Day 1 - Arrival
We decided that there is no place more Halloweeny than Massachusetts. So October 6, 2023 we loaded up the van and headed out to Plymouth. We had a haunted Plymouth tour scheduled for the day, but like all the best well laid plans, Murphy's law attacked. After 10 hours of grueling traffic all we were able to do was make it to the Hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Plymouth, and had a noise complaint about our absolutely insane kids within the first few hours of our arrival. I mean, who's to blame them for going a little nuts after sitting in a car for 10 hours?
Day 2 - Plymouth & Boston
Plimouth Patuxet Museum
After a good night's rest, we headed down to the hotel lobby for breakfast, and then went off to our first site, The Plimoth Patuxet Museum. The first part of the museum has an indoor section where you can see time period dress of the natives and the colonials, as well as a model ship and mill. I would have loved to meander and read all of the literature, and history on display, but my anxious little kids were ready to be outside. As you make your way towards the village, there is a little sign along the path where you can see which plants were brought by the colonials, and which were indigenous to America. The path brings you to a recreated Native American Village where we learned about the Native American's way of life in the 17th century, as well as today. As you continue to walk along you come to a fort and village that are a reconstruction of the original Plimoth. You can walk around the village and into each of the homes and talk to costumed characters, or the settlers, who stay in character and teach you about their way of life, daily tasks, and how they survive in the Colonies.
Plymouth Rock
The next thing we had to see while in Plymouth, was Plymouth Rock. Now, I must confess I did not think Plymouth rock was a real rock. I always thought it was just where the land jutted out to the sea, and the large rocky coast was "Plymouth rock". Evidently, there is an actual rock though, who knew? It is housed in a large columned structure, and guarded. According to the guard, long ago the rock was much larger, but visitors kept chiseling pieces away to take as a momentum, until the rock was the size it is today.
The Mayflower II
The next stop was to see the reconstruction of the Mayflower. Before climbing aboard the ship, you can read all about why people would leave England along with some of the difficult choices they had to make before boarding the ship to take a long and treacherous voyage across the Atlantic to a largely undeveloped and unfamiliar land. Once aboard the ship, you got to see the sleeping quarter sizes, the captains quarters, and walk around the area that the cattle would have been held. Fun Fact- Steering wheels had not been invented yet, so the only way to steer the ship was with this long stick in the bottom deck which directed the ship left or right, and someone would shout to you from the floor above you which way to steer, since you can't see where you are headed from the steering deck. It really emphasized the risk people were taking once aboard this, all in all, tiny vessel, on a massive ocean with a destination that was only slightly less perilous.
Lunch Break at Gillis Family Tavern and Grave yard exploration
After a full morning of site seeing, we took a moment to grab some lunch. Gillis Family Tavern was right along side the Mill, and they were a cute little Tavern offering seasonal cocktails, and bar food. It was a much needed break where we were able to rest and recharge. Upon completion of our rest, we continued our journey into the graveyard for some history, discovery, and Halloween ambiance. As we were walking around the cemetery we found a monument marking the site of the original fort and village that we saw earlier today at Plimoth Patuxet museum.
Boston Tea Party Re-enactment
Once we had our fill of cemetery wandering, we got into the van and headed off to Boston, to see the Boston Tea Party Re-enactment and museum. This was a fun jaunt for the day! You start out by gathering in the meeting house, and as you are waiting around you can read some of the posters and news paper clippings about the outrageous taxes that have gotten the towns people so upset. Once you take your seat in the meeting house you are given a character card with your name, the dates you live, what you do for a living, and how the taxes are effecting you. The actors give you an introduction, and tell you the things to say when you are upset, or how to express your outrage by stomping, or hissing. Then the show begins, as Sam Adams begins speaking to the populace about the outrageous taxes that have been effecting everyone. Some people in the audience get speaking parts (reading off their card), and the group starts to become an angry mob, who develops a plan to sabotage the English tea trade. You are told that it is now the middle of the night, and we are going to sneak aboard the East India Trading Company's ship, and locate the cargo of tea to throw it all overboard. We will not suffer unfair taxation without representation! On the deck of the ship there are several Styrofoam boxes covered in an East India Trading Company marked canvas, and they are attached to ropes, so guests can haul the boxes into the Boston Harbor, and then pull them back up so the next guest can get a turn. Once everyone had their chance to throw some "tea" overboard, we walked back (through the gift shop of course) and headed over to Abigail's Tea Room for some gourmet teas and snacks.
After a full day of adventure, it was time to head to our hotel and the adults crashed, while the kids continued to be absolutely bonkers.
Day 3 - Salem
Salem Kiosks and Park
The first thing we did upon arriving in Salem was come to the park and check out all the Kiosks and food stands. We did come in October, and Salem is a hopping place in October with lots of pop up stores, street performers, cider stands as well as a ton of haunted houses. So we had a breakfast of fried dough, and cider and then did a little shopping. This is what vacation is for!
Halloween Museum
Our next stop was the Halloween Museum. This was a really cute place with a ton of 80s and 90s throw backs of Halloween's past. They had Halloween Barbie's, and McDonald's Trick or Treat buckets, the chicken nugget McDonald's toys that were dressed in Halloween costumes. They also had a large collection of Claymation figures from movies like Corpse Bride, and the Nightmare Before Christmas.
Peabody Essex Museum
Amidst all the crazy activities, and street performers, we stopped at the Peabody Essex Museum to see the witch trial and Bat Exhibits. We did not stay to look at all the museum held, we wanted to focus on the Halloween themed exhibits only, so I cannot speak to other exhibits in the museum. The witch Trials exhibit was small, it was one room with a few artifacts, and a lot of documentation about the witch hysteria, and time lines and fate of many of the victims accused of witchcraft. There was also a bat exhibition with everything about bats from art, pop culture, lore, and even a few real bats that you could observe in an enclosure.
The Witch Mall
I did not know what to expect coming into a "witch mall" I guess I expected lots of East Meets West/ Spencer's kind of stores, and maybe some incense and candle outlets. While that was in part the truth, there were also haunted houses in the mall. The first one we went to was called the Monster Museum. Upon entry you are given a lantern to light your path through. There were some animatronic surprises (jump scares) in there, but it was not too scary. My 9 year old did well, but it was too scary for my 6 year old.
Count Orlock's Nightmare Gallery
The next stop was Count Orlock's Nightmare Gallery. No pictures are allowed in this facility, but it was hands down, the best gallery in Salem. There were death masks of many famous actors, and there is a large collection of movie props and masks used in movie productions such as Alien Vs Predator, Fright Night, American Werewolf in London, Nightmare on Elm Street, and many more. It was really awesome.
The Witch History Museum
Next stop was the Witch History Museum. When I was a kid my grandparents used to take me to Salem frequently, and this was always a MUST visit place. You enter the museum and sit in a pew, and you are given an introduction to what has been happening in Salem in the 1600s. Your guide then leads you into a wax museum that tells the story of settlers in the Colony of MA, and really touches on how afraid they were. They discuss the puritans, and how restrictive their lives were as well as Tituba, who wove tales to tell to the children, sparking imaginations. One of the most profound things they talk about was the sickness which fell upon the town, which they suspect was a poising from mold on wheat which caused wide spread hallucinations and lead to the following hysteria and witch hunt.
The Witch Dungeon Museum
The witch dungeon takes you into the court room of a witch trial. In this museum you learn about how the trials were conducted, and the development of spectral evidence, which was essentially someone saying they see or feel something without any actual tangible proof. You also learn that the judge and the panel are not lawyers at all, but were all ministers. After you see an example of how a trial was conducted, you are taken to a display of the various different cells that would be available to you if you were convicted (and everyone accused was convicted). Everything boiled down to money. If you were wealthy, you could pay to stay in a large room, but if you could not pay to keep yourself in jail you would be in a "coffin cell", which was about the size of (you guessed it) a coffin. All of the accused were bound in iron chains so that the evil spirits could remain locked in, and no spells could be cast.
New England Pirate Museum
Witches is not all that Salem is infamous for, but also Pirates. The penalty for both witches and piracy was hanging. The New England Pirate Museum reviews the life and death of a few known pirates. There is a story that is told, along side a wax display, of one particular pirate who brought a bouquet of flowers to the executioner, and retied his own noose correctly before donning it to be executed. Pirates were also occasionally submerged in boiling oil and put on display to warn against piracy.
Haunted Happenings
At the end of the day we wandered back to the haunted happenings market place for some dessert, but they were pretty hit. The fried dough spot was out of powdered sugar, and the ice cream spot was all out of chocolate. So with vanilla ice cream cones, we celebrated the end of a very exciting day before heading back to the hotel.
Day 4 - Salem and return Home
The Witch Museum
The witch museum is the giant church looking museum in Salem with red lights glowing from the windows. It is the image I think of immediately when I hear the word "Salem" I remember as a kid this was the most scary looking daunting place to go to. I don't know if as an adult my perception has changed, or if as time has gone on the other museums in Salem really stepped up their game. In either case, I didn't feel like this was an unmissable attraction. Though if you wish to visit you NEED to buy tickets online the minute they go on sale, or they WILL sell out. You enter the hall and come into this large room with some benches and stools. The floor glows red and you see all the names of those accused of witchcraft written on the floor. The room is very dark, but you are in a room surrounded by wax exhibits. The story of the witch hysteria and trials is told from an overhead speaker, and a spotlight shines on the various exhibitions depicting the part of the story that is being told. Once the show is over on your way out you walk through the dungeon with cells that the witches would be kept in. At the very end, when you are about to leave there is one person that is real in the dungeon, and he will try to jump scare you. Some PTSD from my child hood made sure I remembered that this time. They got me good as a kid!
The Real Pirates Museum
This was another really good museum in Salem. This museum starts out with a movie and a story to give you some background. It essentially was the story about a Pirate who was very successful (in piracy), and he was coming back to MA to retrieve his lady love, when the ship was lost at sea. Equally fascinating was the story about the man who discovered the ship remains, who was on a hunt for the lost treasure and was trying to piece together the various pieces of the story to locate where the ship may have been lost, and found it! After watching the movie about the pirate and the discovery of the ship, the doors open to the museum where you can see many displays, and wax exhibitions. The museum houses artifacts from the ship including a chest full of real pirate treasure! The museum ends, as most museums tend to, in a gift shop. This was definitely the best pirate museum in Salem, well worth a visit.
Head Home
At this point in our journey, it was about time to head home. Overall this was a very successful family trip. The kids talked about it for the next few weeks on end, and declared that Salem was their favorite place in the world. We got to see a lot of things, and it was a very educational trip, but in the most fun ways. It was really engaging, and definitely set the tone for Halloween with all of the pomp and circumstance that Salem puts on for the season without the insane crowds that Salem has on the week of Halloween.