The Witch House in Salem, MA. Dustin and I took a tour of the house, formerly the home of Jonathan Corwin, a judge known for his role in the Salem Witch Trials. (Photo by Dustin Genter of 5th Dimension Photography)

This article is a continuation from a column published on October 7, titled “Haunted Honeymoon Part 2: The Haunted Hotel.”

If you’ve been keeping up with this series, then you know my new husband Dustin and I just wrapped up the second part of our Haunted Honeymoon; a spooky night in the Fainting Goat Island Inn, an allegedly haunted B&B located in Nichols, NY.

After a long night of ghostly encounters, Dustin and I were on the road again. This time, we were heading to the final leg of our journey: the magical world of Salem, MA, where all my witchy dreams came true.

We booked a full three days in Salem to ensure we had enough time to see and do everything we wanted. As it turns out, there’s even more to do there than we thought! While we weren’t able to get to everything we would’ve liked, we still experienced a massive amount of what Salem has to offer.

Our first day was spent exploring all the witchy shops, most of which were located on a main road, set up almost like a college campus. Beyond the main drag was a section for local artists, and sprawling further were streets with stores and restaurants that honestly kind of reminded me of Norwich.

The stores ranged from gift shops, to occult stores, to home decor stores with a magical twist, to shops all about vampires, believe it or not! We browsed books, herbs, stones, jewelry, divination tools, and… human bones?

Yes! Shockingly, it is legal to buy and sell human bones in the state of Massachusetts. Several stores had locked display cases with human ribs, foot and finger bones, teeth, you name it. We even saw a femur for sale, and a few skulls. Talk about culture shock!

That evening was spent taking the Ghost City Tours guided walking tour of all the allegedly haunted areas in Salem. Our tour guide, Shelby, led us to the Burying Point Cemetery, the former home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Howard Street Cemetery, where a man named Giles Corey was pressed to death during the Salem Witch Trials, and more.

Shelby regaled us with tales of spooky occurrences at each location. The Burying Point Cemetery, for instance, allegedly spilled caskets into the basement of an adjacent building after some particularly heavy rains. According to the story, workers in the building had no way of knowing which casket went where, so it’s possible the headstones don’t actually match the bodies beneath them. Pretty unsettling, yes?

Or, perhaps even creepier, Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, which was formerly a burying ground. Shelby told us that at some point it was converted, but rather than relocating the approximately 200 bodies on the property, they were simply left behind. What’s more, the headstones were wrenched from the ground and later used as decor in front of the building!

With that being said, it is worth it to mention that we later spoke with an employee of the Charter Street Cemetery Welcome Center, who told us she had never heard of such things, and it was likely they were nothing more than fiction. So, take these stories with a grain of salt.

Day two in Salem was spent exploring more shops, and getting spooky tattoos! Dustin got a unique jack-o-lantern, and I got a cute little witch hat. Our appointments took up most of our day, but I was still able to squeeze in a psychic reading that afternoon.

We went to Pentagram, a beautiful occult shop that had bookshelves lining the walls, and shelves full of giant herb jars up to the ceiling behind the counter. I lucked out and was able to book an open 30 minute slot that was in five minutes!

Weirdly, I was nervous. I’ve received plenty of tarot readings, a couple tea leaf readings, and one startlingly accurate psychic reading before, and didn’t experience any nerves beforehand. I was a little worried it was a bad omen, but thankfully, that was not the case.

I was paired up with a rune reader, who described himself as “super gay, and super feminist.” I liked him immediately! I was also excited now; I had never had my runes read before.

My reading was phenomenal. The reader was delightful, and we covered everything from school, to my new marriage, to my future living arrangements. He told me I was doing great at work, and that he suspected I would be getting a raise soon (wink-wink, Tyler!). He also said school would not come without struggles, but that I would persevere and be successful, which was nice to hear.

He also told me I had “massive Freya energy.” For those of you that don’t know, Freya is the Norse goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death. She is also known for her chariot pulled by cats, for teaching witchcraft to a tribe of gods, and for her hall in the afterlife, called Sessrúmnir, where half of those lost in battle go after death. So basically, a pretty cool lady!

On day three, Dustin and I went around to every museum we could manage in one day. We stopped at the Witch Board Museum, and learned all about ouija boards. There was even a board set up in the back that we played around with.

I’ve used ouija boards once or twice in the past, with no luck. But when Dustin and I gave it a try, we received one hilarious response when we asked, “Is there anyone here who would like to speak with us?” The planchette slid over to “U” and then “NO.” We took that to mean, “You?! No!”

We visited the Witch House, which was once the home of Jonathan Corwin, a judge known for his role in the Salem Witch Trials. The house was furnished as it would have been in the 1690’s, and was set up with several placards explaining what life was like in that time.

It was interesting to learn that the townspeople essentially used witchcraft to ward off witches, or just in their daily lives. For example, hanging specific plants over their doors to keep out witches. Or, more disturbingly, using “moss” grown on human corpses as medicine and to stop nosebleeds. Yikes!

Lastly, we stopped by the Witch Dungeon Museum and watched a short skit depicting one of the court trials, and took a tour through a replica of the dungeons the accused were kept in while awaiting trial. It was pretty bleak.

Did you know prisoners had to pay jailer’s fees, and that their property was often auctioned off while they were in jail? Even worse, the dungeon was pitch dark, would often flood to knee height, and it was not uncommon for rats to swim through.

Some prisoners were kept in what were known as “coffin cells” which were basically just big enough to fit a person. Standing room only, of course. Prisoners would also be shackled to the walls by their wrists (with shackles that they also had to pay for, I might add). The time spent in these cells could be anywhere from a few days to a few months.

Despite the many heartbreaking and disturbing stories we heard about the Witch Trials, overall we had an amazing time in Salem. It truly was magical, and I loved it so much I didn’t want to leave!

Our honeymoon was hands down the best ten days of my life. Not only did I get to spend all that time with my favorite person, but we also saw and experienced so many interesting and unique things.

We hope to return to Point Pleasant in the future to experience the full glory of the Mothman Festival. The Fainting Goat Island Inn was a spooky hidden gem so close to home that we will be returning as soon as possible. And Salem? Come on! Of course I’m going back there every chance I get.

Maybe one day we’ll take the same trip again and relive our Haunted Honeymoon adventures. It was an unforgettable journey, and the memories of our ten days on the road will be something I cherish for a lifetime.