Salem Mini Vacation, Pt. 2

You can read Pt. 1 here.

I forgot to show the wonderful B&B we stayed at! We were at The Stepping Stone Inn. The couple that owns it are so sweet and accommodating. Plus, since we were staying for 2 nights, they gave us free passes to the Salem Witch Museum... which was literally right next door! We stayed in the Salem Room- it's the only room on the third floor and has its own little balcony- so cute. The only thing I would change would be the bathroom- trying to shave in the smallest shower stall ever was like an Olympic sport.

old town charm

Salem Room-also the comfiest bed ever, next to my own

itty bitty bathroom

balcony

Now that that's out of the way....

After the Witch Dungeon Museum, I went to check out The Witch House, which was Judge Jonathan Corwin (the one who presided over the trials) 's house. It wasn't all that interesting, it just was a glimpse into how (the rich) people lived back then. I took a ton of photos (like one of the transcript from Tituba's statement), but I'll spare you. 

nursery/kids' room

One of things I saw but didn't go in was the House of Seven Gables. Since I haven't read the book (yet), I didn't see the point of exploring it. 

I stumbled upon America's Oldest Candy Co., which also claims it is "Home of the Famous Gibralters and Black Jacks."

I wish I had taken more pictures of the harbor area, but I was too busy enjoying it. My bad. I thought this building and boat were pretty cool though. 

We could not go to Salem and not take an after dark haunted tour. I wasn't having it. The only thing that was hard was picking which one, because there were so many different companies running them. We decided to go with the "Voodoo, Vampires, and Ghosts in Salem Tour" because it was TripAdvisor approved and got great reviews. Plus, it offered something a little different than the other "haunted" tours- voodoo and vampires! It was pretty cool. They took us to some of the sites featured on Ghost Hunters. [Sidenote: we decided to take this trip after watching that show/episode, so this was definitely awesome.] 

Paul Revere 1801 Bell- where the tour began

We stopped at a lot of places and the tour guide was really friendly and seemed well informed. We walked on a trail next to Salem's Lyceum Restaurant, which was built on the site of executed "witch" Bridget Bishop's apple orchard and there were reports of people smelling apples there. We sat on the steps where they filmed Hocus Pocus and learned about witches today (there are over 1,00 practicing Wiccans in Salem), and vampires (did you know there are 3 different types of vampires?). We stood in the place where Giles Corey, a man accused of witchcraft, was pressed to death.

Everywhere we were told to keep an eye out, let him (the guide) know if you felt anything, and take pictures, because most times you can't see paranormal activity with the naked eye, but can sometimes catch it on film/video. I forget exactly what happened in the building that I'm touching above, other than that there were several "spirits" and they did NOT like to be disturbed- when the Ghost Hunters crew came in, the "spirits" made that very clear. Currently, no one lives or works in this building. The guide said we could go up to and touch the door if we wanted, but at our own risk. Some people had reported feeling cold "hands" on the arms, pulling them away from the door, or feeling like they were being strangled. So of course I was first to go up to the door. 

Do I believe in ghosts/spirits/etc? Yes. Did I actually think something would happen? No. I went up to the door, waited a second, touched it, got a picture touching it, and walked away. Nothing. Then about 20 minutes later, I got the strongest pain in my wrist on that hand that I have ever felt. I couldn't even hold a beer (I know because I tried). It felt like the muscle hurt- like a really bad sprain. The pain lasted into half of the next day. Was this because I touched the door? I don't know, but I don't have any other explanation. I will say that I won't be touching anything I'm warned against again!

Another place we stopped at was the police station where the guide said Houdini escaped as one of his acts. However, upon researching the building, I found that the place we saw was the new, renovated police station. Boo.

police station

Of course we visited a graveyard. The guide told us to take picture of a far corner in the back as some people had done so and gotten images/apparitions/etc. I didn't- I guess the old iPhone camera just isn't fancy enough. 

The last day we checked out late, grabbed a quick lunch and then headed towards the harbor area. We were going to take the 60 min ferry ride from Salem to Boston, and then the Boltbus home. I should note: the only reason we didn't take the ferry into Salem two days earlier is because RJ is afraid of ferries/boats. Not a little afraid- like, almost broke down in full anxiety attack mode once he found out it was a 60 min ride. He has never been on a ferry or boat in his life. So as soon as we made it to the harbor, I made sure he had a few beers. Then gave him another one on the ferry, and distracted him with peanuts and chips. It worked. *Phew.*

view from the ferry

Doesn't he look thrilled?! 

I wish I could say that once we got to Boston it was smooth sailing (ha ha), but it wasn't. We had some time to kill, so we found a little dive bar near(-ish) to the bus terminal. We spent some time there, then headed into the terminal and got some food. (Thanksgiving sandwiches. OMG so freakin goood!) A few minutes before boarding, RJ asked to see the tickets which were on my phone. Except I suddenly did not have my phone. We searched the duffel bag and my small day bag. Nothing. And then they started boarding. And this was the last bus home.

*Cue Panic*

The only place it could be was the sandwich shop or the bar. The bar that was at least a 10 min walk from where we were. A 10 min walk if you know where you're going. Which I didn't. I'm absolutely terrible with directions. But somehow I found the bar. And thankfully no one had stolen my phone. I had left it in the bathroom. Phone tightly in hand, I start literally racing back to the terminal. Except I walked into the wrong one first- I was in the train terminal, and RJ was text-yelling at me to hurry the eff up because ya know, they were boarding and he was stalling the driver.

Long story long, I made it to the bus, but not without a stern "talking to" from the driver on "being on time."

swing chair life

Do you have any ghost stories?