Ghosts of Salem

I spent yesterday in Salem preparing for GhoStock and researching my upcoming book.

With each of my ghost-related books, there seems to be a turning point.  With my Austin book, it was learning that city’s connection with Jack the Ripper.

In New Orleans, I discovered that the French Quarter’s hauntings follow a very predictable pattern.  It wasn’t what I expected.  (That book has been “on hold” since Katrina. )

For the Salem book, the turning point has been learning about profound and frightening hauntings that I’d never heard of.  (Since I grew up in the Boston area and have always visited Salem regularly, I thought I knew that city.  I didn’t.)

Many of these stories were told to me in confidence.  I kept hearing the same thing from people who own or work at haunted businesses, “We don’t want to stir up the ghosts.”

I’m sympathetic, so I won’t share their stories unless I can find the same information elsewhere.  That said, the magnitude of some stories I heard… there is no possible way that those ghosts are recent arrivals.  Their histories will go back to the 19th century, and perhaps earlier.

Those tales will expose aspects of Salem’s history, especially the maritime history, that had been overlooked since most people focus on the Witch Trials.

The realities of pirates, privateers and smugglers… well, they aren’t always as romantic as some imagine.

Yesterday, as I toured Salem’s haunts, I also heard some ridiculous denials from business owners/managers whose ghosts are common knowledge.  They’ve been featured on TV and in print media in the past.  Those business owners aren’t fooling anyone when they announce, in a shrill voice, “No, we don’t have ghosts.” It’s clear that they’re frightened.

This has been a startling discovery for me.  I’d thought that Salem had the same moderate level of hauntings that most New England towns do.  (The Witch Trials history is a small part of the story; those men and women often lived in “Salem Village,” which is — today — the town of Danvers, not Salem.)

What I’m learning about Salem’s haunts will require far more research than I’d anticipated.  However, it’s going to be fascinating, and reveal a very different side of Salem.

This is what I needed to energize the book.  I’m very excited about this turn of events.

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