GALWAY–On Thursday, October 10th,  the junior class went to Salem, Massachusetts to explore sites related to their study of U.S. History and English literature. We met in the High School parking lot at 4:30-4:45 a.m. to start our journey at 5:00 a.m.. We had a approximately 4 hour drive before we got to Salem. They were several interesting things to do and see in Salem, the witch city.

The play: “Cry innocent: The people vs. Bridget Bishop”

Just a few actors gave life to Bridget Bishop’s witch trial. Bishop was the first executed “witch” in Salem and she was accused of bewitching Abigail Williams, Ann Putnam, Jr., Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, and . The judge kept accusing and questioning her but she denied everything. Several witnesses accused her too, each one with his testimony.

Each actor had more than one role in the play by changing clothes or rather just looks (accessories). They made the public take part on the play by asking questions and they even gave a key to keep to one of the viewers. The actors did a good job keeping everybody entertained by asking us to vote (if the accused was a witch or not) and making us laugh too.

The House of Seven Gables and Hawthorne House

The House of Seven Gables wasn’t built all at once.  John Turner, John Turner II and  John Turner III(three generations) and Nathaniel Hawthorne were some of the house’s owners. When additions were constructed, they added gables, until there were seven. That’s where the name comes from.

We all were surprised by the low ceiling and the narrow passages and stairs–it was not very comfortable for tall or claustrophobic people!

The birthplace of American author Nathaniel Hawthorne is right next to the Seven Gables House. Because most of the interior has been preserved intact, we could see the typical Georgian architecture of the period.

There was a very nice gift shop where some wanted to buy sweaters as souvenirs but they were quite expensive! So we were happy with a magnet to remember our beautiful trip.

The ship: Schooner Fame

We went to the Salem harbor to go on a ship ride on the Schooner Fame. It used to be a privateer, which is a kind of boat that attacked enemy’s ships during wartime. The Salem port grew rich from the trade of silks, spices and clothes with the East and West Indies, and it was never attacked by the enemies because it was very difficult to sail in that area due to underwater rocks.

We did three different activities in the ship–we learned how to sail the boat in a certain direction, how to use a compass to know our location and how to put the sail up and down. It was quite exciting when the Captain asked us to shout as though we were real sailors and it was surprising to discover that is not that difficult to know where you are with just a compass. I was impressed that it’s quite easy to sail in a certain direction in such a big boat by just moving a keel.

The Witch Trials Memorial

They were three stone benches of characters that we know from The Crucible jutting out of the stone wall:

Rebecca Nurse- Hanged 1692

John Proctor- Hanged 1692

Giles Corey- Pressed to death Sept 19th 1692

This information more or less revealed the end of The Crucible, the book that we were reading in English.

The Old Burying Point Cemetery

The oldest cemetery in Salem, it was established in 1637. Here is buried one of the judges of 1692, John Hathorne. Some interesting items carved into the top of the headstones include skulls, flowers and a tree.

Not all of the groups visited the Cemetery but the ones who did say that even though was a little creepy, it was interesting.

We had some time to visit the city on our own with our chaperones and to do some shopping too. Some of the Halloween decorations on the streets and houses were neat. After spending the day walking through Salem streets and visiting very interesting places, we started our way home at 5 p.m. and we stopped to have dinner on the road before arriving back in Galway.