Went to Salem on a field trip!!

I went to Salem, MA this week on a field trip with my daughters school. SOOOOOOO COOOLLLL!!! I love all that stuff - witches, wicca, halloween...awesome! It was a lot of fun! I should so live in Salem!!! It would so suit me. I think I was suppose to be born a witch .....although...depending on who you talk to...some people will tell you I was.
Funny thing is, my kids know I"m a freak when it comes to Halloween and stuff like that so my daughter apparently told her classmates before the field trip - "wanna make a bet my mom says we have to come back to Salem and stay a few days after our field trip ends?". Well....(without me knowing she made this bet)...as the day was wrapping up, I turned around and said to her "We've gotta come back here and stay for the weekend!". Her friends were hysterical! She just shook her head and said "told you so".
Has anyone else been to Salem? I picked up some information, but was wondering if anyone had stayed there during Halloween. Good places to stay? Things to see? I've heard it's wild on Halloween!!

Never been , but it sounds very cool

I went there on a field trip years and years ago. I don't remember much though! However, my mom and brother are going there on Saturday, actually

You said you saw witches???? Wasn't that near Karen's neck of the woods?

neet ducks as Karen whizzes a punkin at her...

I visited Salem years ago with my sis & DH. I remember eating at a brewpub but we actually stayed in Boston and drove from their.

Originally Posted by neetanddave

You said you saw witches???? Wasn't that near Karen's neck of the woods?

neet ducks as Karen whizzes a punkin at her...

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Why....yes it is........

I've lived in Salem all my life, and trust me, it's much more fun to be a visitor.

Living here, especially at this time of year STINKS. The traffic is horrible, there is no parking anywhere, and the whole commercialism of Halloween here has absolutely ruined my enjoyment of the holiday.

I'm planning to hibernate this weekend, and stay the heck away from the downtown area.

Sorry if I'm pessimistic about it, but I've lived here in this city for 40 years, and it used to be a really nice place to live and Halloweewn was wonderful, now all the residents wish that the tourists would go home so we can get back to regular life.

We all heave a HUGE sigh of relief on November 1st!!

Beyond that, what are we celebrating here: the fact is, we murdered a group of completely innocent people by naming them witches, all because of a few spoiled and bored schoolchildren. Because of that, and only that, we are called the Witch City. What does that have to do with Halloween? Nothing, really!

Tourist info:

Best place to stay: Hawthorne Hotel, named after Nathaniel Hawthorne, is just a few blocks away from where he lived when he wrote The Scarlet Letter

Best non-Halloween attraction: The House of Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Witch House is a real waste of time and money, but the Witch Museum is interesting to see.

Salem is small enough that you can participate in a walking tour. To be completely truthful, our architecture is the most amazing and wonderful thing we have to show off, especially the Samuel MacIntyre district. He was a famous architect and he designed most of the old houses.

Also, check out the Peabody Essex Museum, and be sure to check out the Customs House on Pickering Wharf.

It's all about the history, not the hysteria.

Hello,

I did a play about the Salem witch trials in highschool called the Crucible. I was one of those pesky schoolchildren.

I can see how fed up you are with everything. I have some friends that live in Ladysmith and every Christmas they have this big light show and they get so annoyed with all the tourists flocking there to see it.

So I hope you have a fun Halloween despite all the tourists!

But I must say, it would be pretty cool to go there.

I was in The Crucible once too, I played Abigail Williams.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Tourist info:

Best place to stay: Hawthorne Hotel, named after Nathaniel Hawthorne, is just a few blocks away from where he lived when he wrote The Scarlet Letter

Best non-Halloween attraction: The House of Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Witch House is a real waste of time and money, but the Witch Museum is interesting to see.

Salem is small enough that you can participate in a walking tour. To be completely truthful, our architecture is the most amazing and wonderful thing we have to show off, especially the Samuel MacIntyre district. He was a famous architect and he designed most of the old houses.

Also, check out the Peabody Essex Museum, and be sure to check out the Customs House on Pickering Wharf.

It's all about the history, not the hysteria.

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Thanks so much for the info! I can completely understand about why you don't enjoy living there this time of year. Many places that become tourist traps at certain times of the year are the same story. It distrupts your daily life. I understand. I promise I'll try to stay out of your way when I'm up there.
That said though...you have the coolest town! the buildings were amazing! beautiful! I love the cobblestone streets, the small shops, and even the old graveyards. It truely is beautiful. Why Salem became associated with halloween? I don't necessarily think that it's that they relate to each other I think it's the whole "spooky" thing. Halloween is suppose to be scary and where else to get scared other than a town that was known for having witches right?
Can't wait to go back and spend some more time there. Field trip was too short.

Originally Posted by lisasha3

Thanks so much for the info! I can completely understand about why you don't enjoy living there this time of year. Many places that become tourist traps at certain times of the year are the same story. It distrupts your daily life. I understand. I promise I'll try to stay out of your way when I'm up there.

That said though...you have the coolest town! the buildings were amazing! beautiful! I love the cobblestone streets, the small shops, and even the old graveyards. It truely is beautiful. Why Salem became associated with halloween? I don't necessarily think that it's that they relate to each other I think it's the whole "spooky" thing. Halloween is suppose to be scary and where else to get scared other than a town that was known for having witches right?

Can't wait to go back and spend some more time there. Field trip was too short.

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I totally agree about the beauty of the old buildings and stuff here - I am VERY proud of our local history - we are one of the oldest towns in America, after all!

The thing about Halloween is that about 15-20 years ago some smart person in the tourism bureau got the bright idea that since witches are scary, maybe we could attract folks to the area by playing up the whole witch thing.

Next thing you know, we are like Mardi Gras for October, and there are out of state vendors coming in to grab the tourist bucks then beat feet out of town. It's sad, because it was started to benefit the city, and instead the residents and small local businesses are NOT benefitting from it, the fly-by-nighters are.

Well, it helps keep Salem on the map, that's for sure. From November through Memorial Day, it's a really nice place to live. From June through October, it's a nice place to VISIT.

Originally Posted by neetanddave

You said you saw witches???? Wasn't that near Karen's neck of the woods?

neet ducks as Karen whizzes a punkin at her...

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nice try! It's about 75 miles away from me. I've never been to Salem. My broomstick doesn't go that far.

Gotta get 'em in where I can, ya know?