Salem, Massachusetts is home to many museums, but you can't visit without spending a morning at the Salem Witch Museum. Without it you really haven't tasted the true flavor of Salem!
Hey guys, it's me again, Shelby, and I have to tell you that it doesn't matter how many times I come to Salem, I always have to take a detour to the Salem Witch Museum, it's just that good! Is it creepy?
It is rather creepy, and it is definitely disturbing given that the information presented is all based on historical fact.
But when all is said and done you feel as if you have really learned something, and in a way that doesn't make you feel wrung out like a sponge.
Now don't get your panties in a bunch. This
isn't some historic stick in the mud museum that will bore you to tears and have you humming the star spangled banner in your head while you wait for the pain to end.
This is a full on awesome presentation of a very dark time in American history, but presented in such a way that you're going to be more intrigued than bored by the time you walk back into the daylight.
It helps of course that the Salem Witch Museum is built in a very gothic styled building that simply reeks of historical awesomeness.
Not only do you get the gothic church like stained glass windows in the front but there are also turrets, and flying buttresses and an iron railing surrounding the entire complex and, out in front, you have a bronze statue of Roger Conant (The Puritan) who was the founder of Salem itself. Then of course there is the tour.
You start with a presentation (given using narration and lit wax works) of the story of the Salem witch hunts and trials of 1692.
The story is a gruesome one, and all the more disturbing given the facts which have come to light over the centuries (which points more to politics and revenge than to anything supernatural).
The most chilling thing of all, however, is knowing that it actually happened; that 19 innocent people were hung (and at least 17 more died while waiting to be executed) because of the accusations of a group of hysterical teenage girls.
But the presentation is only the beginning.
After you have finished with the initial presentation, the tour continues with a walk down the halls of time where the story of Wicca and Witchcraft is traced from its roots in prehistoric times right down to the present, including the Hollywood representation of witches and modern lore and superstitions which simply cannot seem to die.
On the way out you can stop by the gift shop and pick up a copy of The Crucible (the movie depicting the story of the Salem Witch trials) or a copy of the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch's Hammer) the book which was used by the Witchfinder General to €identify€ those practicing witchcraft during the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries, or any of the other novelties that you'll find waiting for you.
While it may seem like a rather macabre way to have fun, taking a gander through the Salem Witch Museum really is an intriguing way to spend an afternoon, but you're going to want to take a long walk in the sunshine afterwards to ward off the dark chill that will creep into your head while you're contemplating a horror story that was, disturbingly, all too true.
And with that thought, I'm off to get a bit of lunch at one of these sidewalk cafes. I want to feel warm again, and that is going to take a while.
Bye for now!
Love, Shelby (S.O.S.)
Hey guys, it's me again, Shelby, and I have to tell you that it doesn't matter how many times I come to Salem, I always have to take a detour to the Salem Witch Museum, it's just that good! Is it creepy?
It is rather creepy, and it is definitely disturbing given that the information presented is all based on historical fact.
But when all is said and done you feel as if you have really learned something, and in a way that doesn't make you feel wrung out like a sponge.
Now don't get your panties in a bunch. This
isn't some historic stick in the mud museum that will bore you to tears and have you humming the star spangled banner in your head while you wait for the pain to end.
This is a full on awesome presentation of a very dark time in American history, but presented in such a way that you're going to be more intrigued than bored by the time you walk back into the daylight.
It helps of course that the Salem Witch Museum is built in a very gothic styled building that simply reeks of historical awesomeness.
Not only do you get the gothic church like stained glass windows in the front but there are also turrets, and flying buttresses and an iron railing surrounding the entire complex and, out in front, you have a bronze statue of Roger Conant (The Puritan) who was the founder of Salem itself. Then of course there is the tour.
You start with a presentation (given using narration and lit wax works) of the story of the Salem witch hunts and trials of 1692.
The story is a gruesome one, and all the more disturbing given the facts which have come to light over the centuries (which points more to politics and revenge than to anything supernatural).
The most chilling thing of all, however, is knowing that it actually happened; that 19 innocent people were hung (and at least 17 more died while waiting to be executed) because of the accusations of a group of hysterical teenage girls.
But the presentation is only the beginning.
After you have finished with the initial presentation, the tour continues with a walk down the halls of time where the story of Wicca and Witchcraft is traced from its roots in prehistoric times right down to the present, including the Hollywood representation of witches and modern lore and superstitions which simply cannot seem to die.
On the way out you can stop by the gift shop and pick up a copy of The Crucible (the movie depicting the story of the Salem Witch trials) or a copy of the Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch's Hammer) the book which was used by the Witchfinder General to €identify€ those practicing witchcraft during the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries, or any of the other novelties that you'll find waiting for you.
While it may seem like a rather macabre way to have fun, taking a gander through the Salem Witch Museum really is an intriguing way to spend an afternoon, but you're going to want to take a long walk in the sunshine afterwards to ward off the dark chill that will creep into your head while you're contemplating a horror story that was, disturbingly, all too true.
And with that thought, I'm off to get a bit of lunch at one of these sidewalk cafes. I want to feel warm again, and that is going to take a while.
Bye for now!
Love, Shelby (S.O.S.)
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