Salem, Massachusetts

DAILY TRAVEL INSPIRATION: Salem

Happy Halloween from Inspire Flyer! Today’s destination was once home to a huge number of witches, or an equally scary mass persecution of innocent people, depending on your belief in the paranormal. Now an outer suburb of Boston, Salem still has plenty of spooky sights for the intrepid traveler.

Salem saw over 200 people accused of witchcraft between 1692 and 263. 19 people were eventually found guilty and executed, with more dying in prison or during interrogation. Visit the house of Jonathan Corwin, the magistrate who investigated many of the alleged witches. Now known as the Witch House, the house is preserved in a 17th Century style which gives a good idea of the living conditions of the time. Also worth checking out is the House of The Seven Gables; another house kept in a Colonial style. Both houses show the gloom and hardship endured by early settlers in New England, and perhaps some explanation as to why hysteria and panic swept so quickly through this isolated community.

There are plenty of other cheesy witch-themed attractions in town, offering everything from re-enactments of witch trials to modern Wiccan rituals. It’s probably better to head to the Peabody Essex Museum instead, which covers the artistic heritage of New England, as well as a huge collection of artifacts from Asia brought back by Salem merchant ships. The collection of Native American pieces is perhaps another explanation for Salem’s hysteria; the strange and animalistic designs would have been unlike anything the settlers had seen before and further reinforced their feelings of being surrounded by the unknown.

Read more on Salem below with flight options, current weather, maps, and activities to try while you are there.

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