Spooky Salem, Massachusetts: The Town's Legacy is Not Limited to Halloween

A Halloween favorite for college kids and Marilyn Manson fans, the village of Salem is steeped in a history that is vibrant year round. It's been more than 300 years since a handful of adolescent girls cried devil and watched 19 neighbors hang in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Now day-trippers will find an unexpected bastion of culture in a former Puritan seaport 16 miles north of Boston. A half-hour train ride from Boston's North Station ($3 one way) will bring you to a strange suburbia, where witches have given way to modern day Wiccans and ancient sea captains invite you to see their wares. Rain or shine, these attractions will enrich your day without fail.

Literary Salem
Travel through streets lined with three-story cookie cutter Victorians until you reach Salem Common, an open space in the center of the town's historic district. Hang two blocks to the waterfront and you'll find Salem's most famous site, the House of the Seven Gables (54 Turner St., 978-744-0991; $12), immortalized by Nathaniel Hawthorne's American classic of the same name. The 1668 rambling seaside mansion, with a number of gables that has ebbed and flowed with various owners, is one of the oldest living spaces in the country. Walk through the period living quarters and imagine the house as it was when Hawthorne visited his cousin Susannah, owner and prototype for heroine Hepzibah Pyncheon. Hawthorne's birthplace, a pre-1750 saltbox, was purchased for one dollar and moved to the grounds in the 1950s. Pick up a sweatshirt lettered with a scarlet "A" at the gift shop ($22).

Cultural Salem
The Peabody Essex Museum (East India Square, 978-745-9500; $13) was renovated in 2003 and continues to be a place of superlatives - it is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States and holds the largest collection of Asian export art in the world. Founded by ship captains in 1799 to showcase the goods they picked up on their travels to the Far East, the museum's collection juxtaposes nautical themes with Asian flair. With over 30 galleries displaying artifacts from around the world, the Peabody highlights Salem's legacy as a seaport between the Eastern and Western worlds. The refurbished red-brick and glass buildings present a reprieve from witchcraft doom-and-gloom. Be sure to check out the museum's most recent addition - Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old house transported from southeastern China and reassembled in the courtyard.

Spooky Salem
Learn about Puritanism gone bad at the Salem Witch Museum (19 1/2 Washington Square, 978-744-1692; $6.50). A narrated account of the mass hysteria is enhanced with a wax figure sound-and-light show. From the torture of Giles Corey to the confession of Ann Proctor, you may learn something your fifth-grade American history textbook left out. For the show's full effect, go after dark.

Let's Eat
Salem is home to two of the best restaurants on the North Shore.

At Lyceum Bar and Grill (43 Church St., 978-745-7665), grab one of several portabella-based dishes, a martini, and another slice of history. Here, on February 12, 1877, Alexander Graham Bell rang Boston and gave the first demonstration of a long-distance telephone call. Food is never dull at the Lyceum - chefs cook up a spring roll, ravioli dish, and risotto of the day. Popular is the "Grill of My Dreams," a grilled filet of beef tenderloin with portabellas, asparagus, and brandy and peppercorn mushroom sauce ($29).

For waterfront views, go to Finz (76 Wharf St., 978-744-8485), a modern, airy space ideal for cracking lobster claws or catching a game at the bar's big screen TVs. Dine on lobster macaroni and cheese ($15) or a crab cake sandwich ($13), as you watch the boats sail into the harbor.