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A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts
A Season with the Witch: The Magic and Mayhem of Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts | J. W. Ocker
Edgar Award-winning travel writer spends an autumn living in one of America's spookiest tourist destinations: Salem, Massachusetts Salem, Massachusetts, may be the strangest city on the planet. A single event in its 400 years of historythe Salem Witch Trials of 1692transformed it into the Capital of Creepy in America. But Salem is a seasonal townand its season happens to be Halloween. Every October, this small city of 40,000 swells to close to half a million as witches, goblins, ghouls, and ghosts (and their admirers) descend on Essex Street. For the fall of 2015, occult enthusiast and Edgar Awardwinning writer J.W. Ocker moved his family of four to downtown Salem to experience firsthand a season with the witch, visiting all of its historical sites and macabre attractions. In between, he interviews its leaders and citizens, its entrepreneurs and visitors, its street performers and Wiccans, its psychics and critics, creating a picture of this unique place and the people who revel in, or merely weather, its witchiness.
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IndoorDame
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AmandaBlaze
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Pickpick

This was a fun read . Some of the chapters were more interesting than others. However, Ocker gives a great overview of Salem at Halloween. It's more than Witch City, USA.
@StayCurious #TeamMonsterMash

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AmandaBlaze
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 🧡📚🖤 2y
Eggs 🧡🍊🧡 2y
16 likes2 comments
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JoeMo
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I enjoyed this book so much that it has me pondering a trip to Salem for Halloween! This is perfect if you want to read some nonfiction this time of year!

#witch #scarathlondailyprompts #scarathlon

35 likes2 stack adds
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AmandaBlaze
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OK, I usually don't like non-fiction. It seems too dry to me. However, I'm 20 pages into this and I'm hooked. Maybe because it's spooky season, or because Salem has always interested me. Maybe because I already have over 1,000 points in the Word Search activity for #TeamMonsterMash. Whatever the reason, Ocker has me invested.
@StayCurious

26 likes1 stack add
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AmandaBlaze
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I should finch Witch 13 tonight. I think I'm going to follow @mdm139's lead and try out this book. #TeamMonsterMash
@StayCurious

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TEArificbooks
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Pickpick

A man moves is family to Salem for October. He wants to explore the city, the witch history, the tourist industry, the maritime history, the modern witch, the people, the events, and the hidden gems. #scarathlon #teammonstermash @StayCurious #witchathon #spookoween #31by31 #pointsathon @TheSpineView @Catsandbooks @DieAReader it was a great source for word find #promptmaze #dailyprompts

12,600 pts

TheSpineView Awesome 2y
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🎃 2y
Linsy Loved this one! 2y
41 likes3 comments
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bthegood
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Happy Friday everyone🧙

#Scarathlon2021 #TeamSlaughter

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bthegood
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Thank heavens for readathons - week 2 total is 1053 (week 1 and 2 total is 2420) @Clwojick #Scarathlon2021 #TeamSlaughter

#Screamathon @4thhouseontheleft
#Spookoween @TheSpineView
#Wickedathon @StayCurious
#OutstandingOctober @Andrew65

Make a great day everyone - 😊

TheSpineView Way to go!👍📖🧡🎃 2y
Andrew65 Well done 👏👏👏 2y
Clwojick Awesome! You're killing it! ☠ 2y
bthegood @Clwojick @Andrew65 @TheSpineView thx for hosting and thanks for the support - 😊 2y
18 likes4 comments
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bthegood
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Ruthiella 😆😆😆 3y
24 likes1 comment
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JoeMo
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Pickpick

I‘ll probably read spookier things this month, but I‘d be shocked if any other book sticks with me as long as Season with the Witch does. Ocker takes a fair and balanced look at the tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials and the way that an entire cheesy tourist industry and local economy was built on the Witch City billing. Ocker would prefer the city make a more somber acknowledgment of what occurred there; he also embraces the ridiculousness…

TEArificbooks I‘m looking forward to this book. I am also watching a YouTube channel where the guy is visiting Salem everyday in October and filming all the things. 3y
JoeMo …of an October in Salem. The book meanders a bit but never wears out its welcome. I think it‘s partially thanks to Ocker‘s very accessible but thorough style. After reading this, Salem now ranks highly on my places to visit list…especially if I‘m able to make such a visit during October! (edited) 3y
JoeMo @mdm139 I‘m definitely going to have to look that up on YouTube! Thanks for sharing! 3y
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Annie1215 Salem is one of my favorite places to go. So worth it even outside of the October chaos. Really great historical tours/tour guides and sites as well as some of my favorite shops, restaurants and coffee! Definitely put it high on your list. 3y
TheSpineView Great job!👍🖤🎃🖤🧙‍♀️ 3y
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
34 likes1 stack add7 comments
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ripley_reads
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Must be the season of the witch 🧙🏼‍♀️

22 likes1 stack add
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bthegood
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Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView

#ThinkPositiveBePositive @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#Scarathlon2021
Tagging the whole #TeamSlaughter @Clwojick

Hey- I know it's Halloween, but lets keep it professional -

Make a great day everyone - 😊

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it!! 🎃🖤 3y
TheSpineView You're welcome! 😊 3y
Clwojick I have this image on a set of nails 🧡🖤🧡 Classic Dwight. 3y
23 likes4 comments
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MoonWitch94
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Hopefully it‘s not too late, but I‘m posting my Witchy Aesthetic for #BasicWitchSwap ✨🌙✨

🌙I‘m a solitary, Eclectic Witch who follows the seasons & lunar cycles.
🌙I just started drying my own herbs 🌿 (although this summer‘s harvest was pretty terrible)
🌙 I use candles, tarot, palo santo, books, crystals in my craft.
🌙I‘ve been practicing for 2 years, but always felt drawn to magic since I was a child.
🌙Nature is my church 🍁🍂🌻🕯

mklong Lovely! I think you and I have similar witchy aesthetics. 3y
MoonWitch94 @mklong Thank you! 🖤🤎🍁🕯✨🌙✨ 3y
monalyisha Beautiful! 3y
inlovewithmyshelf Happy Mabon! 🤎🌝🍁🍂 3y
MoonWitch94 @monalyisha Thank you! @inlovewithmyshelf Thank you! Merry Mabon to you as well! ✨🌙✨ 3y
44 likes5 comments
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Linsy
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Pickpick

Excellent!!! It took me a while to finish, but I had so much fun with this one. 🌙✨ #nfn2020

67 likes2 stack adds
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Linsy
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16 hours down for @bookishrealityy‘s (from IG) #48hourreadathon! Now we move into the big leagues. So many more #readathon‘s start tomorrow! I‘m hoping to keep up. All set for a very bookish weekend. 🧡 #bookanddrink

+161 points for #scarathlon #teamslaughter

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Librarybelle
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Thanks for the tag, @Eggs ! ❤️

Fall makes me think of spooky stories, and while there are many to choose from, I tagged a book that is part humor, part history, part spooky, and part contemporary issues. Anything to do with Salem, Massachusetts automatically goes on my #tbr , and I liked this one (also Ocker‘s book on his Poe travels!).

1. I have a tiny Halloween tree on display year round
2. Caramel Apple!
3. 5 finished
#ThoughtfulThursday

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Annie1215
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So today was kind of a wash on getting through this book as planned for #24b4monday . I think it‘s more of a savor until Halloween read for me at the moment. Instead I‘ll share this #shelfie from the town that inspired the book (my favorite place on earth) Salem, MA. This was a bookstore that used to be in the center of town and was sadly replaced. I‘m so glad I got to experience it before they closed. It was a happy place inside my happy place.

rather_be_reading 😮😮😍 4y
UwannaPublishme How cool! We used to have a store like that in California. It was called (appropriately) Acres of Books. 😊 4y
Bookish_Viking Gah! I just thought of something! Instead of a hedge maze or corn maze... A Book Maze!! Though I suspect we‘d never see a lot of people again... (edited) 4y
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Annie1215 @ReaperOfTerrasen Ha! I imagine we‘d all read our way through it and dismantle it in the process. We‘d get out, it would just take a lot longer. 4y
Annie1215 @UwannaPublishme if I‘m being honest, my bedroom is on it‘s way to this kind of chaos lol. I need to add a bookshelf otherwise I guess I‘ll have to get a business license soon 😂 4y
Annie1215 @rather_be_reading that was my exact reaction. I was traveling with my mom and just said “leave me” lol 4y
UwannaPublishme Bookish chaos is the best chaos! 😆📚 4y
Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick The stacks next to my bed are on their way to looking like this! 🤣 4y
Annie1215 @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick it sneaks up on you lol one book haul at a time 4y
Nute Whoa!😮 I can almost compete with the height of book stacks like this, not just as many!😆 4y
85 likes1 stack add10 comments
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Annie1215
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Off to a great start in Chapter one. Is there anything more glorious than fall and Halloween in New England 🥰🎃🧙🏻‍♀️

48 likes2 stack adds
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overtheedge
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Mehso-so

Absolute fun!
We join the Ocker family as they spend a month in Salem, Massachusetts. Touring historical sites, museums and cemeteries and many of the sites associated with the Salem Witch Trials. There is a chapter about the Maritime museum and Nathaniel Hawthorne's tribute.
#teamslaughter #scarathon #scavengerhunt #aboutHalloween
5 points for Halloween theme
1 point scavenger hunt
6 total points
Cool cover!

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Librarybelle
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I really enjoyed this #orangecover book! Ocker decides to live in Salem, Massachusetts in order to understand the history of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, and how that history impacts the city today. He covers so much and really makes you think about Salem. #FallIsBooked

OriginalCyn620 👌🏻📚🧡 5y
ferskner This sounds AMAZING. 5y
79 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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booksbrewsandbooze
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MaleficentBookDragon
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No reading tonight. I just took a night tour of Salem. So many shops that had books in them. I did the window shopping tonight to plan out my purchases tomorrow.

DoonTheGoon Hope you're having fun!!! 6y
Texreader Oooh that sounds awesome. Have fun!! 6y
Q84 Sounds awesome! 6y
Cathythoughts Stunning picture 6y
MaleficentBookDragon @Cathythoughts thank you. I like it too. 6y
88 likes5 comments
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Susannah
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Day 4, Orange Books: Looking around, I see a lot of orange spines but very few orange books. Since the only other orange book I seem to have is reserved for tomorrow's BIG books entry, here's an all-over orange book that's also on my TBR this month. It's a bit long, so I hope I like it! 🎃

#31bookpics #orangebooks
@howjessreads

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Sara_Planz
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Pickpick

I like Ocker‘s books because they really feel like you are sitting with the people he is interviewing and having that conversation with them. It examines not only the folklore but the meaning and lasting impact of the 1692 Witch trials on Salem and pop culture.

40 likes1 stack add
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Sara_Planz
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Book 3 for the #readathon. Loved his book about Poe and just picked this up when it was on sale a few days ago. Miss Harvey is ready to go.

rubyslippersreads 😻😻😻 6y
53 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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Dorianna
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Pickpick

J.W. Ocker and his family packed their bags and lived in Salem, Massachusetts for the entire month of October. His goal was to find out what makes Salem, well, Salem. This book was both fun and interesting as you follow Ocker on his journey through Salem‘s infamous history and how it looks through the lens of the city‘s present day. It‘s like a combination of history, travel memoir, and cultural observations.

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Dorianna
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The creepy events and timing that led to Salem‘s Haunted Happenings. 👻

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quietjenn
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Further adventures in seasonally thematic reading.

42 likes1 stack add
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Dorianna
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Enjoying a quiet afternoon reading about Salem, Massachusetts.

Soubhiville Creepy! 6y
9 likes1 comment
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Librarybelle
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I read this last year and really enjoyed it...an exploration of all facets of Salem, including those places that try to look beyond what happened in 1692. #orangeandblack #hallowreads

ValerieAndBooks Looks good! We visited recently one spring— very quiet there at that time of year 😊. 7y
Librarybelle @ValerieAndBooks Salem has been on my travel bucket list for quite some time...I'd like to go when it's a little quieter. Spring may be the time! 7y
76 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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AprilMae
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#witchreads for this October! I think I'll start you this week!🎃👻🎃

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bookshopsc
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Pickpick

When the author moves his family to Salem for the month of Halloween in order to research and explore the town's history and its current culture, he finds a town unlike any other. A month long celebration of ghosts and ghouls embraces and even profits off of a past that many have tried to forget. This book is a fun, lighthearted look at a not so fun or lighthearted period in our country's history. - Jade

Laylafinn I plan on visiting Salem this month, so this may need to be read beforehand! 7y
41 likes11 stack adds1 comment
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Redwritinghood
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#ORANGEYOUGLAD This was a great book that I read last October.

Emilyrjones22 Oh I need a book set during a holiday for my challenge. This sounds perfect! 7y
Redwritinghood @Emilyrjones22 Yes, it should be perfect. There's so many about Christmas but not many for Halloween. 7y
39 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Librarybelle
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Pickpick

Part snarky humor, part travelogue, with a dash of philosophical pondering, Ocker lives in Salem, Massachusetts as he really tries to get to know the city. What makes Salem so special? Does it diminish the memory of those who suffered during the witch trials? I loved reading this - Salem is on my to visit list because of the history - and it reminded me a lot of Sarah Vowell's books. Also, it was the perfect time of year to read this!

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Redwritinghood
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Pickpick

This was a fascinating look at Salem, MA, its history and present culture. The author moved his family to the city for the entire month of October, its busiest month of the year, to view the general madness of Salem at Halloween. The book is filled with history of the city and the tragedy of the Witch Trials, as well as interviews with various business owners, politicians and performers who make the city their home year round.

43 likes6 stack adds
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Redwritinghood
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I don't usually have snacks when I read, but I do like to have coffee or tea. Since it's Friday, however, I decided to be a little wild and add a chocolate bar. Shown here with my two #scaretober reads. #readingsnacks #booktober

valeriegeary Don't get too crazy now.... 😁 7y
Zelma Everyone on Litsy is getting wild for their Friday! 😂🎉 7y
Redwritinghood @valeriegeary I know. I'm outta control. 7y
41 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Amanda.T
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Give me all the witch books you have.

4 likes1 stack add
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CherylDeFranceschi
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Here's a teeny piece of my #allhallowsread TBR.

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booklover76
Pickpick

A really excellent history/travel guide of Salem, Massachusetts. After reading this book, I want to visit Salem. Ocker does a fantastic job of covering the diverse history of this coastal town. He fairly presents both sides of the Halloween celebration and lets the reader make their own conclusions. If you are looking for something different, give this a read!

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booklover76

"Tea can make a political rally seem like a librarian conference and a prison riot a chess tournament "

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booklover76

"...I planned to walk the path of the condemned, the gallows walk: from the site of the courthouse to the site of the jail to the site of the executions. Except unlike the Witch Trial victims, I would stop at Walgreens at the end of my trek for a Coke Zero."

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booklover76

On describing the Halloween parade in Salem:
"The parade started out innocently enough, with all the usual townie fanfare... That one guy from every city who dresses as Batman and has built his own Batmobile."

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Librarybelle
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Excited to start this!

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LiteraryLona
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Pickpick

Just getting started on this one!