To answer that question, you first have to answer the question “what is a witch?” If your concept of a witch is Miss Almira Gulch and her alter ego The Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz, the answer is no. Besides, witches would have ridden their broomsticks naked and greased up.Witch […]
Hollyhock symbolism and meaning: A positive influence to the witch’s garden, along with fairies, bees, butterflies and white magic
Hollyhock symbolism and meaning have an ancient pedigree, as they do for healing. Hollyhocks are symbolic of the cycle of life, and so you find them i funeral practices of the ancients, as well as fertility. You’re hard pressed to find a malevolent use for the plant. Bees and butterflies are attracted to the pollen […]
The Witches’ Field in Salem Village, Where the Wicked Gathered When George Burrough blew his horn
From the Salem Witchcraft Papers, Boyer and Nissenbaum, 1977 1st June 1692 Abigaile Hobbs then confessed before John Hathorn & Jonathan Corwin Esq’rs That the generall meeting of the Witches in the feild near Mr Parrisse’s house she saw Mr George Burroughs, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne Bridgett Bishop als. Olliver & Giles Cory, two or […]
Einstein at the Belvedere on Long Island
Albert Einstein was a life-long pacifist, till the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930′s when he fled to the United States. As a physicist, he became convinced that physics could play a part in the creation of a weapon which could bring the end to this war, and perhaps all wars. A letter […]
A Salem Walking Tour in Three Miles
Salem is a walking town, with Essex Street acting as the main pedestrian artery. If you’re spending the night in Salem, haunted hotels are the way to go. This walking tour assumes you’re staying at either the Hawthorne Hotel, or the Salem Inn, which lie at opposites ends of this walk. Both are historic, with […]
In old Charleston, the historic and haunted are around every corner
The slogan for Charleston, South Carolina is “where history lives.” This is true. The layers of Charleston history are laid out side by side, rather than mashed on top of each other. So if you aren’t finding what you want in Charleston, turn the corner.
A Field Guide to visiting Salem, Massachusetts: From Witches to the Maritimes, to literary fame, a history lover’s dream
I’ll admit it, the first time I saw the sign announcing that I had arrived in Salem, I got chills up my spine. The Salem witch hunt was a real-life horror story, and usually the first one we learn as school children. If you grew up in the sixties, there’s a good chance that mood […]
A brief history of St. Patrick: Who was Patrick and what does he have to do with green beer?
St. Patrick’s day throughout the world has reduced the role of St. Patrick, and some would argue Ireland itself to a breakfast cereal character. Who was he? And why should we care?
