A Haunted Day in Connecticut...

A while back, in preparation for Halloween, I decided it would be a capital idea to make my own little “haunted tour” of my local surroundings in Connecticut. Add to the fact that my daughter Zombelina is extremely fascinated by all manner of hauntings and paranormal phenomena (no surprise there), and it really seemed like an obvious thing to do during the Halloween season. So Captain Cruella and I packed up the little ones and made our ghostly pilgrimage.

I selected as our two primary locations, two of the most notorious haunted spots in the entire state: Union Cemetery in Easton and the Remington Arms factory in Bridgeport. It was quite a chilling experience, and the resulting images turned out to be very striking. In fact, the reaction I got from initially posting them to social media led me to (finally_ bring them right here, where they can be enjoyed by all you fine Vault dwellers.

So please proceed, and follow our exploits from that day, if you will…

A portion of the ominous Remington Arms munitions factory on Barnum Ave. in Bridgeport, our first stop...

The fearless Captain ventures down into the factory. I soon followed, and heard some honest-to-goodness footsteps... This, along with the prompt arrival of the Bridgeport PD, led to our hasty departure to a safe distance.

More of the inside, as seen from the street. The factory was run by Remington until 1988, when it was closed down after a series of mysterious deaths. G.E. has since purchases the property and has been planning to tear it all down for years.

See something in there? Yeah, I wasn't sure either. Besides, the decidedly foul neighborhood in which this factory is located left little time for careful inspection.

Although closed off to the public, this doorway seemed to have been forced open, no doubt by some reckless teenagers looking for a spooky time.

Travel Channels' Ghost Adventures show did an episode here at the factory back in 2009, and apparently found "conclusive evidence" of paranormal activity. The footsteps I heard, admittedly, could not be found to have been made by anyone else at the site...

Another view of the vast Remington Arms campus, made up of several buildings in various states of gross disrepair.

Farewell, Remington Arms! And really, is anyone going to check out that tag sale..?

Next, we made the trek through Fairfield, up Route 59 to the posh town of Easton. There we came to Union Cemetery, home of the notorious "White Lady".

Many of the graves here date back to the 17th century. They're largely worn away by weather erosion, but much of the 18th century stones, like this one, still stand.

A closeup of one of the 18th century stones, showing the angelic iconography common to grave markers of the era.

This tree stump shows just how old the place is. And although we caught no sight of the White Lady, we eventually had out fill of the cemetery's general creepiness. The start of a cold drizzle also motivated to head back into the warmth and safety of the car...

There you have it—just a taste of our experiences that day. I’ll never forget those footsteps I heard, nor the very eerie presences palpable at both locations. All in all, I’d call our “Haunted Day” a success, and the perfect prelude to a generally smashing Halloween season!

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The Tuesday Top 10: Favorite Haunted House Movies

You know how there are those horror fans who will go on and on about how the best horror comes from what you don't see, and that psychological dread will always trump blood and guts? Yeah, I'm one of those guys. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with gore, but I'll take the gothic over the macabre any day of the week, and I've always been more Poe/Lovecraft than King/Barker.

And when it comes to subtle, psychological horror, the most effective movies have always involved ghosts--particularly the ultimate distillation of that particular subgenre: the haunted house movie. Because we're dealing with the supernatural in its most ethereal, mysterious and non-corporeal form, it's hard to pull off a good ghost story. There aren't always a lot of bells and whistles, but the payoff is always worth it.

Many of my all-time favorite horror films are in the tried-and-true haunted house category. They've thrilled me, chilled me, and made me think twice about sleeping with the lights off. Here are a few of the very best...

10. Ghost Story (1981)
Largely underrated chiller featuring future Borg Queen Alice Krige as the spirit of a hot young chippie terrorizing a group of septuagenarians who accidentally killed her back in the 1920s. While not technically a “Haunted House” tale since the activities transcend location, it hits many of the familiar tropes, and hits them well. It also features the great Fred Astaire in his final role—although sadly, he doesn’t dance. Based on the 1979 novel by Peter Straub.

9. Poltergeist (1982)
Easily one of the most financially successful horror flicks of all time, this one had the backing of Steven Spielberg, and a “summer blockbuster” feel. And although the spectacle and Spielberg touch do soften the scares just a bit, there’s enough creepiness and genuine terror in there (courtesy of director Tobe Hooper) to get the job done. I particularly enjoy how the movie really gets at some primal fears and exploits them to great effect (see: Clown Toy and Face Ripping Scene).

8. The Others (2001)
The good old-fashioned ghost story gets ushered into the 21st century with this Shyamalan-esque (back when that was a good thing) period piece. The look and feel are rich and foreboding, generating an atmosphere of creeping dread. Plus, you’re not entirely sure of the nature of what you’re seeing until the final reel—and even if you see it coming, it’s one hell of an ending. (See my illustrious son’s movie blog for his own review of the film!)

7. The Uninvited (1944)
For years, this film was mystifyingly unavailable on DVD—but thankfully that situation has recently changed. In many ways, this movie became the prototype for the classic haunted house film—a mansion on a cliff; a deep, dark secret; plenty of things that go bump in the night… Plus, it even spawned a great standard: “Stella By Starlight”! Beautiful, funny and frightening at the same time.

6. Beetlejuice (1987)
Back when Michael Keaton used to exist, he was known for some memorable roles—but this one might be his greatest (Flying Mouse Guy notwithstanding). Birthed from the addled mind of Tim Burton, this was really the flick that set the course for the young director’s career, and became one of the greatest horror comedies of all time. Worth it for seeing Dick Cavett dance to the Banana Boat song, and catching Alec Baldwin before he mutated into a different person.

5. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Another one that stretches the definition of a haunted house film (I won’t spoil it for the newbies), but no list of this kind would be complete without it. Both producer William Castle and star Vincent Price are in top form here, and the result is one of the most rip-roaringly fun horror flicks of the Eisenhower era. I never get tired of the way this movie deconstructs the entire sub-genre with such glee. Plus, it happens to be my daughter Zombelina’s favorite movie (though she seems to be gravitating more toward Drag Me to Hell recently…)

4. The Woman in Black (2012)
Blasphemy to rank this one so highly? Mayhaps. However, I came away from it very, very impressed a few months ago, and found it to be one of the most effective mainstream horror films I’d seen in years—not to mention the best British horror film since the heyday of Hammer. A real gothic throwback, this movie restored my faith that a truly excellent haunted house film could still be made in the era of post-slasher torture porn.

3. The Changeling (1980)
A personal favorite of mine, and one the virtues of which I’ve been extolling for years. George C. Scott is superb (when is he not?) as a reclusive widower being stalked by the ghost of a murdered child. Perhaps it was because I first saw this at such a young age, but the sheer terror it inspired in me never truly left. One of the most restrained yet powerful horror films I have ever seen, and must-see viewing for any fan of ghost stories.

2. The Haunting (1963)
Speaking of restrained yet powerful, this stellar adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House. Robert Wise pulls off such a fine job that the experience of watching this film is almost like that of actually reading a really great haunted house story. There are moments in this film that have frightened me more than anything I’ve ever seen in any other horror film. The ultimate “pure” haunted house film. Plus, you get to see Richard Johnson pre-Zombi 2, before he got all sweaty and hairy.

And the number one haunted house movie of all time…

1. The Shining (1980)
This film is so stylized and surreal (like almost all Kubrick’s work), that you almost forget what you’re watching at times: An absolutely incredible haunted house movie. In this case, the house is the Overlook Hotel—and the haunting is of a nature that is never fully explained, although we know it has something to do with Native American burial ground and some very long-staying guests from the 1920s. One of, if not the greatest horror film of all time, and a masterpiece that never loses a bit of its power. Stephen King may have hated it, but what does he know—he once attacked a car with a chainsaw. This is supernatural terror at its absolute zenith.

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Hammer Is Back--With The Woman in Black

Some years back in 2007, I got wind that the once-mighty Hammer Film Productions was returning to action after decades of dormancy. However, I was somewhat let down when I looked into the matter and found that their first release would be a thoroughly modern affair called Beyond the Rave, and that the newly revived studio was looking to break away from its classic period roots and focus on contemporary horror. Which is sort of like if the Hal Roach Studio was revived to make American Pie sequels.

And so, after a couple of such modern thrillers, and even involvement in the well-made yet wrong-headed American remake of Let the Right One In, imagine my thrill to find that Hammer was at last truly returning--that is, going back to what it does best: Producing atmospheric British period horror. In the grand tradition of the studio that gave us Horror of Dracula, The Gorgon, Paranoiac, The Hound of the Baskervilles and countless others comes James Watkins' The Woman in Black, starring Daniel "Don't Call Me Harry" Radcliffe.

Folks, *this* is the true return of Hammer. This is what we've been waiting for. And just like that, we have a film that will very likely be in the running for the best horror film of 2012. Who would've imagined that a well-made, carefully shot gothic haunted house film with minimal gore and largely psychological scares could ever get made in this day and age of torture porn, quick cuts, gratuitous grue and lame post-post-modern slasher nonsense? Having just seen it, I'd put The Woman in Black right up there with such classics of the subgenre as The Haunting and The Uninvited.

Last Tuesday evening, joined by the lovely Captain Cruella, I decided it was time to go and see this film that I heard so much about. I also made the possibly imprudent decision of taking along my little Vaultlings Zombelina and Skeleton Jack. Sure, they had school the next day, and spent most of the night scared witless in bed. But that's what comes with the territory when you're the spawn of the Vault Keeper, people. At their age, I was shivering in bed after seeing Hammer's Lust for a Vampire on WWOR Channel 9, so I suppose the whole affair lends a certain comforting air of continuity. Anyway, they got over it the next day, and we all had a hell of a time howling, shaking and yelping in our theater seats at every chilling moment.

Yes, there are jump scares, which I'm really not much of a fan of. It seems that is an inescapable de rigeur element of the modern-day fright flick, sadly. Nevertheless, jump scares aside, this is one bone-rattling, good-old-fashioned blood-curdling ghost chiller, and just what the horror genre needed right now. British-born Watkins, whose previous effort was the vastly different torture thriller Eden Lake, sure knows how to build terror and craft an atmosphere of growing dread. If you love a good ghost story and you're a little jaded at the inability of most horror pictures' to genuinely get under your skin, then this one is for you.

Based on a 1970s novel by Susan Hill which had previously been successfully turned into both a TV movie and a touring stage production, The Woman in Black tells the tale of a mysterious abandoned mansion on a tiny island off the coast of Britain, apparently haunted by a malicious female spirit which targets innocent children. Radcliffe does a solid job portraying the poor solicitor who is assigned the unenviable task of closing up the estate, all while slowly discovering the house's evil history and the nature of the supernatural presence within.

X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass screenwriter Jane Goldman takes a break from superheroes to give us a script that effectively holds the viewer's attention while not resorting to short-attention-span theater and silly gimmicks. It's a slow burn, but so worth the ride. There are not a lot of fireworks until we head toward the final act, but I was so engrossed watching everything carefully unfold that I didn't mind one bit. Imagine, shots that last more than five seconds! This is a welcome return to measured horror film-making.

Radcliffe does well in his first big-boy role, but the one who really steals the show here is the always-excellent Ciaran Hinds as the skeptical local who befriends Radcliffe but refuses to believe there is anything going bump in the night in that old dark house--despite the fact that the titular specter is possibly responsible for his own young son's demise. As all great actors do, Hinds makes the most of a simply written character to give us a textured, understated, anchor of a performance.

But just like most of the Hammer gems, the film's greatest power is derived from the way the actors are filmed and the surroundings in which they're placed. Gorgeously shot by the edgy Tim Maurice-Jones, the film makes the most of its setting, so that the Welsh landscape and most importantly the house become characters in themselves. And although the excessive use of digital filters can be a bit off-putting at first, in the end I felt it helped add to the otherworldliness--lending a cold, washed-out aura to the characters and their world. Not to mention that the actual Woman in Black herself is one truly frightening creation, and the crew at London effects house Union VFX deserves kudos for her creation and the many other scares they helped generate.


And although we're talking slow build here, it all pays off in a haunted extravaganza at the very end, which finds our protagonist trapped alone in the house, face-to-face with the evil that lurks there. This is a kind of horror that we rarely see in the cinema anymore, and to be honest, even some of the great Hammer efforts of days gone by lacked the budget to pull this kind of stuff off as well. The hair danced on the back of my neck, a knot took shape in my stomach, and I'm not ashamed to say at one point I clutched my ten-year-old daughter and uttered a mild blasphemy that caused her to spiral into a serious fit of the giggles. In short, the movie did its job.

For fans of classic horror who also enjoy the contemporary stuff and sit and wait for those really special ones to come along, this is one of those. The Woman in Black is a genuinely creepy, well-written, evocatively shot horror film. It kept my kids up through the night, and don't be surprised if it does the same to you. I'm proud to say that about five years after the actual studio revived itself--at long last, Hammer Films is truly back.

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Are You Ready to Believe Us? Investigating the Haunted Sterling Opera House with Above the Realm Paranormal! (Part 2)

If you haven't yet been caught up on our adventures in the Sterling Opera House, please feel free to click here first for the tale of how Captain Cruella and myself came to explore one of Connecticut's most notoriously haunted locations!

After giving the main hall of the Opera House a thorough going-over, it was time for Above the Realm Paranormal investigators (from left to right, above) Troy Leong, Rich DeCarlo and Dan Rivera to take us underground into the bowels of the archaic structure, where a full police precinct and political offices once existed. Odd that such things would be housed below a theater, but we were informed that it was pretty normal during the turn of the 20th century for buildings to serve such completely dual purposes.


After continuing to snap photos like the one above, featuring bizarre energy configurations and inexplicable orbs/streaks of light, we figured we were ready for anything. We had even gotten to the point of directly goading the alleged spirits to show themselves, singing songs they might have recognized. Try to imagine the two of us on stage launching into renditions of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" and "Cheek to Cheek", and you have an idea of how strange the situation was fast becoming.


Once we made our way downstairs, we found ourselves in almost total darkness, with just some streaks of light from the upper floors and the illumination of our cell phones and pocket flashlights to guide us. There was something far more sinister about these dingy offices filled with lead paint chips; the feeling that far worse things had gone on here. All of the warm feelings associated with the Opera House and its rich history were absent here. This was some scary stuff.


After scouting out the offices and precinct, it only got spookier. That's because the next stop on this twisted tour was the holding cells. Yes, this was something straight out of an episode of Ghost Hunters or Fear. A little mini prison that looked almost medieval, although it was probably only a mere 100-150 years old. Below is one of the shots we took of the interior of one of these cells, and it's important to note that the flash from my camera was the only light illuminating this space. Of course, we felt it necessary to take the obligatory pictures of ourselves behind the bars. Come on, you know you would've too. Although I will admit it took some serious coaxing from the Captain and ATR boys to get me inside one of those cells...


It was then that things got truly interesting. Up until this point, we had been dealing with weird flashes of light in photos and nearly inaudible sounds. What happened next is something I have a hard time really wrapping my head around, even now. You can judge me a looney by what I'm about to describe, or you can give me the benefit of the doubt. Either way, I'm telling it as I remember it.


The above photo shows me inside the police officer's locker room, just as I was about to make my way to the stairs that led back up to the theater. Keep in mind once again that the flash of the camera was the only light here. As I illuminated my keychain flashlight to help me see better, I turned the corner to step on to the stairs. At that moment, I was suddenly struck with a feeling of great unease, as if something was terribly wrong. It was hard to describe, kind of like a tightening in my midsection, accompanied by a wave of anxiety.

Just then, I spotted something out of the corner of my eye, on the right hand side of the stairs, at the top, facing down at me. A shadow, yet not a shadow. It was a dark, opaque shape, I suppose some might call it an apparition, moving slowly toward me down the stairs, edging around the corner and becoming more visible. Now, I would have been perfectly willing to believe this was just my shadow, except for the fact that it was moving, and I was not. There was also the issue of my flashlight shining right at it, which tends to make shadow, you know, disappear and stuff.

Yet there it was. The anxiety within me reached a fever pitch, and I'm not ashamed to admit I started quickly backing away from the stairs (OK, maybe a little ashamed.) "What's wrong?" asked Cruella. "Just keep moving...I'll tell you later!" I gasped as we made our way back into the hallway. I let the guys know what I'd seen, and they headed into the room I had just left.

"You don't run," they reprimanded, "You investigate!"

"No," I politely informed them. "You investigate. I run."

Yet when they mounted the stairs, whatever I had seen was predictable gone. Fortunately, they had already seen enough in the Opera House in the past to believe me. After a little more exploration topside, we chatted a bit more about the Opera House's history and what I had seen. We thanked ATR for providing us with a private tour, and left the building to ponder the nature of what had just happened.

I had been a major skeptic before, but I'd be a fool not to be thoroughly shaken in that stance after the Sterling Opera House. Maybe, just maybe, things that go bump in the night are not simply the stuff of horror flicks. Maybe sometimes...things really do go bump in the night...





















For more information about Above the Realm Paranormal, check out their website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

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Are You Ready to Believe Us? Investigating the Haunted Sterling Opera House with Above the Realm Paranormal! (Part 1)

Just to be perfectly clear, I've never been much of a disciple of the supernatural. Fascinating topic, to be sure, and one that I've done a lot of voracious reading about--but always as a full-on skeptic, first and foremost. I was interested in it as subject matter, but never put much stock in it as based in reality. To put it bluntly, I have not believed in ghosts since I was a small child, and have always explained away supposedly supernatural phenomena as, at best, owing to some form of extra-sensory perception of past events, or at worst, simple charlatanry.

And so it was with great interest, and yet a safe and secure sense of disbelief, that I entered the infamous Sterling Opera House in Derby, Connecticut on Monday night. The opportunity had come our way thanks to an encounter with the boys of Above the Realm Paranormal--a local ghost investigation group--over the weekend at the "Derby Day" annual street festival. Proving that it always pays to print up shiny business cards, Captain Cruella and I were invited to take a private tour--an opportunity we leapt at faster than Ray Stantz going down a firehouse pole.


What transpired was an evening which, quite frankly and not to sound too melodramatic, has given me a lot to think about. Because, dear Vault dwellers, I cannot help but believe that there is indeed something going on in that place which I cannot fully explain. You may sneer, and you may deride, but we saw what we saw, and we heard what we heard. There is a presence or presences within the Sterling Opera House. I can't really tell you what they are with certainty, but there is something there. And this is coming from someone who has never "sensed" anything like this anywhere else before.


One bunch of folks who would certainly have no problem telling you what's going on in the Opera House, from their point of view, would be the crew from ATR. Based out of Derby, with an office that is indeed an old defunct firehouse (no joke), these ghost hunters have made the Opera House one of their pet projects, charting its interior meticulously, and claiming to have made contact with the spirits that allegedly reside within. We were met Monday night by ATR investigators Rich DeCarlo and Dan Rivera, and the team's Winston Zeddemore, case manager Troy Leong, who were gracious enough to show us around and share their findings with us.

Functioning as one of the Naugatuck Valley's premiere entertainment venues from 1889 through 1945, the Sterling Opera House has seen quite a bit of history, and as a fan of the "golden age" of American entertainment, I was just as much interested in it for this reason as for the paranormal stuff. It was designed by one of the designers of Carnegie Hall, constructed at roughly the same time, and featured everything from concerts and plays to vaudeville and early motion pictures. Here I was, on a stage upon which once had trod the likes of Enrico Caruso, Bing Crosby, John L. Sullivan, Red Skelton, John Philip Sousa, Amelia Earhart and Harry Houdini (at one point looking up from under the stage at a trap door custom made for the master illusionist himself). For me, the memories of those legendary performers haunted the place just as much as any suspected apparition.


Needless to say, the Captain and I soon began snapping away with our trusty Blackberries. While under the stage in the dressing area, I took the shot above of a room that was in total darkness, illuminated only by the light of the flash. This was when things started to get a bit eerie. If you look close, you'll see a small white orb, in addition to other floating white particles--which, I can assure you, were not visible to my naked eye. You may chalk it up to the light playing photographic tricks, but not only did this keep happening with many of the photos we took, but our guides were quick to show us how many times others had picked up possible spirit presences in the form of small white orbs.


Suddenly taking things a bit more seriously than I had, I started to really pay close attention to everything being said and shown. As we stood on the stage, Dan, Rich and Troy called out to the spirit of a small boy named Andy whom they claim to have contacted and interacted with on several occasions (in fact, they've even strewn toys all over the place for him to play with). And as we waited in total silence, I'll be damned if we didn't all hear the very faint voice of a little boy. The same voice ATR has recorded on the site in the past, such as this time:

Andy asks for his ball...


Letting her spirit of adventure get the better of her, the Captain wandered off on her own to the upper balconies, exploring some areas where spirits had been photographed in the past. She soon returned, white even by her standards, and looking, if you'll forgive the expression, as if she'd seen a ghost. Dan played several EVRs (electronic voice recordings) for us, taken during previous visits to the opera house, and discussed the ongoing plans to conduct an extensive restoration of the building to a functioning entertainment venue once again. This struck me as a bit of sad prospect, as it would entail pretty much gutting the place.


As we proceeded throughout the main room of the Opera House, it was undeniable that there was some kind of presence with us. We all felt it at different times. A general sense of dread. It felt very unusual to me, a feeling I've never quite felt before. I even started to feel a bit disoriented from it. And every now and then, I'd feel a chill run down my back or arm, which I was politely informed was one of the spirits making contact with me.

As we sat in the upper balcony, the Captain reached up to snap some blind shots of the interior of the projection booth. Here's what she captured. Check out the two pictures below: They are of the same exact doorway, taken mere seconds apart. In the first one, nothing. And yet in the second, there it is--another one of those pesky orbs bobbing around. As I said, photographic anomalies are always possible, but this just kept happening. If not a ghost, then what the hell can it be? Some kind of electromagnetic phenomenon, perhaps? Who knows?





















By this point, we were thoroughly spooked. And yet, the fun was only beginning. All we had seen was the main performance space. We hadn't even ventured underground yet, to the prison below the theater. That would come next. And that's where I would have my most disturbing experience of the night by far...

To Be Continued...

For more information about Above the Realm Paranormal, check out their website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

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VAULT VLOG Father's Day Edition! B-Sol & Son Review The Sixth Sense...

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A Christmas Carol: Live from the Ghouls' Yule!

Last night, I had the pleasure of doing something I've never done before. As an old English major, it was something I had always wanted to do, and thanks to Captain Cruella's Ghouls' Yule, I finally got my wish. As the good Captain and I began to plan our Christmas/horror-themed event in the quaint village of Saugerties, New York, I decided to finally indulge my long-running wish. I volunteered to read passages from my very favorite holiday tale, Dickens' brilliant ghost story, A Christmas Carol. A story which perfectly combines the spirits of Christmas and of horror--both of which have long been dear to me.

Further, thanks to a timely suggestion from Bryan White of Cinema Suicide, I did more than just read for the live audience at The Inquiring Mind bookstore--I also engaged in a little experiment, broadcasting the reading live on the internet on UStream. It was my first time using the service, and I sincerely hope that some of you out there were actually able to view the live broadcast. But for those that didn't, I present it here. Enjoy, Merry Christmas... and God bless us, everyone!

(And please forgive the echo--it goes away after the first couple of minutes. As I said, first-time UStream user!)



Further Reading: My review of the classic 1951 film version of SCROOGE, over at Cinema Geek...

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The Shadow of Samhain: A Saturday in Salem

For the record, I take this Shadow of Samhain thing very seriously (so much so, in fact, that it looks to be spilling over right into November...), and therefore, it became clear that before the series had reached its conclusion, I would have to pay my very first visit to one of the epicenters of the occult, one of the places most dear to the history of pagan traditions--Salem, Massachusetts. So last weekend, I packed up the fam-- three generations of Solomons strong--and made that trek up the Mass Turnpike to the place where, in 1692, one of the worst atrocities in American history took place.

In the end, I learned a great deal about the true history of witchcraft, about the realities of the actual witch trials, and perhaps most decidedly of all, about the horrendous traffic conditions in Salem in October. To put it as simply as possible, people, my best advice to you is that, if you decide to visit there between now and Halloween, use a helicopter. Maybe one of the shopkeepers will let you land it on their roof, I don't know. All I know is, at the end of a six-hour drive--three of which consisted of looking for a place to park--I was about ready to be burned at at the stake (or, more properly, hanged, as my witch-expert blogger buddy Andre Dumas points out.)

However, it truly was a blast to experience, and I'm glad we took the trouble to head out there. There is a rich tradition that permeates that town, and an almost tangible sense of the supernatural that seems to lurk around every corner. Supposedly, the town rests on some ancient crater that focuses occult energies--it sounds like something out of Ghostbusters to me, but hey, I'd certainly like to believe it's true.


Right off the bat, one of the attractions that caught little Zombelina's interest was the mysterious House of the Seven Gables, made famous in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel. To satisfy my daughter's curiosity, we headed over there forthwith, only to discover that it was completely sold out for the day (how does a historic landmark "sell out", anyway?) Nevertheless, I managed to sneak the little one past the ticket line and on to the grounds of the house for a bit, even if we couldn't go in. We were able to find the birthplace of Hawthorne, which did give the English major in me a shiver of glee.


From there, we discovered a most unique and interesting place. It was the World of Witches Museum, on Wharf Street. Whereas most of the museum-like attractions in the town are preoccupied with the actual Witch Trials of 1692, this place seemed to be the only one providing a genuine overview of and appreciation for the entire history of witches and witchcraft, from a Wiccan point of view. Highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about the actual Wiccan community of Salem, beyond all the tourist-trapism. At one point, they encouraged my kids to pick out gemstones from a pile, as a way of divining something about their personality--whereupon we learned that my son, Wee-Sol, is destined to basically rule the world at some point. So there's that.


Pirate ships, eclectic shops and spooky old graveyards were the order of the day, until the evening came, and it was time for the trolley tour. Thanks to this tour, I was able to learn that apparently Salem is haunted by about 67,492 ghosts. In fact, if I had to estimate, I'd day it's more than likely that there are more spirits residing in the town than living people. If our tour guide is to be believed, that is. Let's see, there's the famous Joshua Ward House, haunted by one-time Salem High Sheriff George Corwin; the jewel thief and the woman in white who haunt Baker's Island; and of course, the restaurant Rockafella's, a former church believed to have so much supernatural activity, it's a wonder there's any room for the patrons.

Are these stories true, or based on any semblance of truth? Honestly--and this is something I picked up in the wild and woolly world of rasslin', where tall tales are the order of the day--I don't really care. I'm more interested in the pleasure of hearing the tale than in discerning its veracity. I want them to be true--and that is good enough for me.

Following our tour and a quick bite to eat, it was time to depart the fair town of Salem and head for home (yes, it was a mere day trip--what can I say? We're a family of masochists.) The long, thankfully traffic-free ride home was filled with ruminations of witchery and things that go bump in the night. I'm very glad I had the opportunity to finally see the Halloween capital of America. Perhaps an annual visit will be in order from here on in...

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