GROWING UP NEXT TO THE WITCH CAPITAL OF AMERICA

- Renee Gannon, Assistant Website Editor

I grew up in the medium-sized seaside city of Beverly, Massachussetts.  Most people, with the exception of a few geography whizzes, have never heard of it, which is why I always end up explaining its location as being “next door to Salem, the witch capital of America.”  Everyone’s heard of the infamous Salem, Mass., known almost exclusively for its historical role in the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600’s.   I’m pretty sure it’s in every United States History book ever written, so it’s a piece of history that most kids can’t avoid learning.  

There is much more to Salem than the trials of 1692. Salem industries have included fishing, shipbuilding and overseas trade, to name a few, and in the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution brought leather tanneries and cotton mills there as well.  Many of the famous old, historical houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries still stand today, including the House of the Seven Gables, the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and the Stephen Phillips Memorial Trust House.  As you walk through the cobblestone streets of Salem’s historic areas, you can smell the sweet ocean breeze and the aroma of our Country’s historical roots.

For most of the year, Salem is relatively quiet – sure it has its share of tourists, but not unlike any other historical city.  Enter the month of the October.  Salem really comes alive from October 4th to October 31st with the world famous “Haunted Happenings” and, let me tell you, nobody celebrates Halloween quite like Salem, Massachusetts. Whether you are seeking the changing leaves and cooler weather of a New England Autumn or the ghosts and goblins that Halloween is known for, you will find it all in Salem during this “ghastly” month.

Salem Haunted Happenings begins on the 4th with its Grand Parade, which I have had the pleasure of marching in, fully costumed, with my High School marching band.  The “Haunted Happenings” continues with a full month of events, museums, attractions, shops, haunted houses and fantastic dining. This year alone, over 125 businesses, attractions, venues and events are participating in the annual affair.  The city has something unique to offer on Halloween that most places don’t – its history. There’s something about being in a place on Halloween that you know has experienced such horrifying terror like the Witch Trials.  Being able to visit such places as the Salem Witch Dungeon, the Salem Wax Museum, the House of Seven Gables, Nightmare Factory Haunted House, Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Salem Witch Village, Gallows Hill, Spell Bound Museum, the Salem Witch House and many more, will really give you spine-tingling chills. 

And if that’s not enough spookiness for you, you can always pay a visit to one of the many resident psychics and present-day practicing witches (Wiccans), like Laurie Cabot, the official witch of Salem and an ordained High Priestess descended from Celtic ancestry, who currently reside in the town. 

Salem, Mass. is definitely one of the most fun, entertaining and simultaneously haunting places to be on Halloween.  It is certainly a place worth visiting, both for families with kids and adults, especially if Halloween is your favorite holiday of the year.  If you do decide to visit though, it can get insanely crowded and pretty crazy so let me give you a little piece of advice: get there early or plan your stay at the historical Hawthorne Hotel (located in the heart of everything) – or else you’ll end up having to park yourselves next door, in Beverly!