"Discover Salem 2024: Your Guide to the Witch City" by Ron Martin

Ron Martin lives in Indiana, but he makes a pilgrimage to Salem Massachusetts yearly.  He loves the town, and has become it's #1 tourist.  He has produced a great guide and updates it yearly.  Here is my review of the book from a few years ago.

And, I haven't been to Salem in some time, but here is a little info on my last visit.

Salem is still a favorite trip, and even though I haven't been able to make it there in a while, I still enjoy reading about it, and keeping up with what's going on.  Some days, I even explore it in googlemaps, remembering some of those fun trips from years ago.

Thanks to Ron's book, I can read up on Salem, and plan a future trip...  even if it might not be any time real soon.

Ron's yearly trip to the town has been going on for over 2 decades.  He has watched the town's attractions, festivities, tours, and businesses as they have ballooned.  He almost jokes about the days when there were only half a dozen or so walking tours you could take.

The book is an easy, quick read (I enjoy reading this one straight through).  Ron covers the stuff you will want to know about- popular restaurants, tours, places to stay, gift shops, etc. etc.  A big part of the book is preparing for the massive crowds and lines if you plan on going in October (I bought an extra copy this year for my cousin who will be spending a honeymoon in Salem a couple of weeks before Halloween!).

Ron carefully updates the book each year, so he brings up some attractions that are new, or are no longer there at all.

If you are going to Salem, or, if you just love the town, you are going to want to get this book.  Its easy to find Ron Martin on the socials...  Order a signed copy directly from him!

President Gerald Ford at Concord Bicentennial Celebration Postcard.

"April 19, 1975 Concord Bicentennial Celebration at the Old North Bridge.  On the podium (L-R) Reverend Dana McLean Greeley, John B. Finigan, President Gerald Ford, and Philip H. Suter.
'...We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.'  Declaration of Independence."
This old postcard is unused and undated.

"Wicked Salem: Exploring Lingering Lore & Legends" by Sam Baltrusis

You know I have been fascinated with Salem Massachusetts for some time.  The city is fascinating and weird.  AND, it has all of that strange history and lore.  I've read a ton of books on the place.

Well, I recently picked up a copy of Sam Baltrusis "Wicked Salem:  Exploring Lingering Lore and Legends".   Flipping through it, it looked like it had a lot going on.

In fact, I think thats a good way to describe this one.  Its got a lot of information and covers a lot of ground in its 230 plus pages.  It discusses the famous witch trials and current legends associated with the trials.  It also talks about more recent crimes and legends, unassociated with the trials.  AND, the author gives some biographical info on some of the more interesting modern characters in town.

What I liked about the book most though, is that the author kinda takes an old character from the towns passed, and pulls them into the present...  not literally, but he gets into the places and legends that that persons story affects in town now.

The writing style is original and sincere.  

"Discover Salem: Your Guide to the Witch City" by Ron Martin

                                               I just picked up "Discover Salem:  Your Guide to the Witch City" by Ron Martin.  This book is readily available on Amazon for a little over $10.  If you have any interest in Salem at all, this is the book to get.  I totally wish that this book would have been available before our first trip to town many years ago.

AND....  this is a simple, fun to read, honest travel guide.  In fact, I would love to see more travel guides written in this style.

"Discover Salem" is separated into chapters about what you will want/need to do while you are in town.  There are separate entries on shopping, getting around, the witch trials, ghosts, Nathaniel Hawthorne, places to stay, etc.  In each section, Ron discusses all of the current options (though, he notes, businesses come and go in Salem constantly), and he tells you what he thinks about each one.

He's careful about his recommendations too.  He knows that some people may be on a tight budget- so he notes the hidden places to find cheap eats, and he also openly discusses some of the more economic hotels- some might pass on them, but they might be perfect for the traveler watching their pennies.

Ron is not a local, but he is an established expert tourist on the town- he makes his pilgrimage yearly in October.  October is a very busy month for the Witch City, as MANY visit at this festive time.  The author devotes an entire section to surviving during that crowded and chaotic month.

Ron talks a lot about his favorites (tours, souvenir shops, restaurants, hotels, witch shops, etc) but he knows that the perfect time in Salem for one reader, might not be the perfect time in town for another.  He makes suggestions for the history lover, those interested in ghosts, witches, or seeing filming locations.  He knows that what I want to see while in Salem will likely be a bit different from what another might want to experience.  

Oh, he also lets you know all that neighboring Danvers has to offer as it has major ties to the events of 1692 too.  Sadly, Danvers is often neglected by tourists (and travel books), but it packs just as much of a witch trials/historic wallop as Salem!

I really enjoyed this book and plan to keep it around for reference before my next trip.  It gets my highest possible recommendation!

Yachts at Anchor, Gloucester, Massachusetts.

This postcard was sent from Kennebunkport Maine in 1933.  It shows a tranquil view of Gloucester, Massachusetts

West Boston Bridge, Boston, Massachusetts

"West Boston Bridge, Boston.  Bridging the Charles River, connecting Boston and Cambridge.  A beautiful granite structure, over which pass some of the cars to Cambridge, the home of Harvard University."

This older postcard is undated.

Portico Over Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts

 Here is an old, undated postcard showing Plymouth Rock Massachusetts.

Flying Home

We were dropped off at Logan International Airport in Boston.  It took maybe 20 minutes to check in and go through TSA.  We found a Wendys that didn't have jacked up airport prices!  It was very good too, and there was a seating area! 

We talked to a couple from the St. Louis area seated next to us, they had been on a similar cruise.  I had hoped to walked by the gates where the planes were taken from on 9/11, in section B &C, but we were in section A, which did not have easy access to those areas.  It was actually nice though.  We felt like we were in a small airport the way it was sectioned off. 
 
We went and sat near our gate.  I charged my nearly dead phone and listened to my ipod, and read some in my Haunted Acadia book.  It was a bit noisy at the airport, and drowning stuff out with tunes was nice.  I listened to some Lou Reed, Kristina Stykos (Turn Off the Noise), and my autumn and Canadian playlists. 

As we got ready to leave, we got emails that our flight was going to be delayed from getting us to Lexington at 11, to getting us there at 1am, then 2am, then we got an email that our flight was cancelled!   

The flight crew from Boston to Detroit was great, and cheery- which I think affected everyone else's attitude.  I was going to read, but the flight was a little over 1 and a half hours, and they had free movies to watch on the seatback, so I watched the Beguiled, which I heard was a Civil War movie.  7 southern women of various ages rescue a Yankee who's leg is injured, and they nurse him back to health.  I ended up liking this movie because it was weird....  but it wasn't exactly a Civil War movie, other than the time and setting.

When we got to Detroit, we had an email that we were rescheduled for a flight leaving in an hour and a half or so (ended up getting us to Lexington about 15 minutes later than what we originally thought).  Anyway, we were just thrilled to not have to spend the night at the Detroit airport.

Most places were closed at the Detroit airport, but we found a Wendys again, which was fine.  They were getting ready to close I think but they were still taking orders. 

We had a nice flight back to Lexington too!

Boston

So, it was Friday morning, and we would be leaving the Norwegian Dawn early.  We had booked a short driving tour of Boston that would end at the airport.

We went to the theater to wait to be let off. A very nice staff person was making announcements, and telling us how things would work.  Well, at one point, an older man yelled out, "Can you speak up, we can't hear you."  OK, the feller has some hearing issues. 

Understandable.  He then went on, "Are you speaking English?  Speak English!"  A grumble was then heard through out the theater.  I heard someone by me say, "That man is just being rude now."  Someone in the back of the auditorium then yelled out, "We can hear you just fine!" to which EVERYONE clapped.  It was nice seeing the rude jerky man being shut down.  The staff person handled it well too, saying that English was not his first language but he was trying.

We were then allowed to go to the port station to get our luggage, which had been left outside of our rooms the night before.  We went to the black tag area... and could not find our luggage! 

We felt a bit of a panic!  Kim, and the staff who did announcements were helping.  Port staff kind of helped, but we were asked at least 20 times if another family member may have grabbed the luggage.  My wife went to look with a port person and ended up finding it in the green section.  Kim grabbed our largest bag and helped us as we ran to our tour bus. 

Anyway, as we got to our bus, I gave Kim a small tip for his help, which he declined.  I insisted though, and we thanked him.  He was our tour guide, and we bumped in to him on at the port at Sydney and at various other times.  He had been VERY helpful several times on the cruise.  We also had filled out a comment card about how helpful he had been before we left the ship!

So, we got onto our tour bus for our Boston tour.  This was nice, we quickly saw the Cheers entrance (I did not have enough time to get a good photo).  We saw Boston Marathon landmarks, and other things.  We DID NOT see Fenway park (I think I barely saw it from the plane).  We got to the airport and unloaded.


Again, like with some of the other tours booked through the ship, this was a short trip, kind of hitting the highlights.  We didn't have enough time to do any sightseeing in Boston on our own, so this was a nice way to get some of it in on a limited time budget.

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

It is that time of year when I really want to read something scary!  I love Halloween, and Fall....  and I try to enjoy as much about the season as I can!

I wanted to find some reading material that seemed appropriate.  Luckily, I found a copy of Kathleen Kent's book, "The Heretic's Daughter", set during the witch trials in Salem!

One thing that popped out to me as I read a description of the book was that one of the book's main character's, convicted and executed Salem witch Martha Carrier, is an ancestor to the author!  That gives this book some significant cred up front.

The story is told from the perspective of Martha's daughter, Sarah, who is growing up in this well known New England area.  She and her family experience a good amount of rejection thanks to family health issues.  She is forced to stay with her aunt and uncle for some time as these issues occur.  She develops a strong bond with a cousin, and her relations and perceptions of each family member evolves as she is moved around.  She develops more of an understanding (and admiration) of her parents, while her psychological guard goes up concerning others.

While she is dealing with living a regular young girl's life, the witch hysteria becomes a major focus for the locals, as Sarah, her mother, and most of the rest of her family find themselves in jail, accused of being witches.

"The Heretic's Daughter" is a very well written book concerning this time and place in history.  MANY modern authors have tried to write about this... with mixed success.  Source material is scarce, and some authors have taken excessive creative liberties.

Kathleen Kent has not done that.  Sure, this is historic fiction, and she has written a story, but I believe she has stuck VERY closely to the known facts.  THIS is exactly what I think probably went down in Salem and the surrounding areas in 1692.  She is making some of this up..... but she has absolutely gotten the tone and the vibe right.

If you have read up on the events, you know that the convicted were likely the most dedicated Puritans of them all.  Even with threat of death, they refused to make a false admission to save their lives.  These were stubborn, disciplined people who would literally rather die than to renounce their status as a faithful believer. 

Again, the author really gets the FEEL of the time right.

The book has a good flow and I was able to read this one over a few days.  It is dark while still being true to the events and it gets my highest possible recommendation.

"A Season with the Witch" by JW Ocker

I just finished reading JW Ocker's A Season with the Witch:  The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts".

This is one of those books that I was pretty excited to pick up right when it came out.  I know that Ocker is someone who sincerely enjoys weirdness and strange things and places (check out his blog, OTIS for proof).  AND, he is pretty big on the town of Salem Massachusetts..... a town that I am also pretty fond of!

So, last year JW was able to spend the entire month of October in the "Witch City."  In fact, he and his family were able to hang out, and take in all of the Halloween festivities that go down in Salem in October.

I am certain that everyone is familiar with the Salem Witch Trials that happened in 1692.  Well, for better or for worse, the town has always been associated with witches ever since.

That association of/connection to/celebration of witchiness just seems to get stronger here.  Even as perceptions of witches can be diverse..... anything and everything witchy seems to come together in Salem!

Ocker points out that there is something weird about this.  Many other areas took more victims during their moments of witch hysteria.  And, why has Salem become a mecca for modern practitioners of Witchcraft and lovers of Halloween?

The author tries to figure those questions out as he explores this great city.  Along the way he interviews the people you might expect-  local celebrities, authors, politicians, and museum operators.  He also gets some fascinating dialogue going with a Salem cop and the person who provides security at the cemetery.

I don't think that JW Ocker meant to have a villain in his book, but one does accidentally emerge.  Salem's Peabody Essex Museum has some Holy Grail type relics relating to the witch trials of 1692 IN STORAGE!  This sad fact is brought up a couple of times in the book.  In their defense, PEM does try to explain why they do not display these items..... but I think for many of us their excuse is a bit on the weak side.

As someone who has visited Salem a few times, I really enjoyed reading about some of the businesses in town, and whats going on there right now.  The city does change a lot, but it remains the historic, Witch City.

This is a great read for this time of the year!

Haunted New England books by Robert Cahill

Hey, I just thought I would give a brief mention to the wonderful series of books by the late Robert Cahill.  I know the first couple of times driving through Salem, it seemed like his books were everywhere!  I stocked up!

If you enjoy authentic ghost stories, tales of unsolved mysteries, and general New England strangeness, Cahill had a well put together, easy to read book for ya!

Plus, he had deep, real roots in Salem.  I wish I could have crossed paths with this author.  Luckily, he was a prolific writer, and we can read his stories.

"Passing Strange" by Joseph A. Citro

I have mentioned before how, sometimes you read a book, and a subject or author comes up.  Maybe something odd is mentioned, and I make a note of it... and it leads to researching another topic or place.

Well, the book, "Passing Strange" by Joseph A. Citro kept popping up as I read other books and material relating to New England.

So I picked up a copy.

The book actually covers some of the lesser known ghost stories, legends and hoaxes.  There were many in here I had never heard of.

Some (The Eddy Brothers) are given more credit than they deserve, but this is still a nice collection of strange tales.

Others are interesting and I need to look up more info on them (The Black Flash of Provincetown, and several mysterious "triangle" areas).  There is the legend of a house that burned to the ground, but still occasionally appears in photos!

New England is such an established area, and there are so many strange legends.  This book by Joseph A. Citro is a good starting point for reading about the strange in that region!

"Connecticut Witch Trials" by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton

Everyone knows about the Salem witch trials of 1692, but it seems that not a lot of people are aware that "witches" were put on trial and executed in other areas too.

Cynthia Wolfe Boynton's book, "Connecticut Witch Trials" covers the events that happened in Connecticut starting 45 years BEFORE the events in Salem.

Like the Salem events, records are scarce on the Connecticut Trials.  Alse Young is noted as being the first executed witch in Connecticut (and America).  The author acknowledges that there is barely any mention anywhere of this.  She also brings up the fact that it is very possible that earlier executions could have occurred, but the records no longer exist.

Considering the rareness of records, Boynton has done an amazing job of piecing together as much of the story as she can.  She includes an easy to use timeline of events and a chart of Connecticut residents accused (including their residence, and the result of the accusations).  Also, a lengthy bibliography is included.

Luckily, there were a few people who questioned the whole process of prosecuting witches, and the "evidence" used against the accused.  A governor does much to disrupt the hysteria, as do a few others.  Still, many are reluctant to question, as they do not want to also be singled out.

This book had a lot of good info in it that I will need to follow up on later.  Mentioned are sites related to the events (just like with Salem, the exact hanging locations are questioned), but at least one in Bridgeport CT. is pretty well known).  Also, Cynthia mentions several other books on the Connecticut Witch Trials, including some independently published works by descendants of those people involved in the trials (any help on tracking those down would be appreciated!)!

AND, like the Salem trials, some fiction based on the events has generated myths relating to the actual facts.  Boynton covers that topic too!

Until more journals or other records are found, I think this is a pretty complete book covering the Connecticut With Trials!

The House of the Seven Gables, Salem Mass.

This postcard is undated and unused.  The House of the Seven Gables is in one of my personal favorite towns, Salem.

Roger Conant Statue and Second Church, Salem, MA

If you have been through Salem, you know this location!  The church is now a significant museum!

The Shop, House of Seven Gables, Salem, MA.

Rosemary Ellen Guiley- "Haunted Salem" and "Monsters of West Virginia"

Its that time of the year when I start talking about weird books!

If you have read this blog for some time (thanks Mom!) you know that I love places with some history to them- especially if that history is somewhat mysterious.  You also know that I love Salem and I have made several pilgrimages to the area.

I ended up ordering a couple of books from Rosemary Ellen Guiley after I heard that "Haunted Salem" was just a good book to have around.

I can safely say that this book has become my favorite on modern Salem.  It is a short and easy to read book but it is still very thorough.  This would be the perfect book for someone to read who will be going to visit Salem for the first time, or for someone just wanting to get a better understanding of Salem.

Guiley gives a brief telling of the events surrounding the witch trials in the first part of the book and then she goes over the curses relating to the trials and executions.

After that, Guiley discusses the many locations considered haunted or of historical interest in Salem, including sites associated with the main characters you have read about from the 1690s.  I was glad to see her section on Gallows Hill, an area that is conspicuously missing from some books on Salem.

I also picked up her book on West Virginia- "Monsters of West Virginia."

I find myself spending more and more time in that state.  With the up and down terrain, the state does have a very hidden and mysterious feel in general to it.  PLUS, the state has some of the best cryptid legends anywhere.

Rosemary does a great job covering the stories of the Braxton County Monster, Mothman, and the others. 

Again, this book's chapter on Mothman offers a thorough and easy to understand telling of the facts.  If you have heard about the creature but don't know much, this would be the perfect starting point.

By the way, if you are interested in weird phenomenon, or just weird stories, you HAVE to read "The Mothman Prophecies".  Even if you don't believe that John Keel is telling the truth, you can appreciate the story.  Oh, and this is definitely a case of the book being better than the film.  Don't bother with the movie.

I was able to stop and say hello to Rosemary at the Mothman Festival this year!  She is there every year, and it is great seeing her and other authors of similar books in one place!

http://www.visionaryliving.com/

Pickering House, Salem, Mass 1907

Pickering House, Broad Street, Salem Mass. Erected 1660.  Birth Place of Timothy Pickering, The Friend of Washington.

This card was sent in 1907!

Bancroft Tower- Worcester, Massachusetts

"The Bancroft Tower was erected to the memory of the Bancroft family of Worcester, Massachusetts.  Aaron Bancroft was a revolutionary soldier, clergyman and author.  His son, George (1800-1891), was born in Worcester.  A distinguished historian and statesman, he established the Naval Academy at Annapolis when Secretary of the Navy under President Polk.  He founded the Round Hill School at Northampton, the first serious effort in the U.S. to elevate secondary education to its rightful place."