An Autumn Day in Salem

I have wanted to visit Salem, Massachusetts in October for close to a decade now.  Salem, of course, was the location of the infamous Salem Witch Trails in 1692.  During that time, 19 men and women were accused of witchcraft and hanged ~ beginning with Bridget Bishop.  Additionally, Giles Corey was "pressed" to death over a period of two days, with stones being piled higher and higher on his chest; he had refused to enter a plea and thus could not be formally tried as a witch {and hanged}, so they used this method to try to force him into giving in and entering a plea.  He never pled guilt or innocence, even while being subjected to this torture.  The only words he uttered during this time?  "More weight".  {Hey, look at that ~ I actually learned something on my guided tour!}

In what would today a be a gross violation of the judicial process {and at that time still should have been considered morally wrong}, these men and women were accused and convicted mostly using spectral evidence.  "Spectral" kind of sounds like "speculation", and has pretty much the same meaning.  Concrete evidence was not a requirement for these accusations of witchcraft to be taken seriously ~ just someone saying they "knew" that the person was a witch was enough {sometimes, because it came to them in a vision or a dream}.  Obviously, this "evidence" would never fly in a court of law today, but it was good enough for a Puritan town immensely fearful of witchcraft and the Devil, and because of that almost two dozen innocent people were killed in Salem over 300 years ago.

Okay, had enough of a history lesson for today?  :)  Now you know the background of why Salem is associated with witches, and in turn, Halloween; and, why I've wanted to visit Salem during the Halloween season for so long.  The town goes all out for Halloween, with haunted houses, ghost tours, witch museums, and more.  Of course it's all sort of kitschy and touristy, but that's part of the fun of it!

So finally, finally, finally my pumpkin {aww...} and I headed up to Salem this past weekend.  I couldn't have asked for more perfect fall weather for a Halloweeny trip ~ a bit overcast, but cool, brisk air, with multicolored leaves on the trees and the ground.  I had checked out some Salem tourism sites {like Haunted Happenings} beforehand, but I didn't book any specific tours ~ we figured we would walk around and see where the day took us.  Our parking garage attendant handed us a guide booklet when we pulled into the garage, and you could also pick one up at the Salem Visitor's Center ~ it includes a map with all the local attractions marked on it.

Our first stop in Salem was the Salem Wax Museum.  For $8 each, we spent about 15-20 minutes on a self-guided tour through the small, two-room museum.  Plaques at each wax figure explained who you were looking at and what their story was ~ we "met" most of those accused in the witch trails, as well as prominent political and business figures of the time.  I am glad we checked it out, but I don't think I would feel the need to go again ~ it is very small, and I think once you've seen the amazing, lifelike celebrity wax figures that Madame Tussaud's wax museums put out, any other wax museum pales in comparison.

Next, we walked up Derby Street several blocks to The House of the Seven Gables.  This seaside home was the setting for one of Nathaniel Hawthorne's most notable works, The House of the Seven Gables.  Adult admission was $12.50 each and included a guided group tour of the house, as well as self-guided exploration of the other features of the property {including the house where Nathaniel Hawthorne lived during his childhood, which was moved to this location from where it was originally situated elsewhere in Salem}.  The guided tour shared information about the home's previous owners {including three generations of the Turner family and a sea captain by the name of Ingersoll}, and points out elements in the house that readers would recognize from Hawthorne's book.  We also learned a bit about Caroline Emmerton, who bought the property in the early 1900s and turned it into the museum we have today.  The tour was very thorough and interesting; we learned which sections of the house were completely original, which were added on by different generations of the Turner family, and which features were added during Caroline Emmerton's restoration of the property.  I probably wouldn't feel the need to tour The House of the Seven Gables again for myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to join a friend who wanted to visit it ~ it was interesting, beautiful, and informative.

After our Seven Gables tour, we headed back into the downtown Salem area.  Dusk was falling over the town and it seemed like the perfect time to look into doing a walking ghost tour.  There are so many to choose from, and of course every company proclaims themselves to be the "best tour in Salem!".  I had read that the Salem's 13 Ghosts tour was led by "zombies", which sounded just like the type of silly, spooky fun I was looking for.  I was a bit disappointed with this tour, though.  There wasn't anything wrong with it, but I felt more like I was on a history tour than a ghost tour.  I had already learned so many historical facts at the wax museum and the Seven Gables house ~ what I wanted for a nighttime walking tour were ghost stories.  I don't want a tour that's going to make it hard for me to sleep at night, but a little chill up my spine would be great ~ it's Halloween!  The only two "legend has it", supernatural-type tidbits I picked up on this tour ~ that almost every Salem town sheriff has allegedly reported waking to the feeling of something "pressing" on their chest {remember our friend Giles Corey?} and has died from a heart attack or heart condition; and that in the area where Bridget Bishop's house and apple orchards were {where a bar is now situated}, people sometimes detect the distinct scent of apples when there are no apples around.  That's what I want to find out on my ghost tours ~ eerie coincidences, supernatural happenings, ghost sightings.  The 13 Ghosts tour didn't have enough of those, and I would find a different tour group next time.

 We finished up our night in Salem with dinner at New England Soup Factory.  I wasn't even aware that there was a New England Soup Factory in Salem until I looked at my guide map, and it made my day!  I used to visit the New England Soup Factory in Brookline, MA  frequently when I was in college.  I would almost always get the lobster newburg, and that's what I ordered this weekend.  It tasted just as delicious as it did the last time I ate it almost seven years ago.

I was glad to wind up my evening in Salem on a slightly spooky note.  On the ghost tour, our zombie guide had mentioned that when a supernatural presence is near, sometimes people have issues with their electronics.  Look what happened when I was trying to snap a picture of the New England Soup Factory sign after leaving the restaurant...

Coincidence?  Or the ghost of Giles Corey or Bridget Bishop saying hello?  Hmmm.....


Happy Haunting!

xoxo
Bean