Salem: Witch City

Salem was a treat. The town where the infamous Witch Hunts and Trials took place. The city if steeped in history and folklore.

Surprisingly, the city is quite proud of its Witchy heritage. Salem is known as “Witch City”, there are numerous monuments and museums dedicated to the craft – as well as numerous mediums, fortune-tellers, tarot-readers and modern-day witches. The police department even incorporates an image of a Witch into it’s county logo (which is displayed proudly on all police vehicles).

Elizabeth Montgomery of "Bewitched" fame

One thing to note about Salem, is that it's (apparently) not proud of its persecutory past. There are no markings or signposts for the landmarks of the witch trials or the gallows where the  hangings took place. Which makes it impossible for tourists to visit these sites. Instead, the sites have been covered up by buildings, parks or schools so that there is no reminder of the criminal and disgusting actions which took place there so many years ago.

Similar to Boston, Salem also offers a History of Witches tour – which is a red line painted on the sidewalks. Following this line – on foot or by bus – allows you to visit all the Witch Museums, as well as any remaining artifacts from the Salem Witch Trials.

Here’s some pics:

The only remaining house from the Witch Trials

Red line which outlines the Witch Trail

Witch Museum

Town Hall

Guess what this beach was used for in times gone by....

The high school from "Hocus Pocus" and Salem Common

Liesl, preparing to be hanged on the gallows...

This is extremely uncomfortable...

The Witch road signs which mark the points of interest on the trail

Naturally, we couldn't go to Salem and not have our cards read... so we eventually decided to have our fortune's told by the resident Witch at The Omen... All good things in store for us :-)

Our trip to Boston is up next.

xxxx