Category Archives: Massachusetts

King Richard’s Faire

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It’s that time of year again or rather it’s been that time of year for a few weeks. Every fall for the last 30 years Carver, Ma has been the place to go for Knights and Pages, Royal Maidens and Wenches, Acrobats and Beggars, Kings and Queens.

So…..Hear Ye, Hear Ye

All ye Lords and Ladies of the Realm.

We are about to embark on a journey to the medieval past where knights are jousting, beggars begging and the Court Jester entertains us all!

King Richard’s Faire started running weekends September 3rd and as I work weekends I usually miss it. But I do get one chance and that is on the long holiday weekend of Columbus Day. The Faire is open on that Monday. I have been several times over the years and always enjoy myself but I’m not as dedicated as some folks are.

The Renaissance themes are popular all over the country. In Boston we have a year round restaurant called Medieval Manor. If you enjoy eating in a rowdy atmosphere with your hands you can have a great time watching the actors and performers…just don’t leave for the restroom without asking the King for permission…just a hint.

 Almost every place I’ve visited has a Faire or a Restaurant or some other attraction. It seems that jousting and medieval hijinks doth capture the mind of the masses. 🙂

Florida has one that I’ve been curious about for quite awhile called Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament, Orlando Castle. Maybe I should include that on my next trip to Orlando. But today I am still in the northeast, in Massachusetts, just down the road from Carver, Ma.

Me thinks I’m about ready to step into my time machine and go back….back….back…….

Stay tuned for the next installment of Back to the Dark Ages

The House of Seven Gables

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What a nice day we are having in Salem but the afternoon is passing quickly. Following our lunch at Murphy’s we explored the waterfront with the replica Friendship,

 admired the Custom House with the fierce Eagle emblem glittering in gold.

 But there was one last place that we just had to check out before we turned our eyes back south and headed home. That was the House of Seven Gables.

We didn’t have time for the tour and having just finished one  “old House Tour” we opted for exterior views only. I have taken the tour in the past and it is interesting.  Maybe next trip  there will be time for that tour too.

The House of Seven Gables was a real house. Not just a construct for a novel. The opening lines of the novel are the perfect description of the ancient mansion.

The novel begins:

“Halfway down a by-street of one of our New England towns stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables, facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst. The street is Pyncheon Street; the house is the old Pyncheon House; and an elm-tree, of wide circumference, rooted before the door, is familiar to every town-born child by the title of the Pyncheon Elm.”

The Pyncheon family actually existed and were ancestors of American novelist Thomas Pyncheon.

At the time the novel was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the House  was owned by his cousin Susanna Ingersoll whose  ancestors were involved in the persecutions of the innocents during the Salem Witch Trials. Hawthorne was plagued by guilt over the part his family played in those terrible years and some believe this to be the reason for the tone of the novel. His novel explores land fraud, depression, ghosts and by innuendo, witchcraft.

At the time that I toured the mansion many years ago, the novel was fresh in my mind so I could appreciate the references made by the tour guides. One thing that really stands out in my memory is the secret staircase. At the time that I took the tour this tiny secret passage was open to the public via the tours. Since we didn’t take the tour this time I don’t know if that is still the case. I think I will re-read the novel before I go back for a return tour.

Also on the grounds and visible from the street is another period home that has been restored. Not as grand as the Seven Gables, which was considered a mansion, Hawthorne’s boyhood home sits were it can view the building he immortalized. This is another example of the traveling buildings of Salem. His home was relocated to this spot to preserve it for its historical value.

I can just imagine touring the 2 buildings on a gloomy, rainy day. Throw in a little thunder and lightning and I bet we could all become believers in ghosts and witches.

Tale of two Salems

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Salem Ma has two different personas. On the one hand there’s the culture and history while on the other hand there’s the paranormal Salem of witches and ghosts and goblins.

You really can’t blame the town for having a split personality considering the tragic events of the Salem Witch Hysteria.  In 1692 Colonial New England and especially Salem were caught up in a hysteria that captured the attention of the world and not in a good way.

The events of that time have now come to symbolize  intolerance and injustice and the consequences of not having  checks and balances in the legal system. Imagine, based on the accusations of a few girl,s hundreds were accused of witchcraft, friends were pitted against friends and over 10 months twenty innocent men and women were put to death.

Today Salem is a vibrant community that has embraced the lessons of the past. Tolerance and acceptance is the norm. The downtown witch shops cater to  Pagans and visitors can have their fortunes read next door to a museum, restaurants and a National Park. There are push carts and vendors and this is even without a visit in October.

In October the energy climbs as the city is filled with visitors celebrating the Haunted Happenings of Halloween.

On our visit we made only a brief detour into Crow Haven Corner to look around. The rest of the day was spent exploring the PEM (Peabody Essex Museum),

 visiting the restored homes from the 17th, 18th and 19th century,

 wandering the waterfront and enjoying lunch at Murphy’s with their outdoor seating.

There’s something for everyone and the city is easy to maneuver. It’s walkable, which was our choice, or you can take the trolley or even ride around the town on a Segway.

 The day came to close with a pumpkin latte. A perfect ending!

Just beware…when it comes to Halloween no place does it better!

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Figure Heads

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One of my favorite exhibits is the East India Hall in the Peabody/Essex Museum.

That hall is huge, almost like a ballroom, well-lit and spacious. Mounted on the walls are artifacts (today we might cal them souvenirs) from the adventures these ships experienced while roaming the 7 seas.

As they explored new worlds and strange cultures they immortalized the people they met in life-sized carved statues that were mounted on the bows of the ships. A wide variety of these figureheads have been collected and are displayed in this room.

The figurehead embodied the spirit of a ship and was originally believed to placate the gods of the sea and ensure a safe voyage. Almost every prow had a carved figure looking down at the waves, and the variety was immense.

A large figurehead, being carved from massive wood and perched on the very foremost tip of the hull, adversely affected the sailing qualities of the ship.

In Germany, Belgium, and Holland, it was once believed that spirits/faeries called Kaboutermannekes (water fairies) dwelt in the figureheads.  The spirit guarded the ship from sickness, rocks, storms, and dangerous winds.

 If the ship sank, the Kaboutermannekes guided the sailors’ souls to the Land of the Dead. To sink without a Kaboutermanneke condemned the sailor’s soul to haunt the sea forever, so Dutch sailors believed. A similar belief was found in early Scandinavia/Vikings.