Salem: Two Visits, Two Surprises
In September, Salem welcomed us with historic buildings and quiet charm.
By October, it seemed to have invited every witch, ghost, and skeleton in the neighbourhood to a party!
Our first visit revealed handsome brick buildings, imposing old courthouses, and a church with a tall steeple.
But Salem has a darker chapter: the infamous witch hunt of 1692, when fear and suspicion led to twenty people being executed.
By our October visit, Halloween was in full swing.
Skeletons dangled from buildings, giant spiders guarded horror houses, and skulls glowed menacingly.
Witches and costumed characters filled the streets.
Some carried glowing lightsabers; one person had balloons covering their body.
It seemed Halloween gave everyone permission to let their imagination run wild.
Our family joined in, posing beside the displays.
I photographed everything, as usual.
Retirement has yet to cure me of that habit!
We also found a lively Irish pub, where musicians filled the room with traditional Irish music.
The cheerful tunes and outrageous costumes made for an evening to remember.
Salem gave us two experiences: history and a party.
Yet behind the Halloween fun lies the memory of the 1692 witch hunt, when rumours and suspicion helped turn innocent people into victims.
Even today, unreliable stories can travel through social media dressed up as truth.
Some things, it seems, have changed less than we imagine.
I’m glad we visited twice.
One Salem told us stories. The other gave us quite a few stories to tell.
