Salem: A Travelogue

Some spooooooooky photos and thoughts about witches to start the week.

Sep 26, 2022

Actually, none of these photos are that spooky, and I know you are waiting for another installment of that wacky fella Marat's shenanigans. That will have to wait for now because, as many of you might know, I'm in the Boston area, and I've been exploring historical sites.

I finally rented a car and headed out to Salem. I'll definitely go again before I leave, but here are some photos and a few initial impressions. But first…

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First impressions

The first thing that stood out to me was how booming Salem was. I don't know why I was expecting it to be so sleepy and rural, but it gave off more of a vibe of a tourist hot spot where wealthy, Goop-loving New-Englanders would travel to shop. The town has capitalized on its history and is filled with cute shops selling crystals, tarot cards and palm readings. Some high-priced restaurants serve lobster rolls and signature cocktails.

And I saw more than one "Satan-themed" bar.

The welcoming exterior of what I *think* is a bar? Either way, it used to be a bank. Also note the cute witch hats in the photo.

Witchy Fashion

Sometimes, it felt a bit like being in a witchy Disneyland. I saw quite a few people wearing "witch hats," which could be bought at one of the many souvenir stores in Salem.

It's interesting to note that what we consider the typical "witch hat" stems from fashionable hats at the time. Black (a color we typically associate with witches and evil) was a very costly and fashionable color in 17th-century Europe.

No idea who this is supposed to be but I love this statue.

I had no idea how well I would be fitting in by wearing all black that day. (I’m my usual non-photogenic self.)

The Historical Sites

I got to Salem a bit late in the day, so I couldn't see everything I wanted. Nevertheless, I did get to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial and Charter Street Cemetery. People are often surprised that those condemned to die during the witch trials were not buried in this cemetery, however, to be convicted and executed for a crime considered so evil, it would be unlikely that these bodies would be buried in "hallowed" ground.

The grave of “The Hanging Judge” at the Charter Street Cemetery.

Martha Corey, wife of Giles Corey. One of the last people hanged during the hysteria.

Giles Corey, husband of Martha Corey. He was the only one who was not hanged. He was crushed to death for not complying with his own trial.

I chatted with a Salem Walking Tours guide named Kenneth Glover, who mentioned the condemned would have been hanged, tossed into a ditch and covered with dirt. Should one of the bodies reappear or a family member come back to reclaim the bodies, they probably would have been buried elsewhere in Salem. (Perhaps the family farm, but a churchyard would have been out of the question.)

My best friend kept me safe from the errant squirrel that dared cross my path…

Very few structures in Salem around the 1690s still exist today. Even the locals are a bit unclear about which buildings are associated with the period and which ones aren't. (Although Kenneth appeared to be very well read on the subject.) While I was there, I saw "The Witch House," where one of the judges from the trials lived, the oldest church in Salem, a house at the Charter Street Cemetery (which I'm still unclear about its original purpose), and my personal favorite, the mansion from Hocus Pocus.

Did we ever get the right message from the Salem Witch Trials?

I was passing by one tour guide who reassured his audience that the Devil never was in Salem. I have to disagree. The Devil was in Salem — just not where anyone was looking.

I find it interesting that in the 21st century, the message that people have gotten out of the Witch Trials were messages of individuality — many people identify with the condemned because they don't feel like they fit in. Many have also gotten a message of subversiveness and counterculture. This is also interesting and somewhat ahistorical because it glazes over the fact that none of the people condemned of witchcraft in the first place were actually witches. They were mostly just misfits.

The hunts only started to draw to a close when people realized that not even the pillars of the community would be spared the noose for stepping out of line.

What I find particularly interesting is this all happened in less than 100 years before the American Revolution. In my earlier article about the Salem Witch Trials, I mentioned the absolute absurdity of the court proceedings: No one was entitled to a defense, and the line of questioning was confusing at best. Not to mention, the conviction rate was a suspicious 100%.

Revolution had been brewing on this continent for at least 100 years. This resulted in a government and document that ideally would protect us from this kind of disaster from happening again.

Unfortunately, we haven't always avoided witch hunts in this country. We have participated in our fair share of debankings, deplatformings, blacklistings, lynchings, shunnings and the like since 1776. Nevertheless, the Witch Trials serve as a warning shot for future generations to remind us where we need to take an abundance of caution in public life.