For the past two years, I have taken a four-day trip to Salem, Massachusetts the weekend before Halloween. I went last year, and I had such a memorable time. My trip included a walking history tour, a “Witch Walk” led by a practicing Wiccan who informed us on modern witchcraft, a tour of the House of the Seven Gables, a psychic reading, and shopping the numerous witch and gift stores. The whole environment, albeit touristy, is extremely festive and spooky. For the whole month of October there is a celebration called “Haunted Happenings”, a collection of Halloween themed events, and a street fair as well. The town of Salem has notorious history, which brings it a lot of attention. Current day Salem was "Salem Town" back in the 1600s, where the wealthy lived and where legal matters were held. Where the poorer citizens lived was in "Salem Village", in present day Danvers and Peabody. In 1692, the infamous Salem Witch Trials began. Witch persecutions occurred for many years, both in Europe and America, but in Salem a wave of hysteria was orchestrated by a group of young girls. They claimed to be possessed by the devil, creating stories and accusing people in the community. In the end, 20 people died--19 from hanging, one by being pressed by rocks. Over a hundred people were accused of being witches in the next few months. Salem is forever associated with this event--so much that an entire tourist industry has been created around the death of these 20 innocent people.

Day 1: October 20th

We left around 11am, and traveled for about five hours through the colorful foliage of New England. At 4pm we got to Salem. We stayed at the Salem Waterfront Hotel, a modern and hospitable hotel.Although I love haunted locations, the Salem Waterfront Hotel was not one of them. However, it was extremely comfortable with two beds and it was in a convenient location. After settling in, we took a walk to the main street, Essex Street. On this street are all the witch stores and gift shops. We looked in a few and then decided to eat at a restaurant called “Turner’s Seafood”. Although I am a vegetarian and don’t like seafood, this restaurant has historical significance. Last year we stopped here at least three times during the tours we went on, and I’ve always wanted to go inside. The restaurant is famous for being built upon the land of Bridget Bishop’s apple orchard. On June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop was the first person to be hanged in the Salem Witch Trials. The owner of the hotel writes that:

“Known for her provocative style of dress, multiple marriages, and late-night entertainment of guests at her tavern, Bridget Bishop was a larger than life character for her time that made an easy target for accusations of witchcraft. Bridget was ultimately sentenced to death for the bewitching of five young girls, Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and Elizabeth Hubbard.”

This restaurant is known to be haunted. People record smelling apples, seeing a lady in a white dress on top of the stairs, and have apparently seen Bridget Bishop in mirrors.

We then took a walk to the witch trial memorials, which lies behind the Old Burying Point cemetery. The memorial includes a series of benches with the victim's names on them and the date they died. These aren’t graves, though, because since they were seen as witches--the victims were never given a proper burial. According to the Salem Witch Museum, the bodies were disposed near Gallows Hill, a sight where the victims were hanged. Unfortunately, this location remains a mystery. To honor the unfortunate and unfair fates of these victims, Salem set up this memorial in 1992. People put objects on the memorials, to show respect. I noticed that the people, popularized in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, get the most attention and have the most objects on them--such as John Proctor and Giles Corey. Such objects include flowers, coins, an apple (which I saw on John Proctor’s bench), pumpkins, and letters. It was fascinating to see these letters or notes on the memorials from descendants of the victims. An excerpt from one of the letters, which was lengthy, read: “Dear Eighth Great Grandmother: It is with great love, respect, and honor. We are here to hear your story. Our hearts all hate hearing the pain and sorrow you encountered in this world. Please know your descendants go on and with love in their hearts tell your story! Such great strength and courage in all of us”. This was on Sarah Good’s memorial from a relative living in Phoenix, Arizona.

Day 2: October 21st

After eating breakfast at our hotel, we started walking towards Essex Street, the main pedestrian mall. For a Friday morning at 11am, it was fairly crowded and busy. At night, we had something pre-planned, so we had all day to explore and do what we wished. It was supposed to rain at that point, but we lucked out and the rain held off until the evening. We took a quick stop at the Witch History Museum to touch up on our history. The guide showed us the history of the Salem Witch Trials through wax figurines and voice overs explaining the wax figures’ relevance. One of the many facts we learned was that five men, fourteen women, and two dogs were hanged at Gallows Hill. From there we walked to the Witch House, the only standing building that has direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials. The Witch House was the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, a local magistrate and civic leader at that time. He assisted in the Salem Witch Trials and investigated the supposed witchcraft. Judge Corwin served on the court that ultimately sent the nineteen men and women to the gallows. The house was the original structure and had original fireplaces. One thing that always strikes me about house tours, is that at one time real people lived there during such a historical time--and in Jonathan Corwin’s case, he assisted with the event. On a table where the examinations of the nineteen people that he investigated for being witches. Throughout the next few hours, I visited a house used in “Hocus Pocus”, a garden, and several gift stores. Salem has a mystical vibe, which is evident by just walking down Essex Street. With street performers, witch shops, psychics, and costumed visitors--it is an excellent place to go during the Halloween season.

Later, following dinner, we walked in the rain to The House of the Seven Gables. The rain and mist seemed to accentuate the spookiness of this town. Although we took a took a tour of the house last year, we booked a tour called “Spirits of the Gables”. This was a tour that told the story of the book by Nathaniel Hawthorne titled “House of the Seven Gables”. Since I read this book, I thought it would be interesting to be told the story by the characters, portrayed by actors. Moreover, the story was told in various rooms within the house, where Nathaniel Hawthorne sets the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne actually grew up in the House of the Seven Gables. He was the great-grandson of the Salem Witch Trials judge: John Hathorne, who is a character in “The Crucible”. For some reason, my parents and I were the only three on the tour, which is nice because we got a private show but awkward because we were the only three people in the room alone with the actor. Overall, though, it was a beneficial experience that was worth the few awkward moments. I was able to visualize the story and characters better. We walked through the house where actors told a summary of the story in certain rooms. This helped me better understand the novel and answered any questions I previously had.

Day 3: October 22nd

Saturday is the busiest day in Salem, especially on Essex Street where there are swarms of people. The weather was cloudy, and raining on and off, but that didn’t stop people from visiting Salem. We first went to the Witch Dungeon Museum, which included a reenactment of Elizabeth Proctor’s trial, and a recreation of the dungeons that the suspected witches were kept in. Actors reenacted the trial, which was an accurate portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor's trial that was taken from records. I didn't know this, but some details in "The Crucible" were actually taken from real records of the trials. In the trial I viewed, Mary Warren was accusing Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, and made up a story about a yellow bird--which was a detail used in the "The Crucible". The real witch dungeons were found in the 1950s, but since the Salem Witch Trials weren't popularized until later, they didn't keep it intact. hey took measurements, which helped the Witch Dungeon Museum recreate the dimensions of the real dungeons. There was one real artifact, a plank of wood which supported the roof of the real dungeon. I touched the 300-year-old wood, which made me think of the pain and suffering that people endured in the pitch black dungeons. For the poor, they had to stay in a coffin-sized dungeon, where all they could do is stand

Later that day, my mom and I had psychic readings. My psychic was practicing witch and he read my tarot cards.Though what he told me was very general. it was interesting nonetheless. After all of the psychic readings I've had, I'm still skeptical. However, in such a place like Salem, it's an enjoyable thing to do--considering that there are so many in Salem. We then ate dinner and rested at the hotel, preparing for the long night ahead. At 10:30 we had a paranormal investigation of some places in Salem. This would last two hours. It was extremely cold and windy, but we went anyways. We met at the Witch Trials Memorial and learned about different machinery and equipment that paranormal investigators use, such as EMF detectors, flashlights, and EVP recorders. At the memorial, we learned of three spirits that were active: Zander, Sarah, and a boy who died from falling out of a tree. At this point, I don't know what I believe, but I was curious to see what the equipment does. The guide used a flashlight to ask questions, which strangely responded to her questions by going on and off. We were led to other locations, and finished our tour with going in a dark basement and doing an investigation. What was strange to me is that one lady said she felt that her left leg was cold. The guide pulled out a device that measured temperatures and changed colors. Normal temperature was green, abnormal was blue. As she scanned the lady's left leg--it turned blue. I was holding an EMF detector next to another girl with one. On the EMF detector, there were levels of intensities ranging from green (least) to red (most). It responded to electric and magnetic fields, including phones, cameras, etc. We both had these object away when the girl asked for the spirit to change the color on the detector. At the same time, both of our devices went all the way up to red. I still don't know if anything is real, but the investigation was definitely fascinating.

Day 4: October 23

We ate our last breakfast at the hotel and then traveled to see a "Hocus Pocus" location.

Sadly, it was time to leave Salem. Our second visit to Salem was exhilarating and eventful, despite the weather. Although we did many of the basic activities the first year, this year we were able to explore activities and places we hadn't done yet. I thouroughly loved every second of this trip and adore the atmosphere and history of Salem. Though some may find it strange and unusual, that's exactly what makes Salem so unique and individual.