, to mourn those you miss, and to celebrate all that these treasured souls have brought into your life,” the event details say.

About 1,500 people gathered in the large witch circle on Salem Common, some dressed as witches, others in a variety of Halloween costumes. They sang and clapped to a beating drum as they blessed the four corners: north, south, east and west.

At the event, Daniels was awarded the inaugural Salem Witches' Woman of Power Award, which is given in recognition of a person's strength, intuition and magic, according to the Boston Globe.

“A lot of people know Stormy for being a porn star and for fighting Trump in court,” said Christian Day, event organizer and local warlock. “But a lot of people don't know that she is a practicing witch and that she is someone who stands out as a woman of power.”

As Daniels accepted the award, she referenced her experiences in court. “I was put on the witness stand two years ago and someone said I wasn't fit to testify because I was a witch. I was honest, I told the truth and I was persecuted.

“For me, this award should inspire others to speak up and not be silenced.”

In an interview with the Globe, Daniels said she has been a practicing witch since she was a child in New Orleans and that her 13-year-old daughter is also a practicing witch.

When asked about the honor at the Salem event, Daniels said she “couldn't find the words to emotionally explain how important this is to me.”

“Nobody understands what the last six years have been like for me,” Daniels told the Globe. “Everyone else can turn off the TV and forget about the politics that have reached this next level of dark madness. I don't get this opportunity. I live in an RV because I can't go home.

“The persecution that these witches felt hundreds of years ago sounds very familiar to me,” she added, referencing the Salem witch trials that took place between February 1692 and May 1963. During this time, more than 200 residents of Salem Township were accused of witchcraft, leading to the execution of 20 people.

Daniels conducted the interview with the Globe from her RV and told the outlet that she has been living on the run since Trump's lawyers displayed her home address on the screen during the trial in New York, which she said was an accident.

In May, Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 presidential election about the alleged sexual encounter with the former president.

Daniels said that in recent years she has received harassment and death threats from Trump supporters, as well as threats to rape and murder her daughter and other family members.

Trump has repeatedly denied having a relationship with Daniels.

One of the organizers of the Magic Circle event, Brian Cain, told the Globe that the decision to honor Daniels “and the onslaught she faced” was a “way of saying she is part of our family.” .

Daniels told the Globe that throughout her life she has always been able to see ghosts and communicate with the dead. But she said she has always been a “solo practitioner” and so Thursday was the first time she had the experience of being part of a circle.

“And what a prestigious and amazing way to do it,” she added.

She mentioned that her specialty is making “magic jars” filled with herbs and that people come to her asking her to cast spells on their court cases.

“I try to be ethical and instead perform spells that serve justice because I don't know what's going on, who's right and who's being persecuted unjustly,” she explained.

In recent years, Daniels created Spooky Babes, a paranormal television show starring himself, and hosted ghost hunting events across the country. Her Instagram page for the show states that she is a “proven psychic/paranormal investigator.”

In the Globe interview, Daniels also rejected Trump's claims in recent years that he was the victim of a witch hunt.

“The best part is that Trump always says it’s a witch hunt against him, which is funny,” she said. “People like to say Donald Trump is evil, but you have to be a genius to be evil, and he’s not that smart.”

Organizers of the Salem event said they decided to delay the announcement of Daniels' appearance until a day before the scheduled event to avoid possible disruption.

Organizers hinted at the announcement in a video on Oct. 23, but didn't reveal who the guest was until Wednesday.

“She is a very important symbol of women’s empowerment in our difficult times,” one of the organizers said in the video, referring to Daniels.

“And because witches worship goddesses, we believe in the goddess and because we believe in the power of women and the power of the witch, we will give this woman a very special award.”

Rick Findler contributed to this report