Salem, MA- A Travel Journal

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Salem, Massachusetts and the surrounding area with my mom. Going to New England during autumn, and more specifically to Salem, was on my bucket list for a very long time. I've heard so many wild things about the town which caused me to be wary of going there. However, all of the people that viewed Salem negatively weren't interested in the same things I am nor express themselves how I do. In my opinion, I am happy to say they were wrong. While it was definitely a bit overwhelming on the weekend during Halloween season, it wasn't too congested on Friday when we first went into town. I reckon off-season it is much more accessible as well.

My mom and I did so many things over our short stay. On Friday we went to The Peabody Essex Museum, toured the House of the Seven Gables, and went on an evening walking tour around Salem. The PEM was incredible but there was so much to see there that we couldn't feasibly get to everything. We prioritized going to the Patrick Kelly fashion exhibit which was magnificent. He was quite the inspiration and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about his personal life and creative works.

The House of the Seven Gables was also pretty cool. It's a beautiful home and it was fun going up the tiny chimney staircase to the attic and seeing the intricate interiors. I've admittedly never actually read Hawthorne's book, but I love going to historic properties so it was well worth it. My mom and I enjoyed walking around the gardens and the grounds which looked out onto the water.

There is a lot of shopping one can do in Salem. One of the reasons for Salem's rotten reputation is due to the commercialization aspect. The town certainly thrives on tourism but there was a wide range of different types of shops and restaurants to experience so it didn't feel like every place just sold one type of thing. I was concerned it would be full of souvenir shops with "SALEM" printed on everything but it was more diversified than that. I actually didn't buy as much as I had anticipated. One of my favorite stores that we went to was The Olde Pepper Companie, a candy shop. We got a selection of different chocolates they had there including some giant peppermint cremes which are like the perfect pairing of a creamy peppermint patty and dark chocolate peppermint bark. They were the best chocolates I've ever eaten in my life. I will be dreaming of those until my next Salem excursion. Some of the other stores I enjoyed were Emporium 32, The Village Silversmith, and Blackcraft Cult- which was located in an old bank that they converted into an incredible gothic storefront.

While Salem is a touristy location, the history is still all around. It's in the cemeteries, the historic houses, and the memorials throughout town. Many people have told me that it doesn't feel spiritual or "witchy" there. The thing is, the people who were killed during the Salem Witch Trials weren't actually witches. They were people who were blamed for being blasphemous against their town's strict religious values and sentenced to death by a corrupt court. It's a horrific piece of history which I'm glad is retold so that hopefully history does not repeat itself again; especially in this country which claims to uphold the freedom of religion. That all being said, even if witches didn't actually exist there in the first place, witches are definitely everywhere now in Salem. It is the most pagan-friendly place I've ever been to by far.

I never felt like I had ever fully fit in anywhere until I went to Salem. Being able to blend in perfectly with the crowd while being surrounded by things I love and others who I knew would understand me was the most comforting feeling I´ve ever had. That was something I was desperately searching for all my life. An LGBTQ+ friendly, pagan-friendly, and gothic-friendly place exists? Amazing! I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to live in New England or near Salem itself, but knowing that I can travel there whenever I have the means to do so has brought me great inner peace.

I would absolutely recommend traveling to Salem even for just a few hours even if you aren't into the same things I am. There are so many things to do and explore. I am very grateful for my mom and appreciative that we were able to go on a little fun and rejuvenating getaway after so much loss in our family. I had a lovely time and am so glad we made many memories that I will cherish always.

~Nikolai Sergei Razumov