Salem

So one of the reasons we couldn't hang around Boston and look at all the Historical sites is that we had an after dark tour of Salem. This tour was a historical tour of the Salem Witch Trial!This is something that I was very excited about. I have to say that we seriously lucked out on this trip with awesome tour guides! Your Tour guide in Salem was Jeff. Because I am me the first thing I noticed about Jeff were how long his fingernails were. (I totally blame my mother for that) So I thought to myself this guy is a witch! Which he did later on in the tour did tell us that is was part of the Wicken Religion and that he was a witch! The Salem Witch Trials are sometimes hard for people to talk about it because they get it wasn't a shiny time in America's history. What I loved about Jeff is he new his stuff. I feel like at times he was practically quoting the trial transcripts to us. He prided himself on explaining that the culture of the Puritans isn't the same as the culture that we had now. He tried to explain why things happened and how the people really did believe in what they were doing but it moved into hysteria and moved along economic grounds. (when I taught this there was a really cool map that I showed the students of who accused and who was accused and where they lived.)  So we walked around Salem and he took us to certain spots and explained how the trails played out. He said that there was only one actual building that was still standing during that time that is significant to the trials because after they happened the people were ashamed and they burned a lot of the buildings. So a lot of my pictures are just random things.

These graves stones were in the front of one of the first Catholic Churches that were built in Salem. One of the accused gave the Catholic Church the land because he knew that it would make the Puritans mad.

Here is where Jeff told the story of Giles Cory, who I had heard about but Dave, James, and Tia had not. Giles was crushed to death because when he was accused he didn't say anything. See if we denied that he was a witch (there were no warlocks and they are bad people in the Wicken religion) than the would loose all of his land to the city. But if he said that he was he would have to name other people who were witches. So the keep putting weight on him till he would confess but he never did. Now many people say that his last words were a curse upon his accusers and the town of Salem, But Jeff informed us that he died way before a curse could have been uttered. Jeff also said that it didn't keep his mother from using that to scare him into behaving as a child. This story is important because from here on out anytime something goes bad at James and Dave blame it on Giles but they always mess up his last name and it really bothers me.

One of the last places we went was the cemetery! Now Jeff seriously loves the cemetery, He makes it his life goal to preserve it and make sure that it stays safe. No no is supposed to go in it after dark because that is when things get broken and stolen. So when we left the cemetery Jeff was telling about the people that were accused and in mid sentence he yells "get out of the Cemetery you have to come back in the morning." It was so great to see his passion.  

The stones are so old you can bearly see any of the actual writing.

In this cemetery is tree that has been struck by lighten 4 times that Jeff can find record of. He said that it is hit about ever 22 years. The crazy part is that the last time it was struck by lightening they found a gravestone that had kind of been molded into the tree and they found out that it was an of a man who died by a lightning strike and the age of... 22! Jeff said that this summer of 2017 is when it should be stuck again. It is stories like this that made Jeff so awesome!  

Another picture of the cemetery.  

This tree is the oldest thing is Salem. This tree was alive during the Salem Witch Trial.

So what did the tree hugger in me have to do hug it of course.

Tia and I touching the oldest living thing in Salem! 

This is the actual headstone of the judge that presided over the trials. So many people kept knocking it down that they had to encase it in stone and class. He was the ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthrone the writer of the Scarlet Letter.