The Salem Witch Trials!

First off, thanks for helping the Halloween Countdown make a big splash on its debut night. (Big enough to crash the server, actually!)

Second, I’ve been digging through everyone’s video suggestions for After Dark, and man, you guys sent in so much great stuff. Here’s another one:

It’s a History Channel documentary on the Salem witch trials, sent in by vhslvy. She remembers it getting a lot of play during more than one Halloween season, and now that I think about it, I do too.

After visiting Salem several times, I picked up a low-key obsession with the witch trials. The eeriness doesn’t stem from any supernatural doings, of course, but rather the clear-cut example of mass hysteria and the unfathomably cruel punishments of plainly innocent people.

This isn’t exactly a “party video,” but it sure is fascinating.

By the way, if you’ve never visited Salem and it’s at all a possibility for you, seize the opportunity. Absolutely amazing town, and even with all of the increased sensationalistic hubbub during September and October, you never get the sense that you’re in a “theme park.”

There are definitely things to see and do there, but for us it was always about the ambiance. It’s the city version of a pumpkin candle. Hell, one time we spent a weekend there during a brutal thunderstorm that just about killed the town dead, and we still had a blast.

So let’s take a note from that and add a survey:

What’s the most “Halloweenified” place you’ve ever visited?

Spill it, in the comments.