Seven Minutes in Salem-

Walking up to the gothic, gloomy Salem Witch Museum on a rainy afternoon was a magical way to spend our seven minutes in Salem. Being an employee at the museum I was prepared for what was in store, but was excited to see what my partners would think.

Beginning in the lobby/entrance we are met with a fairly decent sized group of tourists promptly entering into the 2 o clock presentation. I see my co worker Mary giving the “outside” announcements consisting of the typical asking for silencing of cell phones, no photography, watch your step when entering it is dark, blah blah. My partners are in semi awe of the various panels along the walls and all over stifling atmosphere.

Next we move over to the gift shop where there are small treasures and knick knacks wall to wall. From monogrammed ornaments to “Whiney Witch” t shirts and the magical orbs on the toy table it is a tourists dream. We observe some people milling about, a mother disciplining her children. “I’m going to count to three and you better put it down. One…two…three.” The child puts the breakable candle holder down and sulks back to his mother. A group of people exit the second exhibit and come barreling down the stairs. Some elderly people take their time and use the railing, lingering by the soaps. Other younger couples bypass the slow walkers and head towards the “locally made” section to seem cool or hip or stop by the toy table to have a laugh.

We finish up our mystical time at the most visited museum in Salem watching more tourists exit the first presentation. It’s always mixed reviews when people exit: they like it, hate it, laugh at it, are offended, and sometimes think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. This crowd seems to be pretty pleased. Mostly smiles and evenly paced exiting, not too many stragglers or people trying to sneak last minute pictures.

I thought it’d be cool to get an inside look at what people were experiencing during the seven minutes on the inside of the auditorium while we were on the outside, and since I’m a manager I was able to sneak the group in for a private view. We got up close and personal with Lucifer/ the devil (a figure of the devil in one of the stage sets) and the famous red lit circle on the floor; the one with all the victims names.

For seven minutes in Salem, the witch museum was a pretty happening place to be.