October 15, 2011

Today, I accomplished one of those little things on my bucket list. 

As we all know, Salem, Massachusetts is the historical location for witchcraft and the Town of Salem comes alive during October for its annual haunting and visiting this town during October has been on my list for quite some time. 

So this Saturday morning, I boarded a Wade tour bus with my friend Megan at 6:00am to travel the 200 miles needed to reach our destination.  Upon arrival in town we first visited Pickering Wharf where we had a wonderful lunch at Finz, the oh-so-hip seafood restaurant where I dined on a great fish and chip lunch. 

Then we were off to visit the Salem Witch History Museum to see the presentation of Salem Witch Trials of 1692, one of the most important cases of mass hysteria in our history.  In 1692, 29 people were convicted of the felony charge of witchcraft, 19 of whom were hanged (14 women and 5 men) and one man, Giles Cory, was pressed to death (by placing large boulders on his body) for refusing to enter a plea. 

One of the things that I found most interesting was the fact that although they began reversing the judgments in 1711, it wasn’t until 2001 that all of those convicted were proclaimed innocent.  Almost 300 hundred years later.  Wow! 

Next stop was the House of Seven Gables, the Turner/Ingersoll Mansion, built in 1668 and the inspiration for Nathanial Hawthorn’s legendary novel.  This mansion is also filled with family history and drama, since it had been in the Turner family until the youngest Turner lost everything the family owned including the home.  I am not certain I knew exactly what a gable was but I do now!

I also took a trip to the cemetery where the hangings took place and also the cemetery in which it has been rumored as the location of the pressing of Giles Cory.    

Next stop the Haunted Happening carnival, complete with monsters and ghouls.

A fabulous day and totally enjoyable.  I highly recommend a visit, especially during October.