SALEM

I forgot to mention in the last post that we had a stowaway from Pennsylvania to Cooperstown.  At our campground in Cooperstown, I discovered in one of our storage bins that a small frog had made the trip with us.  Luckily the campground had a pond and a fair share of wetlands so we’re confident that our hitchhiker found a safe new home.

From baseball to witches, we left Cooperstown for Salem, Massachusetts.  I had been through the area on business some time ago but hadn’t stopped.  Barbara had never been.  We stayed at a delightful campground about 45 minutes away in Ayers.  The Boston Minuteman RV Park is situated amongst tall trees, and, even though Boston is one of the most congested areas on the east coast, you really do feel like you’re away from it all.  Highly recommended!

The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft.  A special court convened in Salem to hear the cases; the first convicted witch was hanged that June.  Seventeen others followed to Salem’s Gallows Hill, and 1 man was crushed to death following his conviction of witchcraft.  In total some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months.  But by September 1692, the hysteria had begun to abate and public opinion turned against the trials.  The Governor disbanded the court, and later the Massachusetts General Court annulled the guilty verdicts.

Had the young girls stepped up and revealed that their possession story was made up, the good citizens of Salem would not have been persecuted nor been put to death.  Lore and myth has prevailed over the centuries, and it has lent itself to Salem being a permanent (if dark) piece of American history.  The entire month of October is called Salem Haunted Happenings, culminating with an amazing All-Hallows eve celebration on 10/31.  Estimates are that on an annual basis more than 500,000 people visit Salem during the month of October.

Myths die hard, and Salem could give a few away and still have enough to keep us interested.  We spent a little more than an hour on a general information tour and another hour on a ghost walk.  It is true that Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the telephone by making a call from the town’s Lyceum to a newspaper editor in Boston.  The police do have a witch’s emblem on their vehicles.  And people do believe that they have seen and felt spirits in many locations through-out the area.

In the midst of a true urban setting you will find yourself in a historic town with cobblestone streets, many buildings dating back to the 17th century, and a glorious park in the middle of town.  The historic district is only about a mile in length and 5-6 blocks wide.  We took a walk down to the docks and found a seafood lunch (how about cheese fries smothered in clam chowder-poutine New England style!), and made a quick trip to see the House of Seven Gables from the outside looking in.

All-in-all though you must respect Salem as a magical place, a place today that is inclusive and gives some consideration to the traditions that have held fast through the centuries.

Barbara and Brian