Travel, Wine, Food--What I Know: Salem, Massachusetts--A Perfect Halloween Town

The Salem Witch Trials always arouse a great deal of curiosity. Many of you out there remember learning about the trials in history class. To refresh your memory, I'm offering a nutshell description of this dark, bleak time in American colonial history.

In 1692 a small group of young girls living in the Puritan village of Salem began exhibiting unusual behavior like seizures, fits, delusions, and uncontrollable screaming. Villagers were troubled and anxious about this alarming display. The girls claimed they were possessed by the devil; and also claimed they were "possessed" because some of the village women were allegedly practicing witchcraft.

The village was consumed by hysteria resulting in the witch trials to rid the community of this satanic terror. About 19 women were convicted as witches and hanged.

Later in 1692 the hysteria lessened. The public began to turn against the trials. Eventually those executed were exonerated and their families received restitution.

When I was in Salem I visited the memorial to those who hanged. It was dedicated in 1992. The playwright, Arthur Miller, the author of The Crucible, which dramatized the events of the witch trials, was present. The play debut in 1953 and was an allegory for the anti-Communist "witch hunts" of Senator Joseph McCarthy. (Miller didn't "out" any persons for political activities. He didn't cooperate with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee.)

On a lighter note, Salem is a beautiful, Northeastern town, a great Halloween town. The folks here have taken the bleak times of yore and made lemonade out of lemons. There's an abundance of haunting activities throughout the month of October, for example visiting the Salem Witch Museum, the Witch Trial Trail, the Spirits of the Gables (the actual House of the Seven Gables is here, Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem), and seeing the Legacy of the Hanging Judge, plus much, much, more. 

There's a lovely Visitor's Center offering an introductory movie about Salem. In addition, there's  the Peabody Essex Museum. There's certainly lots to do within the eight square miles of Salem.

And now, some WINE . . . . . 

Well, I don't have a witch's brew for you but I can recommend a good Cabernet Sauvignon: Alamos Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Mendoza Argentina, at the foothills of the Andes Mountains. It's  a beautiful deep red, rich in flavor. A delicious wine with beef--everything from burgers to steaks. It's also good with a sharp cheddar cheese and crusty bread. Yum!