Salem is full of Spirits

Salem

My husband had a class in Massachusetts over the weekend and I took the opportunity to drive up to Salem with my Aunt Kristin (a sensitive and an empath) and my son. I have always wanted to visit Salem, before I came into my spirituality, even before I considered myself a Witch. 

The mystery, the tragedy, the sadness and the history of Salem has always drawn me in. As soon as we got in the car and set our GPS I felt a magnetic pull.

Kristin sees spirits. I feel their presence. Sometimes. If I am lucky. When we arrived, we wanted to first go to the "Witch House" or Judge Corwin's house. This is the oldest standing building directly associated with the Witch Trials of 1692. 

The Witch House

A Recreation of the hearth in the common room

For those of you fans of the show

 

Gov. William Phips, Asshole.

 Left, Cotton Mather
Right, Increase Mather. 

Cotton Mather and his father Increase Mather were both prominent Puritan Ministers. Increase Mather wrote letters to Governor Phips questioning the trials and the acceptance of spectral evidence.

   

 The door on the left was original. I touched it, hoping for some energy. Nothing. Up the narrow, winding staircase, there was a bedroom to the left and one to the right. I immediately felt uncomfortable energy from the left. Greeting us on the left was a woman's gown from the time and a plaque explaining how at least 10 children were born on this bed.

 It went on to explain how birthing was a most dangerous time, and the women and babies had about a 50% chance of survival. The room would be full of midwives and nurses running about, doing all they could to assist in the birth. I could only stay in the room for long enough to read this and to capture a couple of pictures. I touched this door, and felt all of the residual pain lingering in the room.

To the right was another bedroom with some beautiful furniture, a mans outfit from the time and a magnificent loom.

The Witch House was beautiful. I was caught off guard by the 'birthing room' but other than that, spirit activity was low.

The Witch Dungeon Museum

(THESE IMAGES ARE GENUINE AND ARE NOT FOR COMMERCIAL USE)

Our next stop was sadly a reproduction. However, definately full of spirits. In the 1950's the original dungeon was discovered by a phone company and was destroyed to build a building on Federal Street. (There was no Historical Preservation Society back then) We were instructed to enter the theater for a short presentation.

As soon as we walked in, Kristin told me, there is a spirit next to you. I said, "Left? Cool!", and captured this shot.

The second image has been enhanced slightly to show the image of the skull that is apparent on the right.

This is a spirit that Kristin captured. She got the name William off of him.

After we took photos the presentation began. During the presentation, the speaker told us that the Doctor that diagnosed the young girls in Salem as afflicted by witchcraft and not a medical condition was named "William". We traveled downstairs into a replica of the dungeon that held the accused. There were small cells and even smaller cells. This was the most disturbing scene of all. "Gallows Hill" Kristin shielded my son's eyes and I began taking pictures.

 If you look between the two top left branches, there is what looks like a grey fuzzy ufo shaped orb in the right picture. The left is the first picture I took, the right is the second. I will show you what I found in the Orb when I zoomed in.

I spotted three faces.

Face one, a Man or woman looking down and to the right.

Face 2, A man with a mustache and a thick collar.

Face 3 to me looks like a child with a grimace

The next picture is the only remaining artifact from the original dungeon. It is a support beam. We were allowed to touch the beam. When I did, I started to hear cries of pain and felt very hungry. I couldn't keep my hand on it very long. Kristin said there was a flash of light shooting across and above me so she kept taking pictures trying to capture it. We thought we were unlucky but if you look closely, you can see we caught a bit of it in the bottom right. 

The Witch Trials Memorial

 This was on the top of my list. I needed to go to Salem to pay respect and honor those that were murdered during the hysteria in 1692. The memorial itself is disappointing. It is a U shaped wall made of stones, with slabs of different stones jetting out with the names, date of death and execution method of each victim. 

The first accused and murdered

This brave, innocent man suffered three days under the weight of crushing rocks, maintaining his innocence until he was crushed completely. His wife was accused and hanged days later.

 The Old Burying Point Cemetary is heartbreaking. some of the victims are perhaps buried here. There are unmarked graves, sinking deep into the earth. There are broken stones and stones that have tipped over from the ages. I tripped over one that my eyes missed, and I immediately dropped down and apologized. I felt pained as if this was one of the remains of a victim of the hysteria.  

 Here are several shots of this hollow ground, including a grave of a Mayflower passenger. It is known as the oldest cemetary in the country. The last picture is of what I call "the tree of anguish".

Thomas Mould aged 16 months, died Aug 1 1681, Elizabeth Mould aged 16 months, died August 20th 1684

Here Lyeth Buried Y Body of Cap Richard More Aged 84 Years Died 1692 Mayflower Pilgrim

The Tree of Anguish. I percieved the twists and turns of the branches as pain and torment absorbed into the tree as it grew.

Here I am touching the Tree of Anguish, crying, feeling the sorrow it absorbed as it grew.

A travelling Orb in Old Buring Point Cemetary

The House of the Seven Gables

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the house is beautiful. We only went through about 6 rooms which was disappointing.

I snuck this picture of one of the attic spaces.

This was a fascinating trip of self discovery and remembrance. I met some people who opened my mind to things I already knew but didn't properly understand. I can't wait to go back!