Another Day, Another Cemetery

If you've been following our adventure, you've probably noticed that this is a heavily Ellen-inspired trip, chock full of creepy! Today was no exception. This morning, we went to visit the homestead of Rebecca Nurse, the 73 year old grandmother who was accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem Village was renamed Danvers to shake the stigma of the trials, and most of the people here seem to not want to draw attention to the town's dark past. EXCEPT Dan, our tour guide at the Rebecca Nurse Homestead (we asked if his last name was Vers... har har). This guy was more than happy to dish for us, even boasting that he was one of the few people who has been in the private, hidden Endicott cemetery. To which we replied by showing him this picture (from yesterday):

We've always known Mom is a rebel

Oops, I almost forgot to mention that before the Rebecca Nurse Homestead, we went to yet another cemetery! This is the Danvers State Hospital Cemetery, where the inmates from the mental hospital were buried. While entering was not quite as illegal discouraged as the other cemetery, this one was not on any maps, nor were there any signs. You really have to be a hipster like us to find this kind of cool stuff. ;)

Since we really just had not had enough cemeteries, Dan at the Nurse Homestead referred us to yet another cemetery in Danvers- the Putnam family cemetery (if you watched/read The Crucible, it's those Putnams!). Again, no signs, no maps. Mom really just likes sneaking into places...

She was indignant that we were taking pictures. I told her not to do anything she wouldn't want on Facebook. #digitalcitizenship

Once we had really had enough weird, we drove over to Salem, which confusingly enough was not the site of all of the weirdo stuff- the whole area was known as Salem and was split into two parts: Salem Village (which, as previously mentioned, was renamed Danvers) and Salem Town, which kept its name and is where the accused were brought to trial. In Salem, we got to go on a tour and learn about the non-witchy history of the town, including the USS Friendship (yes, many puns were made).

Despite it not being a pirate ship, Dad prompted us to make our best pirate faces. Caitlin is a really scary pirate. 

Also, Caitlin and I decided that the houses are so pretty here that we're staying forever. Nathan and James, bring the rest of our shoes ASAP!

Our day was long and action packed, and Ellen was tuckered out! She is always sneaking pictures of my mom in this same pose, so I delighted in the chance to get this. :) We made a 3 hour drive to Bangors, Maine to spend the night because...

Tomorrow, we fulfill Ellen's life dream of going on a Stephen King tour! This town was the inspiration for the town of Derry in his book It. We really like Ellen a lot...

-Erin