Day 2 of our Va-cape-tion: Salem!

What better way to kick off the spooky season than with a visit to Salem! And we were lucky enough to get there in the shoulder season before the October crowds took over the city.

Our first stop was to see The House of the Seven Gables, which is the house that inspired Nathanial Hawthorne's book in 1851. Then we hopped across the street to the Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie, which is the oldest candy store in the U.S., where we picked up some yummy old-fashioned maple sticks and peppermint Gibraltars. Afterward, we had some time to kill before meeting up with some friends, so we watched an interesting theatrical show at the Witch Dungeon Museum about the history of the witch trials.

House of the Seven Gables

Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie

Later we met up with our friends from Colorado who were visiting at the same time. We spent some time together walking around the city, checking out all the witch- and vampire-themed shops, and also walked around the Witch Trials Memorial, reading all the stone benches dedicated to the 20 people who were accused and murdered during the witch trials in 1692. Located next to the Charter Street Cemetery, this somber memorial has no burial plots of the people killed in the witch trials, as the actual burial places of those people are unknown, but is a quiet place to honor them.

Witch Trials Memorial

John Proctor was the first male to be named a witch during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

After dinner and drinks to celebrate our friend's birthday, we met up with our tour guide for a haunted history tour of Salem. One of the most interesting things we learned was that the founders of the city wanted to create a new Jerusalem, thus this new city was called Salem! Our tour guide led us through the city by lantern light, pointing out historical places like the First Church in Salem and the Ropes Mansion, telling us about hauntings and ghost stories at each stop.

The Old Town Hall

The First Church in Salem

The Witch House, where Judge Johnathan Corwin resided. He was one of the judges who took part in arrests leading to multiple executions and his house is said to be haunted by spirits of the innocent who were hanged during the trials.

The "Bewitched" statue playing tribute to Samantha, the star of the TV series

We didn't do any tours inside the famous Witch House or the Salem Witch Museum, due to lack of time and crowds. Have you toured either of them? If so, what did you think?

If you're interested in learning more about the walking tour we did, click here.