Haunted Footsteps Ghost Walk, Salem Mass.

I can't stress enough just how strange of a city Salem is, and I mean that in a very good way. Sure, it has the distinction of the whole witch trial thing in 1692. It has the very defined dark, rainy New England feel. It is bursting with oddness.

I love historical strangeness too. I love documented, official, authentic weird places.
I also appreciate odd urban legend type locations. Sure, I want to know the facts, but often legends without any proof start somewhere, and I want to hear about those too.

Salem has both. We know about the documented witch trials, ships, pirates, etc. associated with the area. This is fascinating stuff in its own right to research. Out of that, you get the other legends too.

I was told when going through the Witch Dungeon that the original jail where the "witches" were was, for some time, lost. They weren't sure where the jail was located. Well, in 1955, when digging was done in the area where the bank was being built, they stumbled on to it. Instead of trying to preserve the area or do anything historical with it, they went ahead and built the bank.

That is an often heard story in the area, and it seems to be pretty true. There are other legends in the area too. It seems that most agree that Gallows Hill is the area where the actual executions occurred, but I have heard people debate this. I have also heard other rumors about Salem and mysteries in the area. Like most any town, if you talk to locals you will hear various haunted house stories and urban legends.

We went on the "Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour" and we got a big old dose of all of the above. Tara was our guide, and she was amazing! This was the kind of tour where you have to set and think for a few hours afterwards- there is a lot of bizarre information! We were told the tour would be about 90 minutes long. Well, Tara was very talkative. The tour went over 2 and a half hours and everyone on the tour listened to every work (I was going to make a joke about hanging on every word but then I changed my mind). It was such a great tour, I don't think anyone wanted it to end.

Our guide covered the local legends and some of the basics, but most of her knowledge was "little known" stuff. Her story telling was animated and creepy (the perfect combo). She told some truly disturbing tales. There are a number of things I am going to have to research further myself. I did not know anything about catacombs or about the local modern jail.

The Haunted Footsteps people sell a combo ticket with the Spirits Trolley Tours. The trolley can be used all day and it goes on about a 1 hour loop around the city. It is also very informative, with a bit more of a historic emphasis. With your ticket, you can get on and off of the trolley as often as you need. We ended up getting on two different trolleys through the day, and, just like with the ghost tour, our guides were informative and fun. They pointed out all of the significant sights.

Salem is just such a strange fun town. Like other cool areas with a touch of strangeness, the balance here is just a little off. It is a nice city on its own. It is comfortable and pleasant. Then, there is that knowledge in the back of your mind about its past.