Salem!!!

I recently completed a bucket list trip to Salem, MA!

Of course I had to visit The House of Seven Gables! It's so thrilling to see where Nathaniel Hawthorne was born. As I read House of Seven Gables on the plane trip home, having visited the space helped contextualize the novel. I hadn't read this one before. I LOVED the vibes it gave me!

It felt surreal being able to be in some of the same places Hawthorne occupied!

Situated by the Salem Harbor, it had beautiful scenery! 

One of the really cool features of the gift shop was a stamp inside all of Hawthorne's books that said purchased at the House of Seven Gables with a replica of Hawthorne's signature.

I loved all of the witchy things around Salem. My first night there I had to pose with the Bewitched statue.  I know it's a very old show but I am a huge fan!

We visited a bunch of fun museums. The Salem witch museum had a wonderful display on witches in popular culture. I definitely was most excited to see a first edition of one of my favorite books as a kid: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Another cool feature was the bookshop, which acted like an extension of the museum. I loved their shelf of books by Salem witch trials descendents.

Another really unique place was the Witchboard Museum. It held every single kind of oujia board imaginable. It was really quiet there so I enjoyed talking to the owner, who was very knowledgeable on the subject. He said it was OK to take pictures but sometimes the spirits interfered. I take a quirky stance where I LOVE the kinds of stories people weave about ouija boards but have grown to9 be cynical about taking them as truth. It's really easy to blame bad things on a mysterious foreign object. But it's likely that these things would have happened without the presence of the object. With that being said, supernatural horror is definitely one of my favorite horror subgenres.

And I am happy to report that I did not need to blame the outcome of the photography on a malicious spirit. 

Other museums of note:

The monster museum at the Witch Mall, where they handed their patrons electric lanterns to see the monsters that dwell in the dark

The Witch House, which brought visitors into daily life in the in addition to having artifacts from the Salem Witch Trials.

I also had to check out Saint Peter's Episcopalian church. Philip English, who was accused of witchcraft, owned the land that the original church was built on.

It is funny that an area that is a historical landmark for falsely accusing people of witchcraft leans in heavily to witchy vibes. With that being said I am a huge fan of the vibes!

As a tea drinker, I loved seeing all of the different places to buy  tea! 

Diehl Marcus was definitely a highlight. They actually gave me tea samples for free. Upon  tasting a variety of flavors, I had to return to buy full bags!

And it may have been a good thing that I didn't discover Jolie tea until my last full day. Being so close to my hotel, I had to visit twice! My first time was for a morning cuppa where I had the Jacqueline Kennedy blend with a Madeline. My second time was for lunch where I was able to get herbal tea and some tea sandwiches and maracroons for an Ala carte afternoon tea.

And of course, I had to visit Blackcat Books! I love visiting indie bookstores when I travel! I took the most interest in books about Salem.

But my prized souvenir is my oujia board purse from Blackcraft!!! That was a super cool place with a coffee shop abnd horror/goth  lovers dream store.

Since I was there in celebration of my wedding anniversary, the time wouldn't be

 complete without a romantic stroll around the old graveyards.