Bewitching Salem, MA

Today I woke up around 9.30am, and was dismayed at the utter lack of crockery and cutlery at the hostel/nursing home. This place really is a dump. I pulled on some clothes, walked to Brooks Pharmacy and bought some plastic plates, bowls, cups and cutlery. Just so as I could eat breakfast and make a packed lunch, can you believe.

I then caught the subway to Central Boston, and just missed a commuter-rail train to Salem, so waited there an hour for the next one. Once there, it wasn't what I was expecting at all - a lot more built up. I was thinking it was going to be this little village with white, wooden houses, but it was a proper town.

I had a wander around and ended up in the visitor's centre, watching some kind of propaganda film that told you nothing about the infamous witch trials that took place here in 1692, and only mentioned the slave trade about twice (Salem was a receiving port of slave-carrying ships). Instead, it was mainly about the settlers and industrialisation of Essex County, how the puritans "could no longer stand the corruption of the Church of England and wanted to build new lives in the New World". In fairness it was quite interesting, if not dangerously cheesy.

Next I set out to the Salem Witch Museum. I paid my $6.50 and got a cool sticker, and then read some information boards about the trials before a presentation. We all went into this dark room, like an auditorium, and on the floor was an illuminated red circle with all the names of the accused on it, going around in a spiral. Around the edges of the room were raised platforms, on which stood displays, each illuminating in turn as the story was narrated. Apparently it all started with a young girl named Rebecca Putman, fabricating stroies and maladies out of boredom. This led to hysteria in a time when God and the Devil were feared above all else. In the end, there were around 18 people hanged, pressed (with rocks) or imprisoned for being found guilty of witchcraft.

Then, we got shuffled along into the 'Exhibit Room', where there stood models of 3 types of witches; the pagan midwife, who used lots of 'erbs (as the Yanks pronounce it) and was a healer; the Hollywood witch with green face, broomstick, black hat and cape; and modern-day witches, practising the religion of Wicca. They also had an interesting equation on the wall, which can be applied to most 'witch-hunts': "Fear + Trigger = Scapegoat".

Afterwards I wandered around some more, taking in the waterfront, the Pirate Museum (argh!) and the Bewitched Statue (a bronze tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery), then I headed back to the hole. Since there were no pans for my clam chowder at the nursing home (ooh! surprises), I bought a microwavable chicken parmigiana from Target and crashed on the couch with the French girl from my room, to watch 'Friends' for a whole 2 hours! Bliss!

Well, I'm off to Albany, NY tomorrow, where I'll be meeting my friend Kristi (whom I met in San Diego two years ago), and I'll be staying with her in Saranac Lake, by Lake Placid, NY until Sunday. I'm really excited to see her after so long, plus it'll be nice to see a friendly face!