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October 28, 2012 – Salem Day 3 – Stranded

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , , , , on July 3, 2013 by Janet Glenn

My Beautiful Salem Goodbye

My beautiful Salem, Goodbye……

So, it’s today. Sunday, I have to leave. I pack and go down and check out. Stupid me, I think they will put it on my American Express. I told them to do that. I don’t worry about it. I don’t give it another thought. There’s my ride. Goodbye Salem. I’ll see you next time. I did have a couple of good days, well, minus all the bullshit. That’s funny now that I think of it. I flew all the way up here only to have a run-in with an incredible asshole and to watch Hocus Pocus, a movie that I’ve seen over a 100 times. I did have popcorn though. It’s all good. Fly all the way to Salem for a movie and popcorn. Ok, I’ll stop.

I jump into my ride and he says we got to pick up another fare. That’s cool. This lady lives in the weirdest neighborhood. It looks like they cut a big hole in a huge rock and they built houses down in there, down in the hole. I guess they’ll be safe in there away from Frankenstorm …. unless it fills with water. The lady gets in and never utters a single word. Yankee.

We get to the airport and OMG, look at all those people in line at United! Looks like everyone had the same idea as me. Oh well, here I go. I get in line. I’m patient. I resign myself. I wait well. Actually it’s kind of interesting to watch people. They are mad, scared and a few are trying to buck the system by bellying up to the self-serve computers. They’re not working so they HAVE TO GET IN LINE. Why do they think they are different from those of us in line? Why do they think they can just saunter up to a computer and do what we are all standing in line to do? Well, they try, turn and alas, get at the end of the line (dumb shits).

So here we are. Not a lot to say. Just waiting our turn, thinking about Frankenstorm. Looking at the rain outside. It really looks like it’s already started out there. Wet, cold, love it. Everyone is strangely silent. Yankees! And finally, my turn. The lady is very nice to me as she says, “We are closing the airport until Thursday so there will be no flights in or out until then. Do you have anywhere to stay?” Well, she took the wind right out of my sails. I don’t know whether to be disappointed or filled with joy. I tell her yes, I have a creepy hotel to stay in over in Salem. So she schedules me a flight out on Thursday afternoon. Ok, thank you. I have to sit down and process this. Do I want to go back to the Doom and Gloom Hotel with Sir Tight Ass or do I just bop on over to the Hawthorne Hotel because I’m not mad at them anymore? I need coffee and a cinnamon roll. That’s the ticket! I sit and ponder the mess I’m in now. There’s a lot of people over here that had the same idea. I sip my coffee and get my computer booted up. I bite into my cinnamon roll and promptly spit it out. Shit, airport food. I know better! I just don’t know why I bother! I’m a bit undecided here, having some difficulty taking the next step. I look around and I don’t relish the idea of staying in this airport for 4 days so I’ve got to do something. I’m wondering how the airport would weather a hurricane and I assume it would do just fine. And then there’s me. Crap. I call Jason to tell him I’m stranded. Oh my gawd, he comes completely unglued. He sure is mad at me now. I mean MAD! Now he can’t help me and he says just that. So he asks me what I’m going to do now and I guess I didn’t answer him correctly because he went off again! He’s saying stuff like why haven’t I done anything yet and what is wrong with me? Can’t I do anything like I’m supposed to, like take the first step here to help myself? And it’s all my fault because yes, now I’m officially stranded. I tell him to quit worrying so much. I can take care of myself. I raised you by myself didn’t I? He’s not impressed and says that I am not to be trusted …. ever! I promise to call him when I get to the hotel.

While I linger a bit longer (I know exactly what I’m going to do), I get in a conversation with the lady next to me. They are 2 elderly ladies, more elderly than I, and they are having trouble because one of them has Alzheimer’s and she’s gone to the restroom and hasn’t come back although it’s been quite a long time ago. The lady I’m talking to fears her friend has gotten lost but fails to go look for her. Oh Lord, and I thought I had problems.

And now, I suddenly realize that I have to go back to the Doom and Gloom Hotel. They have all my credit cards tied up. If I try to check in at the Hawthorne, the cards will be declined. Another fine mess. So I don’t want to but I call them and ask them if I can come back and the lady says sure, she remembers me and they have plenty of rooms! Thank God. Now I’ve got to get a cab back to Salem!

Damn, it’s really raining cats and dogs out there (hee)! I jump in the cab and me and the driver really hit it off. We talk a mile a minute the whole time. Turns out he’s some sort of research scientist that is working at trying to cure breast cancer. Dang! He says he holds down 3 jobs. He has a family and a couple of kids but he doesn’t see them much. He’s an over-achiever and does the best he can for his family. Nice guy, I like him very much. We talk so much that we pass up the hotel and have to turn around and go back. We say goodbye and wish each other well. Shit, I almost hugged him. Not appropriate!

I struggle in with my bags and tell them to keep the room on my same card and give me a room higher up than the one before. Now I can see the water better in the harbor. Look at all those white-caps breaking over there already!

Now if the truth be known, I am OVERJOYED to be stranded in Salem! What a wonderful turn of events for me! I feel safe here. I’m sure this building has weathered many storms and I can’t think of a better place to be stranded! I can’t leave Salem! Oh how I love that! I tune in the Weather Channel once again and it’s looking sort of creepy and unpredictable. GhostmanMaybe I am a bit nervous. I sit down and send a text to my best friend, Dash Beardsley. Yup, that’s the Ghostman of Galveston for all you kindred spirits such as we. And, of course, I include his lovely girlfriend, Tamara. She’s a bit skeptical about the ghost thing. She definitely is a lot less crazy than we are what with all the spirits Dash and I see and speak to. And I, of course, have been known to take a pretty convincing ghost photo or two, as has Jason. And I have had orbs follow me around at Dash’s ghost hunts at Ashton Villa in Galveston. All just in a day’s work as they say. I’ll have to add some of my ghostly lore here in my blog. Maybe even interview the Ghostman when the season is upon us. Yes, we do have such fun! Are you scared of ghosts? Well, we the hell are not!

Dash Stirring Up the Dead

Dash Stirring Up the Dead

My I do get off topic, don’t I?! Well, it’s my blog so you can just suck it up! Anyway, I text Dash and Tamara and go on to explain how the hurricane is going in below us with a winter storm coming in from the left of us. A Nor’easter as it’s called up here or the Perfect Storm. I always wanted to be in a Nor’easter, dumb shit that I am. Hmmmmm, maybe not such a good idea to be so forthcoming with Dash. He’s concerned. Gotta love him. Between Jason and Dash, I’m feeling pretty cared for at the moment. Dash wants to know if I’m safe and how am I money-wise. Bless him for being such a good and thoughtful friend.

Hawthorne PumpkinsI now call Jason and he’s resigned to my plight. He tells me NOT to leave the hotel and I say, ok, I promise. I hang up the phone and promptly go out and have dinner at the Hawthorne Hotel. Great food, warm cozy place and I snap a few photos of their pumpkins. I linger and have a couple of cocktails at the bar. This is a lovely, old hotel. When it storms and you are here in the Hawthorne, the wind whistles through the ancient eaves of the windows. With its old Victorian design and stormy sounds, well, I could not feel more at home and happy. The hotel is decked out in its Halloween trappings making the visuals perfectly complete. I am one happy girl at this juncture but try though as I may, I can’t seem to find one single orange feather here. Since my first trip here and my experiences in the hotel, well, I will always look for orange feathers at the Hawthorne Hotel. I liken it to looking for beads in New Orleans! Oh yes! For those of you who do not remember or have neglected your duty to read this blog backwards and forwards, the Hawthorne Hotel IS haunted. Yup, I had an experience right here in this wonderful hotel!

Halloween WeekOh my gawd, how I do run on! I almost forgot, it’s the beginning of Halloween week but first we’ve got to weather this storm. Frankenstorm!

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October 27, 2012 – Salem Day 2 – Hocus Pocus Day!

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , on June 17, 2013 by Janet Glenn

Salem Hocus PocusOkay, today is the day! Tonight is the showing of Hocus Pocus in Salem Common! I’ve been so looking forward to this. I know, I’m such a dork! GROW UP! HELL NO!! I never want to be a grown up!! Never!! This is going to be cool. There are parts of the movie that were filmed in Salem Common and I’ll be watching the movie in Salem Common. Of all the times I’ve seen that movie, I never dreamed I’d be watching it right where it was filmed. I always wondered why I was so drawn to that movie. I watched it over and over through the years. Now I know why. It’s the crazy city of Salem and God only knows why it’s so important to me.

So for now, it’s Saturday in Salem. Tonight is the night of all the Halloween festivities. What fun and crowded? Geez, you would think it’s already Halloween! I can barely walk through the streets because of so many people! I’m getting photos, of course, but I’m getting knocked around so much, it’s pretty tough going.

I decide to go back to the hotel and dress a little warmer. I’m actually pretty much actively hating on the people working here in the hotel but the room maids are so nice and friendly with me. I think somehow they feel my sadness and are drawn to me. I’ve never had the room servers quite treat me as nicely as these. I talk and laugh with them. I’m glad they are here. And…… I’m suddenly hearing things on the TV about a Hurricane Sandy……

So now I’m thinking I will need to get to the Common a little early so I can get a good spot …. on the ground. I dress warm and have my camera, of course … always. I decide to get popcorn and a coke. So now I walk over to Salem Common. It’s a few blocks over from my hotel. Awww dusk in Salem. There is no more beautiful time in Salem. Hell, to me, dusk in Salem is an event to savor!

I get my popcorn and coke, pick my spot in front of the screen and stand there and eat all my popcorn before the movie even starts! Pig – Right. The crowd gathers. Not as many people as I thought but still quite a few. I try not to get too close to really little kids. They make me nervous. And believe it or not, Hocus Pocus is not really a movie for kids. It is Disney but not so much for kids.

Hocus Pocus Movie PosterSo, it’s cold. I’m waiting, even bored because I already ate my popcorn. People are showing up and I pull up a leaf and sit on the ground. It’s sort of wet. Alright already, stick the DVD in, man. And there it goes. I sit enrapt. The most enjoyable thing really was listening to the kids comment on what they are seeing on the screen is all around us. One kid stood up pointing at the screen saying, “We are there!” They were loving it and I did too. As I said, it doesn’t take much to make me happy!

And it’s over and I enjoyed it so much for the 100th time!

Ok, all right, hungry. Since this is a big party night, everything is packed. I walk over to the Hawthorne Hotel and look in the window and watch the Halloween Ball that’s going on in there. Quite a good crowd, strobe lights, live band, costumes …. and I don’t want to be in there. Two Halloween Balls alone is quite enough for me. I did actually fall in love there once. I wonder if he’s in there now. I wonder if he IS in there, did he look for me? Silly. Silly old woman ….

Seeing many, many costumes on the Pedestrian Mall. Now there’s something, the whole crew from the Wizard of Oz. Their costumes look so good, almost like the originals. Definitely worthy of the grand prize!

Hungry! Welp, back to the same place I guess! I saunter on over to my pizza place once again. They are really crowded and when I order my food, the lady makes a comment about me always having my camera with me. So, what of it, huh? Yes, my camera stays with me. It is quite simply why I’m here!

Now the fun begins yet again. I squeeze into a corner seat and begin to wait. My phone begins to ring and it’s Jason. Dang! He’s frantic …. and mad! He’s bitching me out because I’m apparently going on my merry way and not even considering that a Hurricane named Sandy is out there. I guess it’s heading this way and I don’t have a clue. Jason wants to know how I can be so oblivious to the danger that could be heading my way. Well, you know, I’ve just seen Hocus Pocus in Salem Common. I had popcorn and everything! There’s wonderful costumes everywhere and I’m waiting on my pizza. What possibly could be amiss? All’s right with the world, right? After all, I’m in Salem! And shit, he goes off like a rocket and yells at me and demands that I return home this instant! Get my ass back to the hotel and schedule a flight home NOW!

Salem Witch MuseumOkay, shit, guess I’ll do that. I stay long enough to eat then I head back to my room all dejected and shit. Guess I’m cutting this trip short. And I now think of Sir Tight Ass at the hotel wanting all that money from me and I’m only staying 2 nights! I didn’t even get to see the Witch House! I didn’t get to tour the Salem Witch Museum again and Count Orlok’s! Dang, Count Orlok’s for shit’s sake! I haven’t even spent my gift certificates that I got for winning that photo contest here in Salem! Bloody hell! I wanted to ride the trolley, do a ghost cruise, maybe ride the ferry to Boston! It all passes away right in front of my eyes. The whole trip …. gone.

Salem and Hurricane SandyI enter the hotel and I think this place is jinxed, unlucky, a proverbial black cloud overhead. Doom and Gloom Hotel, Salem, Mass. Every time I walk in here I have bad luck. My last time here was the shits and flat tires. Geeez. Every time, the shit begins to fly (literally). I get comfy again in my room and plant myself in front of my computer with the Weather Channel tuned in on the TV. Hmmmm, looks like rain. Assholes placed strategically around the East Coast with NO weather happening behind them. What the hell? I jump into United and change my flight from next Friday to this Sunday. Bloody Hell! They charge me $70.00. I know, Bloody Hell!! Anyway, done. The only thing to do now is to wait for tomorrow and go home. I call Jason and tell him I’m coming home tomorrow and the time. I guess now he can rest and stop being completely at his wit’s end with me. He doesn’t like it when I come up here not one bit and now Frankenstorm has got him at his complete limit with me.

So now I sort of start packing. My heart’s not in it at all. I do keep the weather tuned in and play on the Internet instead of packing. What, me worry? I gots no problems. I’m flying home tomorrow.

Then suddenly, a text message comes through my phone. Hmm, it’s from United. Probably reminding me of my flight tomorrow. I press the button and I see only one word. “Cancelled.” What the fuck? My flight tomorrow is cancelled? What? I’m beginning to feel a bit apprehensive here. They’ve cancelled my flight with Frankenstorm on the way? Now what do I do? Seems like I said that before on this trip. What the bloody hell do I do now? I immediately get on the phone and call Jason to tell him my flight is cancelled. That did NOT make his day. All the while, I got United up on my computer and I’m trying to reschedule or something and their web site starts doing some kind of weird looping thing. You can’t get to where you need to be on the site. It just keeps taking you through some crazy looping thing. Well, I’ve had enough of that. So I get on the phone and try to call United. It takes me a few times but I finally hear their stupidly helpful greeting and they say the wait will be about 45 minutes. Well, at least they’re not telling me to hang up and call back later. So I put the phone on speaker and I wait … and wait … and wait … and wait … and wait! Gosh, it’s getting late and I’m sleepy. I don’t want to hang up because they might answer at any moment and I’ve got to talk to them! So finally, I lay down in the bed and I’m still on hold with United. I’m about to fall asleep. Well, for cripes sake, I’ve been on hold for over 3 hours! I guess they are not going to answer. Every asshole on the East Coast is probably calling them right now. So what do I do now? Yes, another fine mess I’ve got myself into. So I decide to check out tomorrow and go to the airport. They will have to deal with me then. I’m not leaving that airport unless they put me on an airplane. I arrange my ride to the airport in the morning. They are happy to help me. I would be too for $50.00 plus tip …….

Salem Hocus Pocus MovieSo now I go to bed. Damn, it seems like such a long time ago when I saw Hocus Pocus. Party’s over, trip is done.

Crap.

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October 26, 2012 – Salem Day 1

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , on June 3, 2013 by Janet Glenn

Let me tell you, my Salem trip for 2012 was one disaster after the other! I mean a disaster on top of a disaster on top of a disaster! I’m not making this up! It sucked, SUCKED from the first moment I stepped into my hotel in Salem! But I’ve gotten ahead of myself here. Let’s back up a bit. So here we go….

This trip has turned me into the bitter hag you see before you. I learned a lesson right away and that is to not fly out of Houston, Texas early on a Friday morning in October. Like I get to the airport, cool so far. There’s a pretty long line checking in but it’s moving right along. NO CHECK BAGGAGE FEE for me! Yay! Thank you United Credit Card! Continuing on, hoping for an uneventful Security experience but NO! They tell us to move along to another security area just up those stairs, down that corridor, up the escalator, turn to the right, take the elevator up 2 floors, turn right again and then make a left and walk for about 2 miles, then go through the glass doors – the ones marked with a big ass “B”, go down the hall to the left, board the tram, take a short ride across the ramp, disembark said tram but do it quickly, then enter the door in the middle on the left and then get in the line on the right and be sure to have your boarding pass and drivers license on the ready.  I see that the line stretches all the way around the terminal and I get at the end of it and I stand there blinking. Can’t you just picture it? Hopefully, I stare forward, waiting my turn.

Why is Security so traumatic? I guess once you’re fully dressed, it’s a real pisser to have to take off shit that you’ve just put on. So here I am struggling to get shit off. I see a shoe fly over everyone’s heads over there, a belt is tossed up in the air across there, someone’s hair extension flips in the air like an olympic diver, 2 men are having a tug of war with a bag, another shoe flies, a tiny old lady is tossed this way and that! Oh my, poor dear. Whoa, you touch me, you die! EVERYTHING IN THE PLASTIC TUB EXCEPT USED TAMPONS. These should ALL be disposed of in the tiny restrooms on the airplane. Open laptop/camera bag. Take out said laptop. Ok, walk through. No, don’t walk! The bitch stands in front of me wagging her fingers at me.  Ok, walk, no wait, wait! Well, for cripes sake! Ok, walk, WALK THROUGH! Whew, I made it. That was HARD! Suddenly I feel free – like liberated. Checking, barely enough time to get dressed and a pit stop. They are already calling the flight! Shit……. run! Ignore toilet paper stuck to shoe. Gawd, don’t you just hate that? Now entering the airplane, this plane is packed! I mean standing on the wing room only! This makes me uneasy. I get to my seat and see that someone is sitting there in my window seat and his lady is in the middle seat. Crap, I want my fucking window seat but with the airplane as packed as it is what with the people behind me waiting to be seated, I agree to take the aisle seat and he’s got my window. Not a happy camper at all. Now tell me this, why oh why do the people sitting next to the windows insist on keeping the shutters closed? I look around. Not one glimpse of the outside. Not one! The whole way! I love seeing the fall trees as we get close but this time I’m stuck watching “Dark Shadows” which I cannot hear a word of WITH the earphones. Is it my imagination but since United took over Continental, these airplanes really suck? The Captain must be sensitive about this and announces that United has bought new airplanes but we are NOT on one. No shit, boss. Oh dear, enter foul mood!

We finally land in Boston and I can’t get out of that airplane fast enough, but yes, everything is as a remember it. I can feel the dark clouds lift. I grab my bag and go outside and there’s my ride! Works every time! I like my driver. He takes me around the long way and through some of the towns that surround Salem. Gave me a good tour he did and it didn’t cost extra! It is SO beautiful here. Interestingly, Salem and the surrounding areas are literally cut from solid rock. It looks like rocky mountain tops that were somehow cut to allow for cities. I bet it’s ancient mountain tops and I bet they are really high and these cities sit on the tippy top of them. This area is surrounded by water, just imagine how tall these mountains are under the water. Freaky!

And now the trouble begins. The shit begins to fly. The shit hits the fan! The fur begins to fly. It’s a bad day at Black Rock! Ok, I’ll stop. You get the picture. Proceed…..

The first thing is that there’s a hint, just a hint mind you, that a monster storm called Hurricane Sandy may have been following me to the northeast. Aww, I ain’t scared. I’m going to Salem and that’s that! And I do and here I am. We roll up in front of the Salem Waterfront Hotel and with ghost tours dancing in my head, I get all my stuff and walk in. I’m glad to be here …… but that won’t last long!

INTERMISSION!

Salem Beauty 2012

HA! WHAT A TIME FOR AN INTERMISSION, HUH?

Just kidding….

I approach the front desk and there’s this guy working there. He’s young, nice looking, cold, aloof, and he takes my American Express card and rings it up and announces that there’s not enough on the card to cover my whole stay at the hotel. What?! My whole stay? Yes, he says. I say to him that normally since I’ve already paid for one night deposit, the hotel doesn’t usually tally out the bill until at checkout. I’m completely prepared for that and I normally pay like that. He now informs me that that is not how it’s handled and I will need to cover the whole bill right now and we are $800 short. Well, I say I was expecting to use my payday in a few days to clear out the bill, so the $1,300 that’s on my American Express should fix things quite nicely until I check out. No, he says, we won’t be doing it that way and he just stands there looking at me. The next move is mine. So to say I was embarrassed is an understatement. I was very angry at this guy but I can’t just walk out like I want to. Finding a room in Salem during Halloween week is impossible! Now the very real idea of being homeless in Salem looms ahead of me. So I panic (always a solution) and begin pulling out my credit cards of which I was depending on for food and spending money. With each card chipping away at that $800, I still don’t quite make it. I’m sweating now and completely mortified and distraught. I do think this guy is enjoying watching me squirm before him. And then finally the girl that is working the front desk along side of him has had enough and she suggests calling the manager, who, the guy says is not in the hotel presently. She then suggests that he let me check in for the night and we could work it out in the morning. She’s fed-up with him and so am I! And then as I gather myself, face in a full red flush, the girl lamely tells the guy, “Oh, give her her Halloween Bag” and he grabs said bag from a pile of them behind him and hands it to me. I squeek, “Thank you” and creep away to the elevator like the low-life bitch that I am…..

By the time I get to my room, I’m fully mortified and hurt. I never expected something like that to happen. I’ve stayed here before, I’ve never had that problem. Not even at the Hawthorne Hotel, which I will be going back to now! I settle in my room and I get on the Internet to check my money and I realize that every credit card I gave to that guy now has a hold on it to be sure that the hotel gets it’s money. I now officially have NO MONEY while I’m here in Salem. I tried to use a card to pay for a tour and it was declined! I am in trouble, I begin to cry. What do I do? And they are going to want even more money in the morning. What the fuck am I going to do? Payday is not until next week! Oh, I’ve got myself into a fine mess. I can’t eat, take tours, I’ll be homeless…… 1600 miles from home and all alone……

And then I remember my tiny Las Vegas friend. The one I went to Las Vegas with. I swore to her that I would NEVER ask her for anything. She’s had so much loss in her life and I don’t want to affect her negatively in any way… but what can I do? So I pull myself together and call her. I’d rather have someone push pins under my fingernails than do this but I must. I explain my situation to her and she is very gracious and gives me her credit card number while I apologize profusely to her. I promise her that the credit card won’t be used, I’ll just give it to the hotel so they will shut the fuck up. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I run downstairs with the card number and give it to Sir Tight Ass and all is well with the world.

My other saving grace is my Wells Fargo account. Wells Fargo allows cash advances in emergencies and if this isn’t an emergency, then I don’t know what is. I get an advance and now I have some cash in my pocket. I love you Wells Fargo. You have saved me once again. My experience in Las Vegas is still very much with me and Wells Fargo was right there with me…… even at midnight! Thank you! And now there will be peace throughout the land…… well, sort of!

So you don’t know what happened in Las Vegas? Oh, you will, you will!

Salem NY Deli & PizzaOkay now, can I get on with my vacation, huh? So now the tour is out but I am starving and it is Friday night in Salem. I pull myself together, stop crying, and go to my favorite pizza place in the Mall. Wow, it’s really crowded. I put in my order and sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and friggin’ wait! I notice the couple next to me waiting and I ask if they had been waiting long. They say, ya, about an hour. What? An hour? Sheeiitt. I’m hungry and really begin to worry here. Do you do that? You start to worry about getting your food and your whole world reduces down to just that one thought, will I ever get my food? You watch them, maybe that’s mine he’s working on over there. No, that went to those people. Well, they’re still working back there. No one is standing around doing nothing. Oh there maybe? No not mine. I look at my watch, man, this trip’s not going so well. I just want to eat my pizza. I look at the people next to me, they are still waiting. Why do we want others to suffer along with us? Somehow it makes us feel better. Wait, wait, waiting. Maybe I should leave. I’ve been here…… Oh! My number was called! Wow! Shit! Wow! I got my pizza, I got my pizza! Isn’t it funny what bad luck reduces us to….. and the people next to me, still waiting. Dang! I dive in and feel bad for them all at the same time! Their pizza finally comes. I now notice that he’s carrying some bongo drums and she’s carrying a saw, you know, one of those old timey flexible ones? Oh, I know, they’re a street act. You know how when you flex the saw and run a violin bow across it, it makes this weird sort of music? Ya, I’ve seen that and when they opened their case, it was FULL of cash. Ya, that’s what they do and now they can eat. Good, very good. It doesn’t take much to make me happy now as I eat my pizza with my tear-stained face. Oh pulleeeze!

I eat as much pizza as I can, grateful for small favors. Oh stop…… I now take to the streets of Salem and try my hand at some night photography. I usually really suck at it but this is actually looking pretty good. I’m using my tripod and people are walking up behind me and admiring my shots. Wow, I’m liking this! Here’s a couple of shots I took. Pretty good if I say so myself. I likee.
Salem Spooky House
Salem Spooky House

I walk around a bit more. It’s cold and I’ve had a very trying day. Guess I’ll go back to the hotel and have a hot, relaxing bath. Salem PillowsAnd I do and as I get ready for bed, I am reminded of what a weirdo I am. I move all the good pillows to the side and select the smallest, flattest pillow I can find and sleep on that. Probably a throwback to my vampire days. Those wooden coffins just didn’t have enough room for pillows. G’Night!

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Intermission!

Posted in Salem with tags , , , on April 1, 2013 by Janet Glenn

Well, what say we get this shindig going, okay? I have finally reached a point where I can begin sharing my Salem 2012 disaster, er, trip with each of you. Oh and let me tell you, it was one thing after the other with this trip and it was a disaster up until the very moment I landed in Houston when I came back home. It was good to the last drop, as they say! So to begin, I have included a photo here of a lovely lady that I encountered in the cemetery on Halloween. I can say that during this trip, my photography was exceptional. Everything I captured turned out and I was quite pleased! My angles and composition were right on for a change and if it hadn’t been for that, this trip would have been a bust! But now, don’t let me discourage you for I still love Salem and, yes, I’m already planning my next trip. You know, every trip can’t be perfect but that doesn’t change me not one bit. So here, we shall begin. There’s loads of black humor here and I wouldn’t have it if everything went perfect, right? So, please meet the lovely lady in the Old Burying Point cemetery in Salem on Halloween day 2012.

Luvs,
Janet

Salem Beauty 2012

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Hurricane Sandy, Salem and me

Posted in Janet, Salem with tags , , on December 31, 2012 by Janet Glenn

Hurricane Sandy Salem Window

Salem Spooky PJs

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November 2, 2010 – Last Day in Salem

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , on December 9, 2012 by Janet Glenn

I’m up and I leap out of the bed! I never have to sleep in that bed again!! Yay!!!! I’m up and out, good riddance to that room! I checkout at 11:00 am but my ride won’t be here until 2:30. It is colder today outside than the whole time I’ve been here! It’s freezing! I dread going out there but I want to go to the Mall and eat. I decide to go out and brave the cold. Well dang, the Bronze Witch is there! I thought for sure she’d be gone by now. I spoke with her on Facebook a couple of times yesterday. I feel like I know a celebrity. I do! I go into the Mall and I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Christmas music! There’s Bing Crosby singing, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” while I browse the Mall still decked with jack-o-lanterns, flying witches, grinning pumpkins, scary ghosts, Halloween here and Halloween there! I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around this. Welp, it’s time to move on I guess!

I go back to the Hawthorne Hotel after I eat and I wait in the lobby for my ride to the airport. You will never believe what they are doing here at the Hawthorne. They are busily switching out all the mattresses in the hotel!!!! Oh horror of horrors! EVERY MATTRESS IN THIS FUCKING HOTEL WILL BE LIKE THE TORTURE DEVICE UP ON THE 6TH FLOOR! Come to think of it, the mattress up there looked brand new. Oh my gawd, say it’s not true! What a horrible thing to contemplate! Get me the fuck out of here! The Salem Waterfront Hotel is looking better and better for next year!

Well, finally, there’s my ride. I’m tired of watching this mattress shit. I’ve had it up to here! I stomp out to meet my ride who jumps out of the car and promptly breaks my suitcase! He’s broken the strap that holds both my suitcases together. This is not good. I already have a computer/camera bag. I’m pissed but like always, I act like it’s okay, just an accident, I know. I figure out another way and I make it work and we drive away. Goodbye Salem. I look at the driver and he looks strangely like a Yankee to me. News flash! You are in Massachusetts like almost to friggin’ Canada here. There’s the state of Maine right up there to the right, so duh, dumb ass! I’ve noticed on this trip that being alone has really made me scared of the natives living here. At the Halloween Ball and even after I was home looking at all the photos, all those strange people scared me a little. It was creepy looking at all of them while thinking, there’s no one here that knows me. I know no one. No one is looking out for me. Nobody even knows me to know if I went missing. This is some creepy shit. Oh, it doesn’t pay to think when you are so far from home and completely alone. The driver, he really creeped me out. He was almost an alien to me and I could not stop staring at him. Oh thank God, there’s the airport. Nobody knows anybody there so I will fit right in. I feel in such a pissy mood at this point. I guess my disappointment with my room has pretty much put a damper on my trip overall. I’m wondering if I’ll stay at the Hawthorne ever again.  And just what is this shit that the driver looks suspiciously like a Yankee?  What the hell does a Yankee look like?  We, from the south, are a strange bunch!

Now get this. When I arrive at the airport, instead of being able to just walk in, I’m accosted by a “Sky-Cap.” Now I know Sky-Caps. My Dad worked for the airlines for 36 years. I know that you always tip the Sky-Caps. I wasn’t ready to spend money again but I allow the Sky-Cap to check my bags. $60.00 yet again plus tip for the Sky-Cap. Feeling fleeced, I walk into the airport. I just spent almost $75.00 just to walk in the airport! Yup, I’m pissed. And later I see said Sky-Cap waving at me from afar saying, “Hello Texas!” Yup, of course, he likes me and I officially know someone in the Boston Airport. I then check out the Bookstore (love) and buy some Sudoku puzzles for my flight. I go to the gate and sit for a couple of hours watching people, just like I started this trip. Sadness is settling around me. I knew this would happen. Finally, I’m walking through the jet-way to my plane. I find my seat and plop down into it. CRAP.

When the plane taxis out and takes off, I begin to cry. I mean I cry hard, big ol’ tears as I stare out the window watching Boston fall away from me. I feel heartbroken. I knew this moment would come. I dreaded it all week! Will I be back to Salem? Damn straight! Oh, and Sudoku puzzles are a wonderful way to kill time. I’m back in Houston before I know it. It was a turbulent flight home but I love turbulence!

And now that it is the end, I’ve included a few of my favorite photos below among which is a photo of the first pilgrim’s grave that arrived in Salem on the Mayflower.  The last two were taken in Boston from the water of which I will pay a visit to again someday! Hope you enjoyed my 2010 Salem trip!

Until next time!

Janet

Hawthorne Haunted Hallway

Hawthorne Hotel Haunted Hallway

Salem Window Fairy

Captain Richard More

Here Lyeth Buried the Body of Capt Richard More
aged 84 years
Died 1692
Mayflower Pilgrim

Witch House Sunset and Leaves

Friendship Salem

Salem Harbor Sky

Washington and Essex

Boston Restaurant

Boston Wharf

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November 1, 2010 – Day 7

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , on November 19, 2012 by Janet Glenn

Well, it’s finally the next day and I leap out of bed. All I want is out of that bed! My day’s plan is to walk around Salem Harbor and I have a taste for salmon so I think I’ll go to Red’s yet again. I’m going to miss Red’s when I leave. When I get there, there’s a line out the door. I guess a lot of people are still in Salem for the holiday. I get in line, of course! I spy a seat at the counter and I run and get it, order my salmon and conversate with the lady next to me. She talks about a lot of stuff. She’s a local. I eat my salmon (a little under done) but it’s good. I then set out for the harbor. It’s really beautiful. Just the way I remember it but it is very cold today. The sky is really beautiful and I try to catch it but I’m not very successful. I’m having difficulty with my camera or should I say, my camera is having difficulty with me. There’s so much I still need to learn. I walk a lot around the harbor, cold or not, it is so lovely out here. I see the “Friendship,” a beautiful old sailing ship. I walk all the way around to the Common and get some good shots there. I walk around the neighborhood around the Common and all the way back around to the Hawthorne, my home base. I happen upon what looks like a pair of scissors laying in the grass by the sidewalk in front of the church. It’s only half of the scissors laying there. I have a chilling thought and I picture in my mind someone carrying that around last night while walking the streets on Halloween …. walking the streets just like I was. It takes me back. I guess there are those types here as well …. someone walking around the streets of Salem in the crowds wanting to hurt someone, kill someone even! Not a good thing, not a good thought but true nevertheless. I head on back to my room. My poor legs and hips are killing me! I can barely take another step! I wonder how much I’ve walked during this trip? Miles and miles I bet!

Back in my room and I’m pretty much out of things to do at this point. It’s just me and this gawd-awful bed until check-out time tomorrow. The whole night stretches ahead of me. I’ll be so happy to get away from this bed once and for all! I’d go down and friggin’ drink but I don’t really drink! Crap, I guess I’ll just write on this blog, right? Right!

Please do enjoy the photos of my walk around Salem!

Janet

Friendship of Salem

Salem Custom House

Salem Harbor House

Salem Funeral Home

Salem Harbor House

Salem Mansion

Salem Scissors

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October 31, 2010 – Halloween in Salem!

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , , , , on October 17, 2012 by Janet Glenn

Hawthorne Hotel Room 624

What a horrible night I had! It was so damn hot in this room and the bed has gotten harder I think just to spite me! And although I had the window open as far as it would go, it was like an oven in here! And the bed, well, it has officially turned into a torture device. I am very disappointed in the Hawthorne Hotel. And the walls are so thin! These people checked in and they have talked and talked and talked! One woman talks in this low monotone and it just goes on and on and on! It’s just this constant drone. It’s like having a bee buzzing by your ear without stopping for 3 fucking hours! I’m losing my mind! The crazy thing is that when I walk out the door of my room, someone asks me if I’ve seen the ghost. This has happened several times. Yesterday a large group of people were outside my door and were asking me about the ghost. And there was a tour outside my window last night …. talking about the ghost. Well, no ghost in their right mind would hang out in this room! But, yes, there’s a ghost at the Hawthorne Hotel. I know it because I experienced it last year! And if you’ve read my blog like good little creepies, you already know about it! But, back …. when I wake up (as if I really slept), it’s frickin’ Halloween and I am in Salem, Massachusetts, the Halloween capital of the world!!!!!

Halloween!

So Halloween, what shall I do with this day? First things first, I take a long hot bath and shower. Must be clean and pretty for this wonderful day! Oh dear, the weather dude is saying it’s super cold and windy. You would not know it by this stupid room. It’s still hot in here and the heat is not on. I know …. but the AC won’t work either! (Love it when I answer myself…) Wonder who is manning the controls down there? Some jerk vlad … hee!

What to wear? Don’t want to get too tricked out until tonight so I’ll wear a bit toned down witchy-look but I will wear my cloak (cape?). Hmmm, my tunic is almost a dress on me. I really have lost weight. Unemployment will do that to you!

Salem Costumes 2010

And out I go with my camera on Halloween day! Feee-uck! It’s cold outside! And the wind! Gale force! My cape is blowing every which way. People are being blown this way and that! It’s really hard taking pictures. I pull my hood up on my cape and that helps with the cold wind but I can’t see anything now. So I stop occasionally and take pictures of the crowd and Halloween costumes. Shit, I’m not wearing heavy enough clothes. I’ve come to the realization that fashion doesn’t give a shit about weather! And what happens in Salem, kiddies? Salem weather happens when you least expect it! Yay! Gawd, I’m a dork. So, after many pictures, I decide to go to one of my favorite pizza places – the Upper Crust. Gotta get out of this cold. I’m dying heya. The people talk so funny here and I catch myself talking that way. Accent? Just think John Fitzgeral Kennedy whose ghost, I might add, is alive and well here in Massachusetts. And you know what else? Do not stare at cops here in Salem. If you get their attention, they want to know just what (the fuck) are you looking at, and they sound like they’re straight out of New York. I think they do that to make them sound more bad ass than they probably are. Still and all, I wouldn’t mess with them. They do sound scary bad.

Salem Ferris Wheel

Yum, the pizza is as good as it was last year. I sit right by the window and watch the crowds walk by, most in costume. You don’t see this in Houston! (I’ve included more pictures below.) These people are having so much fun. They are so happy! These are people from all over the world and we all gathered right here in Salem. I just plain love this shit! The smells remind me of the festivals I went to when I was a child. Remember the Halloween carnivals we had in elementary school? All the food booths, roasting, hmmm, I don’t remember what they were roasting … but they were! Running hither and yon in our Halloween costumes with a spooky chill in the air. Coloring black cats and pumpkins on paper that smelled really funny. And candy, candy, candy! That’s how it is here in Salem except the adults are having just as much fun as the kids. Everyone dresses up! There’s a carnival over there with it’s witchy-adorned ferris wheel. The midway, popcorn, sausage and yes, they’re perfectly happy taking all your money while you try to beat their almost impossible games. All those memories come back alive here in Salem. The really cool part (although I think some of you would disagree) is that you cannot drink alcohol outside in Salem. The cops are very hard on that! You can’t drink or even look drunk outside in Salem. Zero tolerance. It’s nice though, I hate drunk people … especially drunk people in my family! Drunks always ruin everything!

So back, eating my pizza and I ordered way too much but it’s good. Remember the difficulties I had last year the day after Halloween? Well, strangely enough, a little while ago I had a nasty cramp way down low in my belly …. just like last year! Now wait just a damn minute! I did not eat at the Halloween Ball last night. The memory of what happened to me last year on Salem Harbor is way too fresh! I do not want to walk the streets of Salem again like that, walking stiff-legged with my ass held tightly shut! Nope! Okay, let’s think. Since I didn’t eat anything at the Ball, it has to be the alcohol …. very cheap bourbon at super ridiculous prices. I only had two drinks but they were bad. No wonder I don’t drink!!!

Salem Costumes 2010

Well, I buck up, pull myself together and brave the cold and wind and walk around Salem on Halloween. The bronze witch is there freezing her witchy tits off …. or is it teats? Witch teats? I think I’ve seen that in a story somewhere. Oh hell, I don’t know, she’s fucking cold! People are being blown right by me. Funny, sort of like the Wizard of Oz tornado. I’ve been blown up one street and down another for quite sometime now and I’m so damn cold. I try to go over to see where the fireworks are going to be but the wind is blowing so hard, I can’t even peek around the corner and step on that block. Welp, no fireworks tonight I surmise. There’s supposed to be a band playing there as well. The weather in Salem is a force to be reckoned with, let me tell you! It never does it half-way! It is full on, let’s get it on, kick some ass!

I make my way back and I’m so cold and beat up, I decide to pop into the Coven for hot, hot, hot coffee. I get my coffee with honey and cream and sit by the window and watch the festivities outside. People in costumes are still being blown by the window. Swoosh! I savor this moment. I even posted about it on Facebook from my phone. Sitting here in Salem, in the Coven, on a very cold and windy Halloween with my warm coffee in hand. It is dusk and I’m in my element. I’ve never before felt like I’m where I’m supposed to be more than I do now. If I could just freeze this moment in time. If only I could ………

Salem Costumes 2010

Ok, I must break the spell. It is after all Halloween at dusk in Salem. I make my way back to the hotel to change into my witchy best for the evening. I really only change a few things but I add my lovely witch hat. Now I really feel at home! In Salem on Halloween, you get stared at if you don’t have a costume! As I venture out, I notice immediately that the wind has died down but it is still very cold. I head for the Pedestrian Mall and I change from taking photos to taking video. It’s one or the other! I notice that the crowds are significantly smaller than last year and there’s a lot less costumes. I think all the Halloween festivities last night, Saturday night, wore everyone out. It is so quiet even with the crowds. It’s almost boring! I walk around and there are people actually stopping me to take my picture. One person said I was an “awesome witch.” Another was bragging how he would be sending my picture back home to Brazil. He said I was beautiful. At some point, I just stop and stand there on the Pedestrian Mall and some of the people think I’m one of the “street performers.” They are commenting and having their pictures taken with me to send home. Wow, all’s I need is a tip jar like the Bronze Witch and I could be making some money! **Makes a mental note of this!**

So I spend the next couple of hours walking and taking in the festivities all around me. There’s bands playing, break dancers (ha) and lots of souvenir and food booths. There’s monster face painting and Dracula fang installations. I make my way over to the Witch Memorial and the Salem witches have left a lovely floral wreath in memory of those falsely accused and executed in 1692. The memory will never die and it should not! I’ve heard some stories of the executions and they were gruesome, awful. The one man, Giles Corey, being pressed to death and the others hung by the neck until they were dead. Do you really know what happens to someone when they are hung? Dreadful and evil! All this happened here and it was so unfair to those people! Can you imagine being pressed to death? Having rocks placed on you over a three day period until finally you are crushed from the weight? From what I understand, the guy kept asking for more weight, more weight, more rocks! All he had to do was admit he was a witch and they would have stopped. Giles Corey would not admit it and they would not stop. Now it’s awful, morbid history. The punishment put upon this man and the unfortunate women by “religious people” in the name of God! So I pay my respects at the Witch Memorial …. and another couple of pictures are taken of me smiling with total strangers for memory’s sake. That’s cool.

Halloween Band

I walk around some more. It is frickin’ cold out here and all I have is this stupid cape! It’s not warm at all! I’m hungry but everything I see is so packed with people. I watch another band that’s close to the hotel. They are playing Beatles music so, of course, I linger. The singer is cute and he has an English accent … and long blonde hair. No Beatle there, ha! I watch awhile, then I head to the hotel. I NEED some warmth. I’ve seen a lot of people tonight who are walking around half naked because of their costumes, and there ain’t no way they’ll put a coat on and cover up their “look.” I think they have lost their minds! I’m freezing my arse off! This witch has to give it up and go inside.

I get in the lobby and oh my God, does that feel good! It feels like someone wrapped a warm blanket around me. Oh, I love you Hawthorne Hotel! Up to my room. Oh, I hate you, stupid bed! But now the strangest thing happens. I get into my warm nighties. The room is now cold. I look out the window and I think I hear a boom. What the hell was that? I hear it again. Well, would you look at that! It’s the fireworks show! I have a perfect view right here from my window! So I pull up a chair and watch, all roasty-toasty, right here in my window. I can see all the people in costumes walking in the streets by the Salem Common and the Salem Witch Museum. I can see the end of Salem’s Haunted Happenings 2010 and most interesting of all, I can see the police getting everyone off the streets because Halloween is over. Yup, they were being rough with everyone they dealt with and I had a bird’s eye view. They made a couple of arrests right there beneath my window. They were running everyone out of the Common. No one in, everyone out! The concession stands turn off those blasted generators. Aww, quiet at last! And there’s those beautiful huge police horses! I would come back to Salem just to see them! The police are riding them through the Common to get everyone out. Aww, to have a job like that! I’ve never seen horses so big nor so beautiful! I watch and watch and watch out my window. It’s hard to tear myself away. I’m trying to hold onto Halloween as long as I can. And it’s over. Over for another year. Damn, damn, double damn! I still have a couple of days here in Salem though!

Happy Halloween!

Janet

Salem Costumes 2010

Salem Costumes 2010

Salem Costume 2010

Salem Costumes 2010

Salem Costumes 2010

Salem Costumes 2010

Salem Costumes 2010

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October 30, 2010 – Day 5

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2012 by Janet Glenn

Well, today is the day of the annual Halloween Ball here at the Hawthorne Hotel. It is a big deal here in Salem. As for my day, I’ve decided to go in search of gifts to take back to my family. Shopping in Salem is very fun. Too bad I not only have a money limit but I have to be mindful of how much I buy. Lord almighty, I can’t afford to take home another suitcase! I will never get over the fees that Continental Airlines charges for checked baggage. A fee for a fee for a fee ….. shit!

Salem Old Burying Point Cemetery

Anyway I bathe and dress and go out to see my beautiful Salem yet again. I still am worried about leaving. I have been crying off and on the whole time I’ve been here fretting about having to leave. What is it about this place? What the fuck is Salem to me? I can’t figure it out. The psychic lady who did my reading didn’t think I ever lived here before in a past life. What the hell does she know? What the fuck is it about Salem? It drives me crazy and it’s very real to me. When I’m in Salem, this whole “thing” comes over me. The feeling is so real especially when I’m in the Old Burying Point cemetery. That’s where it’s the strongest. I find it significant that the only major “spirit photo” I got was in the Old Burying Point cemetery last year. When I’m in the cemetery, I feel this incredible heaviness in my chest. I feel I’m being watched or that they (they?) want to tell me something. I feel this real heavy weight settle all around me. Salem Ancient TreeI feel more than compelled to touch the trees especially the largest ancient tree that you see here. And do I touch it? You bet your sweet bippy I do (what the fuck is a bippy?)! I think I've mentioned this before in this blog but dammit, I mean it! I went over to the Howard Street cemetery the other day and I felt no such thing. I loved the cemetery with the squirrels and jail and all but I just don't feel anything there. Of course, I can't get in the cemetery so that is a bit off putting but this all is very strange. I really wish I could know what's going on with me and Salem. How do I find out? Does anyone know?

Howard Street Cemetery

I head on out in search of gifts and I decide to eat at the Coven. Now doesn’t that name just piss some of you off? **Lots of Laughter** It’s not a place to go worship the devil as some of you think. The Coven is a very cool little coffee shop/cafe type place. I order coffee and “The Criminal.” “Excellent choice” the young guy says and yes, it was very good. It was an egg on a toasted crossiant. Whoa, what an idea! Not really. Fact is I like it very much and I love my surroundings even more. To me, everything in Salem is “an event.” Every little thing I do is special. Well for crap’s sake, here come the tears again. What an ass I am! Anyway, on this day, I shot some great video of dear Salem and I’ll try to show you if I can figure out how to convert the damn videos. Thanks JVC …. and this is a completely differant story (rant) for later!

Ok, I have a particular shop in mind for a couple of gifts but damn, there’s a line to get in! Dang tourists (tee hee)! I guess I will stand in line. Why not? It’s Saturday in Salem and it’s perfect! The shop is cool if a little uppity but a lot of shops (and people) are like that here. It’s okay with my cuz I’ve been accused of the same thing many times in my life. I’ve been told also that I write way different than I act in public. Whew, that’s a good thing! Can you imagine?! I’d be chasing people down trying to put them in my morgue and then I would write rude things about them! Hee! Anyway back, I go through the shop. It’s a spooky/witch shop. Lots of spooky/witch things but there’s some interesting stuff as well. I’ve been accused of being a witch many, many times in my life … even as a child. The mean kids in school called me “Morticia.” The “Addams Family” was popular when I was a kid. But, you know what? Looking around this shop, I don’t have a clue what to do with most of this stuff. I don’t even know what most of it is but some of it looks real interesting and other stuff looks real meaningful except I don’t really know the meaning. I buy a $2.50 Mood Ring and leave that place. At least I know what a Mood Ring does!

I go in other shops and see things that I really want to buy. This place here has a really cool selection of Ouija Boards both old and new. There’s one exactly like the one we played with in my childhood. There’s new, modern ones as well. I would really like to buy one but I have been SO warned against them that I’m afraid to. What if it makes the plane crash? This little toy board made by Parker Brothers … a toy company? Which brings me to an interesting fact right here in Salem. There’s some apartments here that are built on the land where Parker Brothers had their business and this is where they made what? The Ouija Board! Ok, that’s cool, right? Truth! Really!

Salem Bronze Witch

Alright, wandering down the Pedestrian Mall and there’s my favorite bronze witch statue. I think I would return to Salem year after year just to watch her work the crowd as a statue! Her costume is fabulous and I have learned that she designed and made it herself. The costume she had last year was different but they are both excellent. She really does look like a bronze statue …. an 8 foot tall bronze statue! She’s really good with the people and she makes her living totally from tips. She’s got this eccentric little witch sound she makes when you drop some money in her cauldron and I’ve seen people put money in there over and over and over just to get her to make that sound. Then she kisses at you and this is a very personal and sweet gesture and the people love it! She plays with people, of course, stealing their hats and giving them away to other people. She’ll stand very still like a statue and bop you on the head as you walk by. Sometimes she will be very still and someone will get up very close to her looking to see if she’s real and she will move ever so slightly and scare the crap out of them. Too funny! This girl is a part of Salem and she earns her money. Once she gets up on her step-ladder and gets settled, she will stand there 10 hours or more a day, not getting down … not even to pee. I don’t know how she does it. I pee about every hour. I’d be screwed! I salute her and she’s my friend on Facebook! Ain’t I something? (Right)

Hocus Pocus 1993

So looking around. I do finally find the gifts I want. Love buying things in Salem. I guess I should get back to my room. I’m planning to be late to the Ball tonight. Tonight on ABC Family on TV, they are having a back-to-back showing of the movie “Hocus Pocus.” A double feature! Oh rapture! As you know, “Hocus Pocus” was filmed right here in Salem and I’ve had such fun here walking around and finding the locations where they filmed. When I used to watch the movie years ago (and I watched it over and over but didn’t have a clue as to why), I never dreamed I’d actually be in Salem someday watching it. Goes to show, you just never know!

Janet's Witch Hat

Okay, watching “Hocus Pocus” and getting ready for the Ball that’s being held downstairs. I’m slathering on my witchy makeup. Does every damn thing have to be about a witch for cripes sake?! Yes indeedy! You are probably wondering, how does she go to a Halloween Ball all by herself? How indeed! I just get my shit in order and I frickin’ go! I do have my camera, of course. A camera is the ticket. It can be a companion and is for me. It’s my excuse for being there in the first place naturally. My excuse to “be.” Now, off to the Ball! Back in a bit!

Halloween Ball Costume

Okay, my gawd, I’m in my room after the Ball. I’ve had 2 drinks and I’m feeling very tipsy. I never drink, 2 drinks and I’m such a wimp! Well, my beautiful hat and cape did the trick. I was a hit with a couple of guys. One was the guy 2 rooms down. He was haunting me meaning everytime I looked up, he was standing close to me. It became a game to me sort of. I would move on purpose to see if he would show up in my vicinity yet again and damn he appeared everytime! It did my heart good to be getting the attention from a man again. Then I wandered into the main ballroom and I fell absolutely in love. There was this guy in there. We were so drawn to each other! He was young, in his thirties, and he was with a date. We first encountered each other while we were trying to make our way through the crowd. For one brief moment, the people stopped and he and I were left looking at each other face-to-face and holy Jesus … an enchanted moment! Then the crowd moved on. We came together again one more time and it was downright, in your face attraction. It could have been love for us. I know it! But alas, I moved on and went to my room, a bit tipsy and thinking how happy I was to have had that experience with both of those guys. I knew I was too old for the young one but how sweet it was to think of it …. and him! The other guy? I heard him and his wife screaming at each other when they came back from the ball. I hope I didn’t cause that!

Tomorrow is Halloween!

Janet

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October 29, 2010 – Day 4

Posted in Salem with tags , , , , , , , , , on September 16, 2012 by Janet Glenn

Okay, today – meeting Tony Moran from the movie Halloween in front of Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery. Michael (Tony) is not there when I arrive so I go in the monster gallery. I LOVE IT!!!!! Count Orlok's in Salem, MassAll my very favorite monsters are here! All the Hammer Film movie monsters! And don’t they look real …. life size …. scary …. unsettling …. I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I very slowly savor Count Orlok’s gallery. I look over each monster, up and down, this way and that. This guy is good. Oh look, Christopher Lee, Boris Karloff, Bela Friggin’ Lugosi! I’m so in my element. And the music, excellent. Oh and there’s Mother and Norman Bates as well. But the creepiest room to me is the Death Masks. These are casts taken from the actual faces of the actors. That room in there is full of their faces …. in death. Shiver! Alfred Hitchcock’s in there too. I’m loving this! And then after a few assorted various monsters, I’m out in the daylight again. In Salem again. Off I go this way and then I’ll go that way!

Tony/Michael still isn’t there so I grab some photos of the carnival. The sky today is really stormy and I’m trying to catch just the right shot and light. I wander on down and get some great shots of the Old Burying Point Cemetery again. I’m so drawn to that place for some reason. My heart squeezes when I’m in there and I have to touch my tree. It’s a beautiful ancient tree. The bark is so rough …. and warm. I could stay with it all day but I tear myself away. Does this make me a tree-hugger? Don’t care … love that tree! I do have Salem to do after all. This cemetery is so old that the original passenger that came over on the Mayflower is buried here. Jeeeesus!

So I do tear myself away and off I go. I’m hearing a lady selling ghost tours over a PA system loud. Give me a break. Lots of ghosts are going to show up for that I bet! She’s got a huge booth with flashing lights sitting way up high. Kinda kills it don’t you think? Kinda makes me want to kick her ass……..

Now I wander into the Salem Wax Museum. The wax figures are cool and the stories are interesting. All about the witch trials. I’m reading some very unsettling things like for instance, that a lot of people were thrown in jail accused of being witches, which we all know but what I did not know is that when they were being kept in jail, they were being charged for their food, clothing or anything else that they might have a need for. The sad thing was that when they were released (not everyone was convicted), if they did not have the money to pay what they owed for their keep, they were not let out! Some people died in jail simply because they could not pay their way out! They were never convicted of witchcraft but they died in jail for being poor! No wonder Salem has spent all these years trying to do right by these people! The Wax Museum was eye-opening …. and tragic and has left me feeling pissed off.

Okay, out in the air again. Off to see Michael …. and he’s there! I guess I’ve seen him without his mask before because I recognize him. I talk to him. He’s personable. I tell him about Halloween’s Unseen. I feel really strange in this moment. If you had told me back in the 1970s and 1980s that I’d be talking to Michael Myers/Tony Moran about something personal I’ve accomplished that had something to do with Halloween …. and he was liking it, well, I would have said, “You are crazy!” He lets me take his picture and charges $10 for his autograph. Shit! Oh well, everyone’s gots to get theirs! I like Tony Moran, he’s nice to me and he’s going to check out my web site! (right)

Okay, let’s see. I think I’ll go to the Salem Witch Museum. Off I go. I’m alone! For some reason I’ve been reminded of this a lot on this trip. While I’m in Salem, I just go hither and yon doing what I please, when I please but on this trip I do feel lonely. Maybe next year someone will go with me. (right)

Now, the Salem Witch Museum. In I go and I’m seated …. on the floor. Now I’m in pretty good shape, Lord, I walk miles, but I do have flaky hips. But I buck up and sit on the floor like everything is cool but I’m not liking it. Now an interesting thing occurs here on the floor. We sit on the floor and begin to twirl around. I don’t mean the floor twirls, we twirl around and around and around! The show is set up in the “Castle” in a circle. We follow these sets around the room that light up and guide us through the witch hysteria. It’s very interesting and I love the creepy music. It’s all very interesting and I don’t know why I worried about sitting on the floor. I was never still and not there long at all! Then we are released …. directly into the gift shop only to be held captive there until the second half of the show. Can you say, “Ka-ching – capitalism?” OMG Salem …. and I did not buy anything! Then off we go to the next part of the show. This one’s cool. It defines the “witch.” The mid-wife beginnings, flying around the night sky on broom sticks (give me a break) and the gentle witches of Wicca. Then there’s a huge board explaining “witch hunts” over the years which we’ve all been a part of. Hee! And out and it was good. Actually, this is the first time I’ve taken the museum tours in Salem and I’ve not been disappointed.

It’s dark now in Salem and very cold. I’m heading back to my room. As I’m going to my room, one of the guests a few doors down stops to flirt with me. I’ve seen him before. Big ol’ biker dude with long hair, spooky eye contacts and Halloween skulls braided into his beard. My kind of guy! I actually took a picture of him at last year’s Halloween Ball and I told him so. He’s intrigued, his wife’s not.

I’m now in my room on this hateful bed. I have a beautiful view with lovely fall trees outside my window. I can see the Salem Common, the Salem Witch Museum, the Roger Conant statue but there’s those damned concession stands! And what runs concession stands? From 7:00 am until midnight all I hear are damned generators! It’s constant and, of course, each little stand has it’s own generator! Between this gawd-awful bed and the constant groan of those cursed machines, I’m going to lose my mind! I’ll just go take a bath …. always a solution! If I drank, I’d drink. Shit.

Luvs,

Janet

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