[Transcript]

Are you facing the old Custom House? You should see a wide staircase and a columned entrance. This building dates back to 1819 and once housed offices for the U.S. Custom Service collectors and other officials. Ship captains would come here to pay their duties on the goods they imported.

That money went to support and run the federal government. If the front doors are open, you can climb the steps and walk around inside on both floors. National Park rangers are often around to greet you at the door. 

Otherwise, take a seat on the front steps if you don't feel like standing. Just, you know, don't block the entry. Now let's get back to our friend, author Nathaniel Hawthorne. 

In 1846, he was not yet a writer who had topped the charts, so to speak. So when he received an appointment as the Port of Salem's surveyor, he took the job. You can see his office on the first floor to the left as you enter. 

He had a view of the harbor while he served here from 1846 to 1849. Hawthorne's time in that office inspired the beginning of his book, The Scarlet Letter. The novel begins with an essay detailing how Hawthorne came upon a mysterious manuscript.

The essay goes something like this. One day when there wasn't much business going on and Hawthorne was bored, he wandered upstairs and noticed a box full of discarded items. Rifling through them, he came across a piece of scarlet fabric that looked to be in the shape of a red letter A. He was immediately intrigued and then noticed there were some papers wrapped up inside it. 

That's how he learned the basic facts surrounding a woman who had lived in shame in Puritan Boston. Well, Hawthorne's imagination wouldn't let this discovery go. He'd pace the Custom House day after day, compelled to bring this story to life. 

By the time Hawthorne lost his job at the Custom House, he had already formulated a story, and thus The Scarlet Letter was born. It's an intriguing tale and a believable one. However, this essay at the beginning of the novel is a literary device known as a frame narrative, where one story introduces another story. 

It was a popular technique in 19th century literature, and the frame story in this case was mostly fictional. In real life, Hawthorne never found anything with the big letter A, but he really did work here and he really did dislike the job. And upon writing and publishing The Scarlet Letter, he finally got himself that bestseller.

On another note, if you find yourself with extra time once our tour ends, there's more to explore in the area behind the Custom House. To get there, use the same red brick walkway that I pointed out before, that led to the Derby House backyard. At the far end of the pathway, you'll see the Narbonne House, a home which dates all the way back to 1675. 

That means it was around during the Salem Witch Trials. We actually walked by it earlier on Essex Street. But for now, let's wrap up the tour by exploring the waterfront.

I'll tell you about the wharf while you walk down to the lighthouse and save my favorite story for the walk back. So, facing away from the Custom House, you'll be looking at the lawn and waterfront of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. Cross the street in front of the Custom House to get there and look for the large black anchor that holds the iconic National Park sign.

Again, cross Derby Street and you'll notice that black anchor to your left. Then, press play on map marker number 15 titled Walk to Derby Wharf's Lighthouse.

[Transcript] 

In 1881, a Chicago-based businessman named Francis Beidler and his friend B.F. Ferguson formed the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company. Their goal was pretty straightforward but bold, harvest the vast old-growth cypress forests of the Congaree floodplain and supply the booming cities of America with its prized rot-resistant wood. Beidler and Ferguson saw a good opportunity here and they invested heavily. 

They built temporary camps and moved men, mules, and machinery through the thick muck and tangled waterways. Cross-cut saws sang through the ancient trees and felled giants were chained together to slope downstream. Yet the swamp wasn't so easily tanked. 

Logs sank into the dark waters, equipment rusted out in these damp conditions, and the swamp's fierce mosquitoes and diseases wore down even the toughest of crews. And when the rain came, well, unpredictable floods could wash out roads and landings overnight, forcing the crews to rebuild again and again and again. Unlike other logging operations in the South, the Santee River Company never built permanent camps or railroads here. 

Their work was seasonal and it was scattered. It was a constant struggle against the swamp's wild heart. And by the 1910s, the company pulled out of Congaree completely.

It was one of those rare moments in history where nature was victorious over industry.

[Transcript]

So, are you standing in front of the witch house? It's the dark house right on the corner of Essex and North. It looks pretty good for being over 400 years old, right? The old black-timbered witch house, which has a foundation dating all the way back to 1620, holds a special connection to the Salem witch trials. Let me tell you about it on the other side of the house, which has a short stone wall you can sit on.

So, go ahead and walk around the corner to the back of the house and have a seat. So, what's the connection here? Why is it called the witch house? Well, the witch house is the only remaining home in Salem with direct ties to the witch trials. At the time, it was the home of Jonathan Corwin.

Corwin was one of the magistrates who presided over the preliminary examinations at the first meeting house. And Corwin later served on the court of Oyer and Terminer. He got that position because another judge resigned after the first conviction and then execution of Bridget Bishop.

To at least that one judge named Nathaniel Saltinstall, the trials had escalated into something sinister. But apparently, everything seemed on the up and up to Corwin. Oh, and the witch house is surprisingly ghost free.

Nah, just kidding. Of course, this place is super haunted. Why wouldn't it be? No one can say for sure why this house is haunted, but some believe it has to do with Corwin finding so many witch trial suspects guilty.

Others say the ghosts that haunt this house are those who suffered from the Corwin curse. You see, all five of Corwin's children died in this house, as did he and his wife, all prematurely, at different ages, and from various illnesses. Hmm, anyone believe in karma? If you have extra time on your hands and want to see inside, you can purchase a ticket for a self-guided tour of this home.

It contains furnishings from the 1600s, along with items related to Jonathan Corwin and the witch trials. But you can also just go in the back door and visit the gift shop to get a feel for the house and its slanted floors. Okay, in a moment, we'll start heading toward the spot where the court of Oyer and Terminer took place.

While we walk over there, I'll talk more about the second round of witch trials, after Corwin became one of the judges. But while we're on the subject of Corwin, there's one other thing I want to clear up, in case some of your prior witch trial knowledge is rolling around in your brain. Jonathan Corwin is not to be confused with his nephew, George Corwin.

Although both men played crucial roles during the witch trials, they were very different people. I'll tell you more about George Corwin later on in the tour. So do me a favor and walk back to the street corner.

You're gonna cross North Street and remain on Essex. Again, cross North Street at the crosswalk. Then you're gonna stay on Essex Street and walk one block to Sewell Street.

Once you're there, turn left and walk on the right-hand sidewalk to the end of the street to the Witch Dungeon Museum. Just follow the blue line in the app. While you walk, I'll talk.

So press play on marker number 15 titled, Walk to the Witch Dungeon Museum.

[Transcript]

So, anyone up for a little ghost story? And just a disclaimer, this story might not be suitable for young children, so earmuffs, kids. Now, there's a pretty good chance that you're listening to this track while waiting for Old Faithful to put on a show. When you got to the viewing area, you drove past that impressive Old Faithful Inn, right? The Old Faithful Inn that you see today was built in 1903, after the original Upper Geyser Basin Lodging House burned down.

When its doors opened in 1904, guests were mesmerized by the inn's 76-foot-high lobby ceiling, massive stone fireplace, and ornate woodwork. In fact, some guests have been so enamored with the place that they've never left. One such guest is known only as the Headless Bride.

Legend has it that in the 1920s, a young woman from a wealthy family fell in love with a rugged soldier. But the girl's father disapproved and forbade the marriage. So the girl and her beloved eloped.

They spent their honeymoon at the Old Faithful Inn and then moved to the Old Faithful Lodge. But the young bride very quickly learned that her new husband was both a reckless gambler and a mean drunk. During a particularly loud confrontation, the soldier told the bride that he had only married her for her money.

Soon after, the staff at the Old Faithful Inn realized that the couple was missing. They hadn't checked out, and no one had seen them for days. One curious chambermaid let herself into the couple's room and found a horrific scene.

The bride was lying dead in the bathtub, and she was missing her head. The hotel staff called the police who assumed that the bride's husband had killed her and fled the area. They searched, but they were never able to find him, nor was anyone able to find the poor bride's missing head.

That is, until years later. Now, if you haven't been inside the Old Faithful Inn, the lobby actually features a wooden tower. The top of the tower is called the crow's nest, just like the lookout on the upper mast of a ship.

Well, one day, an unsuspecting hotel employee stumbled upon the bride's missing head. It was tucked away in a corner of the crow's nest. So, according to this legend, the bride's ghost still walks the halls of the Old Faithful Inn, searching for her missing head, and maybe even her missing husband, too.

Guests have seen her pacing on the widow's walk and appearing as a sort of mist in the honeymoon suite. Her scoundrel of a husband may have gotten away with the crime in life, but it seems he, too, is doomed to a lonely afterlife. Old Faithful Inn guests have reported seeing a spectral man in a merchant marine uniform pacing the crow's nest and peeking into guest rooms.

If you're staying at the Old Faithful Inn, keep a close eye out for the ghosts of the bride and groom, if you dare.

[Transcript]

Welcome to the Granary Burying Ground. If it's open, let's wander into the cemetery. But please, no leaning or sitting on the gravestones. 

And they also ask that you keep off the grass. If the gates aren't open, you can still take a peek through the iron posts. So maybe the first thing you saw was the big gravestone in the middle that says Franklin. 

That is the final resting place of the parents of Benjamin Franklin, but not old Ben himself, who's buried in Philadelphia. I'll tell you more about him in a few minutes. This cemetery, along with some of the Park Street Church property and Boston Common, all sit atop what used to be a large grain storage facility, or granary, which is how it got its name. 

The granary is a who's who of the most famous patriots of the American Revolution. Folks buried here include Paul Revere and the victims of the Boston Massacre. You'll also find three signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

Robert Treat Payne, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams. The burying ground dates back to 1660, but around 1837, in the Victorian era, the headstones were rearranged into the neat rows you see today. Meaning those tombstones may not actually sit atop the remains of the person etched on the grave markers. 

So can you guess why the headstones were rearranged? Well, that's due to the invention of the lawnmower, which meant that cows and goats from the Common were no longer needed to graze here to keep the grass trimmed. But in order for mowers to take over the job, they had to be able to get in between the gravestones. With limited space to bury people, you'll see some tabletop graves here. 

Those lead down to multiple remains, or mass graves. So although there are only about 2,300 grave markers here, some say the number of bodies buried here is well over 5,000. Look around. 

Do you see any headstones with the image of a skull with wings? This symbol was a Puritan representation of the body being here, but the soul going elsewhere upon death. A triumph over death, if you will. You may also see pennies left on some of the headstones, especially on those belonging to Paul Revere. 

If you can, let's go find his spot now. You can find him in the back of the cemetery, in the middle, behind the large gravestone that says Franklin. Or just follow the blue line for Revere's headstone. 

Then press play on map marker number seven when you get there.

[Transcript]

All right, do you have a place to sit or perhaps lean against? We're just one block away from the former home of Bridget Bishop. She lived just down Washington Street from here. We'll pass by her place later.

Bridget was accused of witchcraft by some of the young girls in April of 1692. Bridget may have been targeted because, again, she lived outside conventional social circles. At nearly 60 years old, she was on her third husband at the time, and the local gossip mill could be cruel. 

They'd already whispered that Bridget had a reputation of stealing eggs, scaring horses, and some say killing her first two husbands. At the end of May, Massachusetts Governor Phipps finally returned from England almost four months after the witchcraft accusations had begun. But the governor had a lot on his plate. 

There were Native American wars to the north and fighting between the French and the English. So to handle the witchcraft trials, he set up a special court in Salem called Oyer and Terminer. It translates to hear and determine and was a special court commissioned for serious criminal cases, especially treason or felony in England and colonial America.

Phipps assigned important community members, friends of his, to be the judges of this special court. And finally, in June of 1692, the trials began. They took place just a little further up the road from where we are right now. 

I'll point out the exact spot when we walk by it later. These hear and determine trials were hot, noisy, and crowded. Villagers weren't going to miss an opportunity to watch this spectacle.

The accused witches were led from the jails to Salem's townhouse, desperately hoping for mercy. Without lawyers, they were forced to defend themselves. Even worse, the use of spectral evidence was allowed.

That meant the accusers could merely say they had a vision that someone was a witch. This further escalated the trials into the realm of fantasy land because no real, valid proof of anything was needed. Meanwhile, the afflicted girls, including the first two to act out, Betty Parris and her cousin Abigail, were all brought into the courtroom in a group.

They were writhing and babbling and throwing fits, really putting on a show. And if one of the accused witches even so much as motioned at a girl, they would shout something like, she's attacking me. The overzealous crowd ate up the convincing theatrics as the accused stood by, humiliated.

Well, those on trial soon realized they had very few options. If they didn't confess to being witches, they'd be hanged. So in order to be spared by the court, they'd have to confess to being witches and show some remorse. 

In that case, the Puritan community believed the so-called witches would receive their punishment directly from God. They'd get to live, yes, but they'd be pariahs in the community. Everyone would continue to believe that they really were witches.

Good Lord, what would you do? Before I continue, let's start walking over to our next stop. As we walk, I'll tell you about two accused women who chose two different options. And I'll cover the first conviction in the witch trials. 

If you're facing the bewitched statue, continue straight toward Gulu Gulu and keep walking along Essex Street. Again, continue walking along the left-hand sidewalk of Essex Street and press play on marker number eight titled, Walk to the Ropes Mansion, the first conviction.

[Transcript]

When you’re in Puna, it’s a must that you visit the Mackenzie State Park Area. This is kind of a remote and peaceful place with tall ironwood trees that line the road. But don’t get fooled by this serene appearance. This park actually has a pretty spooky history! Continue reading, and let me tell you some creepy legends about this place.

 The first story starts with the creation of the park in the late 1850s. Back then, prison convicts were brought in and forced to work in this remote area to clear the rainforest. Without sanitary drinking water, many of them died from heat and exhaustion. Many people say their unmarked graves are scattered across the park, along with the ghosts of their haunted past.

 Another story says that there used to be an ancient trail that crosses through this park. Locals are convinced that the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors still use this trail. They are called the ‘huaka’i po’ or the ‘night marchers.’ And believe it or not, people have reported hearing ancient battle cries and chanting on stormy nights. Some locals refuse to come to this park after dark, for fear of crossing paths with one of these ancient and powerful spirits.

Besides these creepy tales, more than one unsolved murder has occurred in this remote forest. Many people who walk here report hearing footsteps behind them, but when they turn around to look, nothing was there. Campers report stories of their tents being shaken violently in the middle of the night with no explanation! Some recount being woken up by blood curdling screams. Even local fishermen report seeing eerie lights and undiscoverable campfires throughout the forest at night.

If you are here at sunset, be sure to look out for the ghosts of unshaven men, pickaxes in hand, or the blur of a night marcher walking ancient trails. Or you may just sense an unexplained presence lurking in the forest. Or even find mysterious objects in your photographs! Remember that you are walking amongst the living and the dead... so watch out. It's said that these ghosts like to photo bomb!

 20-year-old Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. The home where she died is preserved as the Jennie Wade House Museum, and it’s possible that Jennie’s spirit never left. Visitors and guides tell of cold spots, doors opening on their own, and even the scent of fresh bread drifting through empty rooms. 

[Transcript]

Alrighty, we'll stick around the visitor center a few more minutes before we get moving, and I'll share what triggered the witch trials. It would take much longer than the length of this tour to share every detail about this historic tragedy, but I'll do my best to summarize the facts as we go along. I'll introduce you to some of the people involved and share the most important turning points of the story. 

You may find, once the tour ends, that you want to explore even more about this nightmare, because a nightmare it was. Let's start by visualizing Salem back in those days. Salem really had two parts. 

There was Salem Town, which was the small but prosperous port located right here in what we consider Central Salem. Think simple wooden homes and basic meeting houses for church services and public events. But there was also the parish known as Salem Village, about five miles north of here, where Danvers is today. 

Salem Village was a farming community and much poorer than Salem Town, and it's in Salem Village where our tale begins. Imagine a freezing cold snowy day. It's January of 1692, and we're inside the home of the Parris family. 

The head of the Parris family was Salem Village's Reverend, and inside his home that day, while snow and sleet pummeled the neighborhood, was Reverend Parris's nine-year-old daughter, Betty, and her cousin, 11-year-old Abigail Williams, and they began acting mighty strangely. The two girls began to twitch, twist, and contort their bodies into strange shapes, speaking in words that made no sense. Reverend Parris was alarmed and immediately called on a doctor. 

The doctor tried using his medicine and prayer to provide relief for the girls, but nothing worked. He could not come up with any other diagnosis other than that the girls seemed to have become bewitched. Now, you might be thinking, how could a doctor come up with such a diagnosis? Well, back in the late 1600s, Salem Village was populated mostly by Puritans.

The Puritan religion, a form of Christianity, required a strict lifestyle, and they were wary of the devil. So, even small differences in behavior aroused suspicion. Now, let's take a step back and wonder what really happened to Betty and Abigail. 

The short answer is, we don't really know. Modern theories suggest they might have suffered from epilepsy, child abuse, mental illness, food poisoning, or some sort of disease. But let's explore one other possibility, that the girls' imaginations had gotten out of hand. 

At that time, girls their age had begun experimenting with fortune telling. You know how quickly a trend can start these days, and it may not have been so different back then. This particular antic that many young girls were dabbling with was referred to as the egg and glass. 

They'd drip raw egg white into a glass of water and try to decipher the shape it made. Then they'd try to decide if it meant anything about their future. This game had begun to stray into sinister territory. 

Some young girls claimed to see things like the shape of a coffin. If you've ever tried to spook yourself and your friends with a fun night around a Ouija board, then you know what an overactive imagination can do. It could be all in or it could be taken to another level or become cult-like. 

It's plausible that the egg and glass trend could have caused Betty and Abigail to have unusual thoughts or feel as if they'd had a spell cast upon them. Heck, maybe they were just play acting in a game that got out of control. But the bottom line is this, they started claiming that witches had cast spells on them.

And well, all hell broke loose. Now, let's leave the visitor center behind and start walking. And we'll see some of the places where the witch hunt story and the subsequent trials took place. 

We'll also be visiting some haunted site