We’ve been to Salem, Massachussetts (the “witch city”) twice (we took the train from Boston), and because it’s a place we love (and a literary city at that), October seems a perfect time to write about it.
Of course, the city takes its nickname from its history. The Salem Witch Trials and executions of 19 innocent people took place here in 1692. For that reason alone, the town attracts a lot of people interested in that history, and though it’s good for business,Salem-a beautiful coastal city-has a lot more to offer than a haunted history. But since we’re on the subject, and because "‘tis the season" for spooky places, we'll start there.
On our second trip, we stayed at the historic Hawthorne Hotel, named for the city's most notable literary native, Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Built in 1925, the hotel has been featured in both television and film. According to the web site, in 1970, it appeared in the television series Bewitched (their Salem episode), and in 2015 scenes from the film Joy, with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro were filmed there. This on my list of favorite hotels because of its elegance and attention to detail; if you love history, you'll appreciate how they have retained the ambiance of their 1920's roots. The vintage U.S. mailbox is still in the lobby and still in service. Since the box is connected to chutes, guests on every floor can still deposit mail.
As for hauntings, some guests have reported some strange encounters. (My son swears our bathroom doorknob jiggled throughout the night, keeping him awake.) If that's not spooky enough for you, the hotel's Doll in the Hall, Alice, might show up when you least expect her:
The Hawthorne Hotel offers events throughout the year, especially at Halloween. (Not surprisingly, it's hard to get a booking in October.) I asked the people at the front desk for ideas about places to see in Salem, and they offered us a walking map complete with restaurants, shopping, and museums/attractions.
I knew a memorial was being built at the newly discovered Proctor's Ledge, where the executions of suspected witches took place; at the time it wasn't completed (it is now.)
However, they pointed me toward the Howard Street Cemetery where few people go (because it's not listed on the walking tours.)
It is the site where Giles Corey, a prominent farmer (who, along with his wife, were suspected of being witches) was pressed to death (with heavy stones placed on a plank of wood across his body) for refusing to plead his guilt or innocence. His wife was hanged four days later. Eyewitnesses wrote that as his torturers demanded he plead, he only answered "more weight."
We visited Salem in the months of November and June (side trips from conferences in Boston), so we missed the height of witch season. But I can tell you that the theme is prevalent all around, especially at the Witch Museum (with its eerie red lights that glow from its windows at night.) This year, they're celebrating the Wizard of Oz with special events.
The Witch House is where magistrate Jonathan Corwin lived, and where examinations of suspected witches took place. Corwin's home is the only one still standing in Salem with direct ties to its witch history. There’s also the historic Witch Dungeon Museum, the site of the original jail where some of suspected witches were held until their executions. And there are lots of little shops where all things witchy can be found.
From all accounts, Halloween is a busy time for Salem (for obvious reasons.) When you really study the Salem witch trials, however, the story is nothing less than tragic. The best book I’ve read on the subject is Stacy Schiff’s The Witches (2016). A Pulitzer prize winner, Schiff does a deep dive into early New England history and explores the reasons behind the “panic” of 1692. From a 2019 perspective, it seems ludicrous that people could so easily be charged and executed, based on false accusations made mostly by children. But Schiff puts all of it in perspective in beautiful, narrative prose. If you’re considering a trip to Salem, and the witch trials interest you, read her book before you go.
The site of the hangings was a best guess until researchers found enough evidence to pinpoint the most likely place where the gallows stood. Since we last visited, a memorial to the victims of the witch trials has been built near the execution site, called the Proctor’s Ledge Memorial, which is outside of town limits near a Walgreen’s. A stone wall that memorializes the trials’ victims, visitors can stand and look up to what was once Gallow’s Hill (now on private property.)
Yet another memorial in town includes the 19 victims’ names and how they died, a quiet testament to the town’s willingness to embrace the root of this tragic history, which began with people caught up in a panic driven by religious fervor, assumptions about women, and the bandwagon approach to belief.
The next time we visit, we will take a side trip to Danvers, and the Rebecca Nurse homestead. The 71 year-old was also tried and hanged in 1692. Her home is located in what used to be Salem Village, and according to the company that manages it, it is "the only home of a Witchcraft Hysteria victim that is open to the public."
Salem is also a literary town, known for one of the greatest writers in American history: Nathaniel Hawthorne. A contemporary of Thoreau, Emerson, and Alcott (who lived in nearby Concord), Hawthorne was born in Salem in a more humble version of the house in his novel The House of the Seven Gables (c.1668) which includes the Hawthorne birthplace (c.1750). Be sure to climb the secret staircase.
Consider adding to your reading list: The Scarlett Letter (also by Hawthorne). Inside the house, you’ll see one of the bureaus where he kept the manuscript of this book.
We love New England, particularly Salem, because so much of it truly does represent our country's earliest history.
You can easily take the train from Boston and walk from the stop into town (assuming you're not carrying tons of luggage) or you can park your car at the hotel and walk around.
And if you're really feeling ambitious, do a ghost walk. At night. In Salem.
Then, head back to the Hawthorne Hotel, where they'll serve you a drink to calm your nerves, called...The Scarlett Letter.
And watch out for Alice.
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