Today, we went to Salem. We rented a zipcar for the day, and were pleased to see that we were correct in our memory - the drive was only about 45 minutes. We feared that because Salem is Halloween Central for the entire month of October that we wouldn't find parking -- not the case. We were in and parked in record time.

We started our day at the Witch Dungeon Museum, which I remembered from my childhood - I had a great-great-aunt who lived in that part of MA, and we would go visit her once a year. I distinctly remembered a catacomb-like experience (I was probably 8), and was hoping to find which it was. This was it. It was fun to re-do, and this time with the kids. I think J. was slightly skeptical as we went down the stairs, thinking perhaps she was not given all hte requisite information before agreeing to partake in this endeavor. She's a dork. She says no no no - she WILL NOT do anything that is slightly scary.

So we're in the dungeon, and there are mostly windows to peep through at wax and porcelain statues in various states of torment and suffering, and then at the very end, a live person jumped out at us from one of the cells --- *I* yelled and jumped, J. yelped, and E. jumped. Beloved laughed.

But guess what? At the end of the day? THAT was J's favorite part! See? A dork.

We then went to the bizzare bazaar - which was mostly a bunch of tables set up outside selling a bunch of crap. Like any other "street fair" -- there were chairs set up with people giving massages, the police department had a table, there were sweatshirts for sale, blah blah blah. Oh yeah, and lots of crappy jewelry.

We went to the Witch History Museum, and frankly, it was a little dull after the Witch Dungeon Museum. You get to hear the same story about the hysteria that resulted in the witch trials, the same story about that dude who was killed by crushing [tons of boulders on his chest until he was dead], the same story about how finally when "the girls" accused the governor's wife of being a witch, the governor put a stop to all the nonsense, "but not before 15 women, 4 men and 2 dogs were hanged and one man was crushed to death."

I'm very curious about these "girls" who ran around accusing everyone of being witches. They kept being referred to as the "girls" and then the judges and preachers were demonized, and the girls were "afflicted." I think the girls were evil. I'm gonna look them up.

We also went to a Pirate Museum, and a Wax Museum, and E. and I went into the "Haunted Witch Village."

This Witch Village, however, was the source of much angst. She's never been to a Haunted House. I haven't been in forever. We knew J. wasn't gonna go, and as always, Beloved had no issue with staying behind with her (the wax museum had a "gravestone rubbing" thing set up, and they were working on those when we split off - something beloved has always wanted to do for REAL).

She vascillated b/t yes and no - so I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't want her to have nightmares, but she was frustrated, and unsure what to do. I decided that if little kids were coming out, she would be fine, and she'd be more upset if she didn't even try. she was more than quick to agree.

So we went.

The thing sucked. There was no theme, there was no --- nothing. We couldn't see; the whole thing was strobe lights in our face, and fog machines - all designed to make us stumble around while people dressed in jeans, flannel shirts, and a token mask jumped out and said "grrrrr!" E. started just saying "rar!" back at them, once she realized what was going on. It was a huge disappointment.

We had dinner at Salem Beer Works (very kid-friendly, I assure you). and then, we drove home.

Oh yeah, and we went for a walk - before dinner and before the haunted house - down teh wharf. here are some photos:

Some scary ladies:

Boats on the water; not too long before sundown:

Not everything is beautiful (this was just a hair to the left of the last 2):

Although, she is:

And her:

All in all, another fun family outing.

Next week: My parents' house. I'm hoping for a relaxing evening at their home, a morning of hiking with the 4 of us, and perhaps my brother, his wife, and their dog, and then an afternoon at a pumpkin farm with my parents. we'll see if i get my way on all of that.

posted by Zuska @ 9:32 PM

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