The last time I went to Salem was about twenty long years ago, and I didn’t remember it much until I finally went back. For the last five years or so, I have wanted to take my family, my wife, and my stepdaughter up to Salem, not just to show them some of my family roots but also to experience Halloween in Salem for obvious reasons. One of the most interesting things that I found out when we were there was that most people actually don’t realize that the so-called witches were hanged in Danvers, Massachusetts. In 1692, Danvers was called Salem Village, and what we now know as Salem was actually called Salem Town. Salem surprisingly didn’t start celebrating Halloween until 1982, which just so happens to be the year I was born. However, when you think about it, Salem and Danvers had a reason not to celebrate the holiday, and because the Witch trials were so horrific, the towns just wanted to forget about their past and move on with their lives. After being on a train from DC to Boston for six hours and then in a taxi for 20 minutes, my buttocks were numb, and it was 10:30 when we arrived at the Salem Hotel where we stayed.
It was, however, on Essex Street, which is where all the action happens. Also, as Salem is Halloween's unofficial capital, people start to dress up on the 1st of October, not just on the holiday. We were there for four days in total, and on the first day, we just walked around mostly on Essex Street and then did a ghost tour. The temperature was almost 80 degrees, which is crazy for Salem at this time of year. I forgot that the family and I went up to Salem about three years ago, and when we drove up to New England with some friends, we went to the Peabody Essex Museum. The PEM is where most of Salem's history is, including the Crowninshield room. Last time, we tried to see the room, but the room was under construction, which was disappointing considering my third name is Crowninshield, my father’s middle name. We went into another room where they had the story about the Crowninshield murder; yes, there was a killer in our family.
The PEM was definitely the highlight of the trip for me as was just being in Salem for Halloween and seeing everybody’s costumes. However, I think I like just walking around and finding colonial houses that belonged to one of my ancestors or a cousin, going to one of the local cemeteries, and seeing people you are related to buried there. I, of course, thought about my dad while I was there, as well as just thinking that I am a descendant of almost half the people who were hung, the judges and the Putnam accusers. I certainly recommend going to Salem on Halloween just to experience it once, like you experience New Year's Eve once. However, if you really want to see where the unfortunate victims of the Salem Witch trials were, go to Danvers, Mass, and you will also find the Putnam cemetery there as well; my fifth great grandparents were Josiah Bradlee and Hannah Putnam, which is how I am related to the Putnam family. Happy late hauntings.