Witch Way To Walk: A Stroll Through Salem

"More inhumanity (to man) has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes."

-Samuel von Pufendorf, 1673

There are few towns or cities in the United States that conjure up lurid history like Salem, Massachusettes. Oh sure, most cities have their ghost stories and their haunted happenings, but none have capitalized on it quite like Salem.  It has built its entire economy on a series of events that happened over a span of 13 months in 1692-93: The Salem Witch Trials.

To understand the witch trials, you have to understand the mindset of the Puritans who lived there in the late 1600's.  The Bible was literally the Word of God, and if the Word of God said,"Thou Shalt Not Suffer a Witch to Live," then, by God, you did not.

Roger Conant, Founder of Salem

Witchcraft was real to the Puritans and anyone who has been through high school and read the play The Crucible knows how quickly events can escalate once the accusing starts.  The city of Salem has taken full advantage of this (just try to go there during the month of October to find out how much they capitalize on this: their police cars even have witches on them).

By the end of the trials, nineteen people had been executed, more had languished in prison, lost their farms and property, and generally had their world flipped upside down simply because, well, humans can be terrible to each other for very little reason.

Although Salem has prospered from the throngs of tourists who go there to see the witch trial museums and reenactments, it is a town with more stories than what history has inseparably linked it to.  It oozes history, right down to the original cobblestones that line its streets.  It was home to Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose great-great-grandfather was one of the judges of the witch trials (Fun Fact: Nathaniel Hawthorne changed the spelling of his last name so he wouldn't be associated with Judge John Hathorne.)

John Hathorne?  Never heard of him.

Travel to Salem and it's like stepping into a strange amalgamation of past and present. Houses from the 1600's sit across the street from modern houses and businesses.  Like most other cities, Salem has become famous for their tours, and the best way to see the town and hear the stories is to walk it.

As the three faithful readers of this blog are aware, I have written about ghost tours in other cities in previous posts (Wilmington and Savannah).  My wife and I are always big fans of ghost walking tours and try to go to them whenever we travel to a new city.  How would Salem, with all its documented history, compare to other cities?  It turns out, there's a lot more to Salem than its hysteria over witchcraft.

So, on a surprisingly chilly (for June) night, we met by the steps of the Old Town Hall in downtown Salem to walk about the town and get a feel for the heartbeat of Salem: the superb stories you only hear from the locals.

Old Town Hall in Salem.  Full disclosure: I stole this picture because I didn't think to take one when I was there.

Even though this will sound like a shameless plug, I cannot say enough positive things about our tour guide.  A walking tour lives and dies by how good its guide is, and our guide was one of the most engaging and best storytellers I've ever heard on a tour.  If you're ever in Salem, find the Witch City Walking Tours and speak with Beth.  Okay, shameless plug over...

The first stop on the tour was the site of the first church in Salem.

Historical marker denoting the site of the first meeting house of Salem

The above picture is hard to read from the angle it is taken from, but it says, "Here stood from 1634 until 1673: THE FIRST MEETING HOUSE erected in Salem.  No structure was built earlier for congregational worship by a church form in America.  It was occupied for secular as well as religious uses.  In it preached, in succession: Roger Williams, Hugh Peters, Edward Norris, John Higginson.  In was enlarged in 1639 and was last used for worship in 1670.  The first church in Salem gathered July and August 1629 has had no place of worship but this spot."

The lower marker reads: "The first church in Salem occupied this spot from 1634 until 1923 and this building was its fourth meeting house upon the union of the First and North Churches the society has met for worship in the North Meeting House thereafter as The First Church."

This spot is now home to a rather nice-looking restaurant called Rockafellas.

Rockafellas

Rockafellas is located in the historical Daniel Low building.  Daniel Low & Co were the first to capitalize on the Salem souvenir business when they started selling souvenir "witch spoons" in 1891. (Now, across the street, you can buy a t-shirt that reads "I Got Stoned in Salem.").  

Beneath the Daniel Low building is a series of old tunnels that were used for smuggling and helping hide slaves via the Underground Railroad.  The building is supposedly home to a mysterious lady in a blue dress who is said to haunt the place.  The story goes (if I remember it correctly) that a young lady was impregnated by a sailor and was expecting him to marry her.  Rather than marry her, the sailor murdered her and buried her in the tunnels beneath the building.  Now it is said that the restaurant is haunted by the "Blue Lady" screaming from the downstairs vault area (as if someone were down there buried alive).

True story?  Maybe.  It seems like a standard ghost story trope that's told in a lot of tours: a jilted lover wanting revenge.  In any case, it seems like a good way for a restaurant to sell drinks.  Apparently, Rockafellas has a specialty cocktail called "The Screaming Vault."

From there, it was a quick hop across the street to The Witch House (which sounds scarier than it is).

Witch house?  This house!

The Witch House was the home of Jonathan Corwin, one of the judges involved in the Salem Witch Trials.  It is significant because it is the only structure still standing with direct ties to the Salem Witch Trials.  Corwin signed several arrest warrants, but records don't show how much direct involvement he had in the execution of the nineteen who were convicted of witchcraft.  He had a son, George, who was the High Sheriff of Essex County.

George Corwin was not a good person.  One of his jobs was to sign arrest and execution warrants of those accused of witchcraft, which leads us to the story of Giles Corey.

"Giles Corey Pressed to Death Sept 9, 1692."

Giles Corey was an interesting fellow.  He was no saint (he beat one of his indentured servants to death after he was caught stealing apples) but he was no witch, either.  His case stands out in the witchcraft trials because he was the only one not hanged.  He was "pressed" to death.  George Corwin was the one in charge of torturing and eventually killing Giles Corey.

When he was accused of witchcraft, Giles refused to plead guilty or not guilty.  He did this so he would not forfeit his property.  A person who refused to plead could not be tried, so it was decided that he would undergo what the French called  Peine forte et dure (hard and forceful punishment).

Sheriff George Corwin led Giles out to a pit in an open field, stripped him naked, and laid him on the ground in the pit with boards across his chest.  Heavy stones were then placed on the board over his stomach and chest.  Giles still refused to plead or cry out.  Each time he was asked to plead, he would only respond with "more weight."  Sheriff George Corwin, being the great guy he was, would, from time to time, stand on top of the boulders pressing down on Giles.  When Giles's tongue would hang out of his mouth, George Corwin would take his cane and stuff it back in.

Giles endured for three days with more and more weight crushing his chest.  Just before he died, he cursed George Corwin and the town of Salem.  Since he refused to plead guilty or not guilty, his property passed on to his two sons-in-law instead of being forfeited to the state.  So Giles dies almost a martyr, and his gruesome execution starts to put a lot of doubt in the minds of the people of Salem about this whole witchcraft thing.

Howard Street Cemetery.  Giles Corey was pressed here and buried.

It's said that the ghost of Giles Corey appears in the Howard Street Cemetery just before disaster strikes the town.  His death takes us back to the story of Sheriff George Corwin.

Before Giles Corey died, he cursed George Corwin and ever since the curse (which was something like, "you'll die choking on blood") the position of Sheriff of Essex County has been said to have cursed as well down through history.  All the holders of that office since George Corwin have either died or resigned as a result of heart or blood ailments.  (The Sheriff's office was moved from Salem in 1991, which is said to have broken the curse.)

The Joshua Ward House: said to be the most haunted home in Salem

George Corwin was hated in Salem.  He was nicknamed "The Strangler" for his interrogation methods of those accused of witchcraft.  He also had his own jail in his basement.  George had a habit of making false accusations of witchcraft in order to obtain the accused's property.  Feelings ran high against him for this.  Oddly, he died at age 30 of some sort of blood ailment (The Curse of Giles Corey!).  However, he was so hated, that his surviving family didn't want to bury him in a cemetery for fear his body would be dug up and desecrated, so, they did what any caring family would do... they put him in the cellar.

So, George stayed in the cellar of the home for about two years.  In the mid-1780's, Joshua Ward built this house over the site of George Corwin's house/jail.  In fact, George Washington slept here.  So, this house is said to be haunted by the ghost of Giles Corey, and the ghost of old George Corwin himself (people have reported feeling choked), and the ghost of a woman who was thought to have been accused by Corwin.

There was a Christmas party being held there by a realty company, and the employees were having their pictures made to be put on a wreath.  One of the Polaroid pictures (this was the early 1980's, kids) showed this image when there was no one there...

The infamous "witch" photograph taken at the Joshua Ward House

Some think this was just a blurry photo of one of the employees, but there were other reports of strange happenings in the house:  candles blown out, things moved, lights on and off, doors opening and closing, etc.  People are convinced that George Corwin a.k.a. The Strangler did so many sadistic things in his basement/jail that the paranormal activity there is legitimate.

I have never seen the film Hocus Pocus, the 1993 film starring Bette Midler, but my daughter claims it is one of her favorite movies.  I take her word for it.

The Ropes Mansion

I am told this house, the Ropes Mansion, was a filming location for Hocus Pocus.  It's a beautifully restored mansion now run by the Peabody Essex Museum.  It's also supposed to be haunted.  It's caught fire three times.  Judge Nathaniel Ropes died of smallpox here, and his wife, Abigail Ropes was near the fireplace when her dress caught on fire, and she burned to death.  She is the one who is said to haunt the mansion.

The back corner of the Ropes Mansion seen from the garden.  Abigail died in that back corner room.

In the 1960's, the show "Bewitched" filmed an episode in Salem (look it up on YouTube, kids!) and when TV Land started airing the reruns, they placed a statue of Samantha in Salem.  It's pretty popular, and people are always stopping to have their picture made with it.

Samantha of "Bewitched."

The cosmic irony is that they placed the statue of land that was formerly owned by Judge John Hathorne (great-great-grandfather of Nathaniel).  I imagine he would not be pleased to see a statue of a witch on his property.

Speaking of John Hathorne:

The grave of John Hathorne "The Hanging Judge."

The last stop on the walking tour was this burial ground:

John Hathorne buried here

Those of you who remember your junior year of high school might remember John's great-great-grandson.  He wrote The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables and a bunch of short stories that might have put you to sleep when you were sixteen and thinking of other things.  He also wrote a book called Doctor Grimshawe's Secret.

Sofia Hawthorne's house.  It overlooks the Burying Point Cemetery

Nathaniel Hawthorne met his wife Sofia in this house, known as the Grimshawe House, and based his novel Doctor Grimshawe's Secret here.

So far as ever came to the present writers knowledge, there was no whisper of Doctor Grimshawes house being haunted; a fact on which both writer and reader may congratulate themselves, the ghostly chord having been played upon in these days until it has become wearisome and nauseous as the familiar tune of a barrel-organ.  The house itself, moreoever, except for the convenience of its position close to the seldom-disturbed cemetery, was hardly worthy to be haunted....

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Doctor Grimeshawe's Secret

There were more stories, of course, during the tour, and to hear the rest, you'll have to take the tour yourself.  Salem may have fallen victim to its own tourism industry, but it's still worth going and finding out all you can about all the stories (witch-related or not).  It's a town that doesn't back away from his shady past (in fact, there would be no industry without it).

The Dead Don't Call Part 2

In a long-awaited follow-up to the previous post, it is sad to say after a review of our evidence we didn't catch anything.  I know this is disappointing to the five followers of this blog, but it is a topic we've addressed before: the hyped-up promise of paranormal activity that leads to...well, not much.  Nonetheless, it was a fun night out, we hope to catch something next time.