Spiritual Journey

Visit Salem, MA

Lifestyle, Spiritual Journey, Travel

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to share my Salem, Massachusetts experience. Salem, Massachusetts is the world renown “witch city” and has been since early 1692: it all began with Tituba. Her story is one of injustice, mysticism, and mystery. In the summer of 1692, nineteen innocent men and women (and two dogs) were executed at what is now believed to have been Proctor’s Ledge after being accused of witchcraft. Ever since I saw Hocus Pocus back in the early ‘90s, I have been fascinated with the idea of witches and witchcraft. I have yearned for the day I would be able to take a solo trip up to Salem and unleash the Winifred, Sarah, and Mary within me.

So I did just that in August of 2021. I tried to book a trip in October but forget it if you are booking a hotel or Airbnb anywhere within a year of Halloween. I flew into Boston and took the MBTA commuter rail up to Salem for $8. As I expected, I immediately fell in love with Salem.

It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

Max Dennison

The food

Sea Level Oyster Bar

Besides having the freshest and the most delicious oysters, the Sea Level Oyster bar had the best location in Salem. Sitting right on the edge of the water, the two-level restaurant overlooks the Salem Sound and the hundreds of sailboats that are camped out there. You get a great view of the Friendship of Salem—a replica merchant ship modeled after those made post-American Revolution. You can also see the Pedrick Store House, built by a successful merchant in the pre-Revolutionary War era in 1770. In the evening at sunset, it is a spectacular sight.

Turner’s Seafood

Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall holds both culinary and historical significance. It was my favorite restaurant to visit. I went back after trying their amazing cold lobster roll to try their even more amazing fish and chips. Turner’s is a cozy restaurant, beautifully lit by huge open windows, with brick walls, and oak flooring and a dark wood bar. Not to mention the staff were the friendliest I have met. Before it was Turner’s, the building is believed to have been the location where the first long distance phone call was made by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877. It is also believed to be a place rampant with paranormal activity.

The Cheese Shop of Salem

I didn’t spend much time in The Cheese Shop but thought it noteworthy to include! Prior to visiting Salem, I had never heard of the Cheese Shop and believe it could use more recognition! This adorable shop has cheese and wine from all over the world, and nice folks at the cheese counter can offer up their expertise to help you find the perfect cheese. They also have chocolates, honey, jams, and a myriad of other foods to shop for. Of all the places in Salem I visited, this shop made me wish I had brought a bigger suitcase the most.

Maria’s Sweet Somethings

Maria’s Sweet Somethings is located on Front Street right behind the infamous Salem Town Hall featured in the Hocus Pocus party scene where Winifred entrances the partygoers with “I Put A Spell On You”. As soon as you walk in, you are met with a beautiful site of deep purple walls, witchy decorations, and huge, gorgeous cases of truffles, fudge, and ice cream.

The Tours & History

Salem Voodoo, Vampires, and Ghosts Guided Walking Tour

This tour made my trip extraordinary. If the rest of my Salem experience would have been awful, this would have made it worth the visit. Our tour guide was a gentleman by the name of Dr. Vitka, who was a delight. We began in front of the Salem Welcome Center and circled around the town while Dr. Vitka filled us in on Salem’s creepy history. Most memorable was his story about Giles Corey, who was accused of witchcraft and pressed to death outside of the Salem prison in 1692. The building that housed the jail across from the site of his execution is still in used today (as an office building) and is believed to be extremely haunted. Dr. Vitka himself experienced a particularly terrifying encounter when he used to work there. We ended at the Charter Street Cemetery, which was another one of my favorite places to visit in Salem. The Charter Street Cemetery is the resting place of several significant Salem residents, including Captain Richard More, a Mayflower pilgrim, and Colonel John Hathorne who was a vocal judge during the Salem witch trials and an ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables, built in 1668 and added onto thereafter, was simply beautiful. Famously known as the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables, visitors can now tour the house with a tour guide to see how the Hawthorne’s lived, decorated, ate, slept, and spent their free time. The house sits by the seaside overlooking the Salem Sound. It is decorated in the Georgian style, with extravagant floral wallpaper, vibrant paint, and intricate wood craftsmanship. Other than The Scarlett Letter, I have yet to read more of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s books, but it is on my to-do list to read House of the Seven Gables after visiting this house! Less famous, but equally significant and fascinating was the house right next to the House of the Seven Gables, which was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace.

Nightmare Gallery Monster Museum

If you like classic horror movies and cinema, please visit this museum! I thought it sounded kind of ridiculous before Dr. Vitka recommended it and I am glad I did. You will learn about all the epic horror films ranging from Dracula and Frankenstein (both made in 1931) to Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), to the Exorcist, Carrie, and Land of the Dead. The whole thing takes about 45 minutes to get through depending on your museum reading level/attention span.

Privateer Schooner Tour in Salem Sound

This was a great way to spend two hours in the afternoon in Salem. You will take a ride on the FAME, a replica of a privateer schooner from the War of 1812, with experienced sailors who will let you help raise the sails! They also serve you wine and beer!

Best New Age Shops

Best Metaphysical (Witchy) Shops:

Enchanted

Of course, I couldn’t have gone to Salem without visiting all the magickal shops that are so abundant there. I went into every shop I could find and loved every one of them. But my favorite was Enchanted, located right next to the Sea Level Oyster Bar in “Witch City”. I didn’t realize before going in that Enchanted is the shop of Laurie Cabot, the “Official Witch of Salem”. Despite me exploring witchcraft for the past few years, I had only recently learned about Laurie Cabot while watching New England Legends on Amazon Prime (please watch this series if you have not already). Enchanted had all kinds of spell kits, candles, votives, talismans, etc. handcrafted by the famous witch herself. It was also a practical place to get your essential herbs, oils, candles, and other supplies for your practice. I felt a lot of love in that shop (and spent a lot of money)!

Pyramid Books

Pyramid Books is an unremarkable looking shop a little down the way from Enchanted. They don’t have a website, but their inventory is extensive. They had every kind of book on witchcraft, Druidry, and metaphysical theory you could imagine as well as an endless supply of candles, incense, and crystals. The shop didn’t seem like they have a lot of foot traffic on the daily, but Pyramid Books was another one of my favorite places.

Random things to do

I couldn’t go to Salem with my love of Hocus Pocus without seeing the Hocus Pocus House! It is exactly as pictured in the movie, and I felt a strong sense of nostalgia and comfort when I visited it. I didn’t realize that it faces out to the Salem Sound, which made it even more picturesque. It is about a mile away from the city center at 4 Ocean Avenue, and is now a private residence. You’ll get your exercise while walking to the house, but it is a great opportunity to see the non-touristy, residential parts of Salem. Beyond the witchy stores and busy restaurants are quiet, sleepy streets lined with historic buildings dating back to the 1600s.

Salem certainly was a memorable and special place. It is rich in history and has its own unique culture. I felt like I had always been there in spirit. My four-day trip was just long enough, but I certainly plan to go back. On my next visit, I would like to go to the Hawthorne Hotel, stay at the Stepping Stone Inn, tour the Witch House and Salem Witch Museum, branch out to Marblehead, and go to the Salem Pioneer Village!

On my next visit, I hope to hit up the Hawthorne Hotel, stay at the Stepping Stone Inn, tour through the Witch House and Salem Witch Museum, branch out to Marblehead, and go to the Salem Pioneer Village.

White Magick Alchemy

On the topic of magick and witchcraft, if you are a practicing witch or just a fan of witchy things, check out White Magick Alchemy. This online Old World shop is based in California and they have everything you could possibly need for your spiritual journey (more than you could ever find in a store, including custom orders). It is an absolutely gorgeous shop. The owner also has a blog: https://whitemagickalchemy.com/blog/.

Where do you go when you don’t know where home is?

Small Towns, Spiritual Journey

I consider myself an east coast girl based on where I was born. And for the time I lived in North Carolina, I fell in love with its abundant forests and foliage. There’s something about the east that has always called me back to it. So, when I was able to begin settling down in Washington, DC after three internships at the Smithsonian and finally landing a full-time job, I thought I would be able to establish a new “home” for myself. I no longer had to work 7 days a week as both an intern and a restaurant hostess. I had ended a toxic relationship and I could finally spend my weekends making new friends and exploring the DC/Maryland/Virginia (DMV) metroplex. But the pandemic had other plans.

Like many people in the world, COVID-19 upended everything I had planned for and looked forward to. In January 2020, I was living in my first apartment by myself: a 372 square-foot studio apartment near Logan Circle, about a 15-minute walk from the White House. The first two and a half months were promising. I was finally living in my own space (albeit a tiny space). I was in the heart of the city, steps away from the most renowned museums, historic sites, and restaurants in America. But by mid-March, the city froze – and then it died.

People we no longer commuting to their offices in the city. Instead of lunch breaks with their coworkers, it was homemade sandwiches alone in their makeshift home offices. Instead of happy hours after work, people commuted from their desk to their couch to follow the latest updates on the virus’s desolation.

After 9 months of living alone in complete isolation—including a COVID-induced trip to the ER by myself, sleepless nights listening to the flash bangs and protests outside my window after George Floyd’s death and watching as they boarded up shop windows in anticipation of the November election—I needed my mom and dad, my brother and sister-in-law, and my baby niece and nephew. Fortunate to have kept my job and been able to work remotely, and with a lease about to expire, I was able to move in with my parents in Texas. Two days before the November 3^rd election, my parents came to help me move in with them.

A week later, I was settled in with my parents in Prosper, Texas, about 45 minutes away from where I grew up. When I moved from Austin, Texas to North Carolina to complete graduate school in 2017, I promised I would never move back to Texas. I had spent half my life there. I was ready to finally create adventures in an entirely new place. It felt surreal, like I had travelled back in time and gotten stuck somewhere along the way in an alternate reality or parallel universe. I was in three-dimensional purgatory.

By May of 2021, I had been up and down mentally and was the lowest I had been since college. I was 28 years old, living with my parents, single after an unfortunate attempt with dating apps, juggling financial debt compounded by student loans, and trying to figure out what I wanted in life.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt guidance, direction, or familiarity. I hadn’t felt at home; I felt lost within myself.

But then I found McKinney. I had visited a few times before and always felt a connection. And in my broken state of mind, going to McKinney was like stepping back to a time and place I never knew I missed until that moment. Historic McKinney in Texas (est. 1848) is like a cross between Stars Hollow and Pleasantville. Though it doesn’t have a gazebo, it does have a charming courthouse/performing arts center right in the heart of the square. Remnants of the town’s past are still carefully preserved in the storefront facades. The old Smith Drug Co. that had been around from c. 1900 to 2009 is now a Goodies gift shop, but the painted bright white letters of the old pharmacy’s name still stand out against the red brick.

The sandstone Corinthian columns and ornate entablature of the original First National Bank building built in the classical revival style c. 1910-1915 provide a striking contrast from the square’s surrounding, red-bricked buildings. Today, the bank is a home décor shop called The Gallery.

There are all kinds of boutiques, wineries, restaurants, antique shops, galleries, hair salons, etc. in McKinney square. There’s even a comic book store and an arcade. Some of my favorite places include:

Mom and Popcorn Shop – When I wanted to be a child again, I got popcorn and old-fashioned candy here.
The Menagerie – If I felt like playing pretend, I went to this little antique shop and imagined I lived in a fancy house with mahogany furniture and pretty sculptures. I bought my beloved head bust of Diana there.
Groovy Co-Op – When I needed some guidance and just a bit of fun, I met with the psychic in this eclectic vintage store with everything from 50’s TV sets to incense and New Age spell books.
Pantry Restaurant – I reminisced about better times while eating strawberry ice-cream at this cozy home-style restaurant, with gingham tablecloths and board games. The tall, redheaded man who worked there was always smiling and always kind.
4R Ranch Vineyards and Winery – When I just wanted to read a book by myself and numb out the world, I hid out here and enjoyed a flight of Texas reds.

All these places, with their unique charm and familiarity, welcomed me home. These places gave me moments of peace, and—while fleeting—hope.

It was in historic McKinney that I realized a solution to my problem of feeling lost. If I love McKinney so dearly, I could write about it. And better yet, I could make an adventure out of exploring more towns like it! Quaint, nostalgic oases in a world where nothing is certain and nothing is saved from change. I am now living in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia and I am settling into my new home. My cats, Bubbles and Meatloaf seem to be liking it. And while the last few months have been an adjustment, I can’t wait to explore and grow and heal.

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