Salem, Massachussets

Salem 

The year is 1692, you’re sitting in a dark, damp courtroom with the rest of the townspeople, awaiting the verdict of the elderly woman on the stand, your neighbor.  She stands there, feeble, quiet and defeated, having nothing more to say. You never gave her much thought when you would see her around. She was kind to you, tended to her to animals and her house. 
But lately she hasn’t left her home. Rumors have begun to swirl about her and your mind begins to spin in paranoia.  The chatter begins to grow amongst the people, sharing opinions on whether or not she is guilty.  The judge stands, banging his gavel. “Silence! Silence!”
The crowd is quiet, everyone holds their breath. “We the jury declare this woman not guilty!”
The sound of wailing and shrieking comes from a group of young girls huddled in a corner. “No!! Thats not true!” “She’s lying!” “Help us!” 
Upon seeing this uproar the jury reconvenes and returns with their final verdict.
“We the jury find this woman GUILTY of witchcraft! Her property will be seized and she shall remain in her prison cell for the rest of her days!” 
This fate fell upon around 20 different people in Salem, Massachusetts, all punished by hanging, pressing or imprisonment where they wasted away and eventually died.
And now its a fun tourist Halloween attraction! WOW! We humans are extremely weird in the things we find amusing.

Though dark and depressing, the history of this town is fascinating, and there’s nothing more festive than immersing yourself in a village with such a dark past, especially during Halloween.
I’m so happy I finally made it here after years of wanting to check it out and it did not disappoint at all.

Everything worth visiting is right in the heart of downtown Salem, all walkable and easy to get everywhere. (About a 4 hour drive from NYC)You can visit during the day ( I did and it was awesome) or at night which im sure is extra cool and eerie!  I would recommend taking a bus or cab in as parking is hard to find, or if you drive (which I did) get there early and park in a garage.

Visit the Salem Witch Museum
Right in the center of town this museum is a must see, where you will hear the tales of the trials, and get a dose of haunting hysteria.
Tix are $15 and you can only get them day of, get them early before they get sold out!

Visit all the shops, apothecaries, and bookstores!
Everything is witch themed in this town so all the art, books and souvenirs are made of all your kitschy dreams! I bought books, candles, lavender and sage soap, a cool Salem Witch City sweatshirt, a creepy mermaid painting and of course I couldn’t leave without a HOCUS POCUS WALLET.

Do a tour
There are a ton of tours to sign up for like the walking candle lit tour, ghost tour, witch tour and even a self guided tour that takes you all over Salem on foot to see the top attractions and also some cool spots where they filmed a few scenes from Hocus Pocus. (The app is $19.99)

Eat!
There’s a ton of restaurants and pubs in the area where you can munch on chicken tenders and throwback beers before getting the pants scared off you on your next adventure. I ate at Rockafellas it was great!

​Have fun and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!