Salem
Okay, so I've been way busy this past week....and with the stuff that's due, it's not about to end anytime soon. I haven't posted for a long time and I have a lot to say. Instead of bogging you all down with a five page post, I decided to just split what I have to say into three or four posts. First, I'll start off with last week:
Last week, I visited none other than Salem, Massachusetts. It was exciting and put me in a Halloween mood. Since it was the last weekend of October, the town was really crowded with tourists (a lot of them dressed up) and there were tons of events going on. You'd have to stay for the whole weekend to do it all. Isn't it ironic that Salem is so well known for its witch trials (most of those who were executed never once practiced witchcraft), and yet today, a fair amount of the population includes witches and the town is a favourite spot for witch gatherings. I can't help but laugh to myself thinking about how the Puritans would roll in their graves if they knew...
Anyways, here's how the day played out:
-My roommate and I took the ferry over to Salem at 11am. Normally, I'm sure the trip over is quite pleasant, but it was a rainy day....I've never been on a boat that's rocked so much. People were puking and fainting all around; towards the end I was starting to feel a little nauseous, and that doesn't typically happen to me.
-After getting off the boat, everyone was fine. Even better, the rain had stopped. My roommate and I spent the first hour or so looking around an figuring out what to do.
-First stop: Spellbound Museum. It was a small museum with a lot of creepy and odd stuff. The first room had photos with ghosts in them, a mummified human head, body parts and organs preserved in jars, and a section on oujia boards and crystal balls. They also had one of those devices that sense ghosts and the first thing my roommate and I thought was, Supernatural! The second room wasn't quite as interesting. There was stuff on voodoo and witchcraft in different cultures. The third room was mainly dedicated to vampires. There was a 19th century vampire killing kit and all other sorts of stuff and info. It was an interesting little place.
-Second stop: Food. There weren't really any restaurants around, so I had to rely on getting a hot dog from a vendor.
-Third stop: A trial. Some people put on a re-enactment of Bridget Bishop's pre-trial at the Old Towne Hall. It was very simple, but fun to watch.
-Fourth stop: A tour. I really wanted to go on a ghost tour, but my roommate wanted to get back earlier, so we settled on a history tour of Salem's darker hours. It was interesting tour...I liked it because I like morbid stuff. It lasted a decent hour and a half, and the only let down was that it started pouring rain halfway through.
-Fifth stop: Palmistry. I've always wanted to get my palm read...just for fun. It was a bit expensive, but worth it. Some of the things the psychic told me were very true; and there were other things I disagreed with. But we'll just have to wait and see about that....
-Sixth stop: Gift shop. Well, I just had to get a souvenir, so we search around for a gift shop and I bought a t-shirt that says Salem and has a pentegram on it. Yay, a shirt that'll protect me from evil. ;)
-Seventh stop: The ferry. It had been dark for a while by the time we headed back, and fortunately not rainy. The boat ride was a lot smoother this time and I spent the ride watching Game 3 of the World Series with some fans while my roommate fell asleep.
Some pictures:
The streets of Salem...
An old jailhouse that was actually up and running until 1991. I think it might've been one of the last jails in the US with no plumbing. Apparently, this jail housed the Boston Strangler for a time. And of course, it's haunted.
The cemetary at night. After reading about ghostly orbs, I was excited to see orbs in my own photograph. Then I realised since it was a rainy day, the probably aren't real...
A view of Boston from the ferry. I love lit up skylines.
My next post: Red Sox Madness
Last week, I visited none other than Salem, Massachusetts. It was exciting and put me in a Halloween mood. Since it was the last weekend of October, the town was really crowded with tourists (a lot of them dressed up) and there were tons of events going on. You'd have to stay for the whole weekend to do it all. Isn't it ironic that Salem is so well known for its witch trials (most of those who were executed never once practiced witchcraft), and yet today, a fair amount of the population includes witches and the town is a favourite spot for witch gatherings. I can't help but laugh to myself thinking about how the Puritans would roll in their graves if they knew...
Anyways, here's how the day played out:
-My roommate and I took the ferry over to Salem at 11am. Normally, I'm sure the trip over is quite pleasant, but it was a rainy day....I've never been on a boat that's rocked so much. People were puking and fainting all around; towards the end I was starting to feel a little nauseous, and that doesn't typically happen to me.
-After getting off the boat, everyone was fine. Even better, the rain had stopped. My roommate and I spent the first hour or so looking around an figuring out what to do.
-First stop: Spellbound Museum. It was a small museum with a lot of creepy and odd stuff. The first room had photos with ghosts in them, a mummified human head, body parts and organs preserved in jars, and a section on oujia boards and crystal balls. They also had one of those devices that sense ghosts and the first thing my roommate and I thought was, Supernatural! The second room wasn't quite as interesting. There was stuff on voodoo and witchcraft in different cultures. The third room was mainly dedicated to vampires. There was a 19th century vampire killing kit and all other sorts of stuff and info. It was an interesting little place.
-Second stop: Food. There weren't really any restaurants around, so I had to rely on getting a hot dog from a vendor.
-Third stop: A trial. Some people put on a re-enactment of Bridget Bishop's pre-trial at the Old Towne Hall. It was very simple, but fun to watch.
-Fourth stop: A tour. I really wanted to go on a ghost tour, but my roommate wanted to get back earlier, so we settled on a history tour of Salem's darker hours. It was interesting tour...I liked it because I like morbid stuff. It lasted a decent hour and a half, and the only let down was that it started pouring rain halfway through.
-Fifth stop: Palmistry. I've always wanted to get my palm read...just for fun. It was a bit expensive, but worth it. Some of the things the psychic told me were very true; and there were other things I disagreed with. But we'll just have to wait and see about that....
-Sixth stop: Gift shop. Well, I just had to get a souvenir, so we search around for a gift shop and I bought a t-shirt that says Salem and has a pentegram on it. Yay, a shirt that'll protect me from evil. ;)
-Seventh stop: The ferry. It had been dark for a while by the time we headed back, and fortunately not rainy. The boat ride was a lot smoother this time and I spent the ride watching Game 3 of the World Series with some fans while my roommate fell asleep.
Some pictures:
The streets of Salem...
An old jailhouse that was actually up and running until 1991. I think it might've been one of the last jails in the US with no plumbing. Apparently, this jail housed the Boston Strangler for a time. And of course, it's haunted.
The cemetary at night. After reading about ghostly orbs, I was excited to see orbs in my own photograph. Then I realised since it was a rainy day, the probably aren't real...
A view of Boston from the ferry. I love lit up skylines.
My next post: Red Sox Madness