The Witch City

Salem, MA: aka the Witch City

This Sunday Andy P and I ventured into the heart of Halloween to visit the town of Salem. Known for things like The House of the Seven Gables, the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne...and oh yes, the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.

In 1692, a bunch of teenage girls, who apparently had very little to do, starting claiming that some of the townsfolk were witches. The town back then consisted of about 1,500 people...and roughly 10% of them (150) were accused of witchcraft. By the time it was all said and done, 20 people were executed (19 hanged and 1 pressed to death), not including the 3 who died in prison and the 2 dogs that were killed (yup, they killed dogs because of witchcraft).

Since our theatre had just closed our production of The Crucible about one week before...I felt it was as good a time as any to revisit (I went once with my parents when I was younger) the town where it all went down (yup, it rhymed).

Our first stop: The Salem Witch Museum



It was just as I remembered it, right down to the wax figurines and the red victim circle on the floor. Everything was fresher in my mind having just see our production, but it was all as I had remembered from years before.

After lunch, we headed in search of some haunted houses. I knew of two, but walking back from eating we hit a bike parade. It happened to be Bikers Against Breast Cancer, as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It was pretty cool...seeing all of the bikers. However, the best part was watching all of them dressed up; not just the leather...but in Halloween costumes, with spiderwebs across their handle bars and skeletons sitting in the 'backseat.'

Once we got past the bike parade, we made our way into the Witch Village near the Salem Wax Museum. It was here that we ran into this lovely lady...

We visited two Haunted Houses at this time: Frankenstein's Laboratory and The Haunted Witch Village. Both were short and fun...partly due to the fact that we were the only ones going through at the time (note to all: go during the day to a haunted house; there will not be a line).

I got a little jumpy during the second because there were clowns...and yes, they found me. I was literally shaking it off for a good 5 minutes following the excursion.

Next, we went into the neighboring graveyard. We weren't the only ones. I have to admit: I like walking through graveyards...but this seemed a bit weird, with a bunch of other people wandering around. I wondered if our downstairs neighbors minded. I guess they are probably used to it.

But look who we found!

If you look closely, you will see that its Judge Hathorne of the Salem Witch Trials. We tuned into a graveyard tour at the time we reached the headstone and the tour guide mentioned that in his later years Hathorne did admit to making a mistake, getting swept away into the girls' stories during the trial of Rebecca Nurse, but that they went through with her execution to make a point.

Also...Hathorne's relative, his great grandson, Nathaniel, was so disgusted with his great grandfather and what he did back in 1692, that he added a W to his last name. Thus, it was changed from Hathorne to Hawthorne, to help others think that he wasn't related.

After a wonderful 5 hours in the Witch City...and two sweatshirts and a shot glass later...we headed away from Salem to the second part of our Sunday adventure: a haunted house.

We went to Fall River, MA, about an hour and a half from Salem, to visit The Factory of Terror.

When we arrived, it was shortly before 6:30pm, the time it opened...and there was already a line. It wasn't too long, so we hoped right in, and before we knew it, we were purchasing our tickets at the Bates Motel front desk. The haunted house boasts 3 haunted houses, which are all intertwined into one long maze. There are splits between the 3, where you would pick up 3D glasses or drop them off...but everything wound seamlessly into the next.

I was in the front of our group (a place I covet) and I lead the pack into the darkness. Soon, the screaming group of girls got left behind (no loss from us) and we continued forward. I do think that I am a pest in haunted houses. I don't scream. I may jump from time to time, but no screams ever come out of me. So...the creatures in a haunted house will probably see me as one of two things: 1) a challenge or 2) a waste of time.

Each section was great, with their own things that got you. In the first section, Bloodworth Manor, killers like Freddie Kruger and Michael Myers followed you around. In the 3D section, you were told to walk through walls that you didn't think you could actually go through. In Phobia Mayhem, your nightmares came to get you with big spiders, extreme darkness and claustrophobia. I think the claustrophobia was the best. There were three sections of it throughout the Phobia Mayhem section...each getting tighter and tighter...until you finally reached the end...

...and this is what you met...

I can't wait until the next one! Until then faithful readers....