Our New England Experience (Swan's Perspective)

This blog post was written by Sierra Swan.

To say we were excited to return to New England would be an understatement. Whitney & I had such an amazing experience when we first visited last October, & could not wait to share the feeling with Nicole.

Nicole flew out the day before Whitney & I made our journey, and she picked us up at the airport with Jake later the next night! We made the trek from Boston to Litchfield & settled in while catching up with Christina, Jake, & Sean.

The next morning we went on a coffee & Target run with Christina, then checked out the mall in Nashua! After we stopped at Market Basket to grab some grub & discovered how amazing their hot food & sandwiches are, we got a sandwich for Jake & met up with him during his workday! We then took a drive to Hampton, NH for some sight-seeing.

We arrived at Hampton Beach where Whitney got to experience the ocean for the very first time! Whitney, Nicole, & I all made a mad dash to the shoreline; letting the waves crash upon our legs & feet. We collected sea shells on the shore that called to us, & I even found a crab shell for Nicole! Little Emi was the cutest thing in her little crocs walking through the sand! (She was a little unsure of the waves, though.) We then began strolling the strip – looking through the shop doors. Most of them were closed for the season, but we found a few souvenir shops & a candy store open! I may have let my sweet tooth win & purchased a large amount of saltwater taffy.

That same evening on our drive home around sundown, Christina decided to show us an old cemetery near their house named Hillcrest Cemetery. As we parked the car across the street, we saw a sheriff pass by. Within 10 seconds, they had turned around & stopped to check if we were okay (& making sure we weren’t vandals). They asked us what we were doing, & we explained we were from Wisconsin looking to take in some history & pay our respects — hoping they’d understand & let us enter the cemetery despite it being sundown. They were incredibly nice & let us in! They even told us about a haunted school not far away. We didn’t check out the school while we were there, but it’s definitely on our radar for next year!

While in the cemetery, I began running the Necrometer app to see if any spirits would communicate & share their story. We couldn’t believe how old a lot of the headstones were — some dating back to the late 1700’s. The cemetery was surrounded by eerie woods where you could feel a presence lurking in the darkness & watching your every move. It didn’t quite feel menacing; more so curious. As we walked around the grounds we began hearing sounds coming from the woods behind us. Shortly thereafter the Necrometer app said “look back”, which we took as our cue to leave. We said our goodbyes, thank you’s, & set our boundaries before heading back to the house for the night.

The following morning we loaded up the car & headed out to Salem, MA! We were going a week earlier than last year & much earlier in the day in hopes it wouldn’t be as crowded. This was Nicole’s first time in Salem, & we couldn’t wait for her to take it all in!

Once we got to Salem, Jake dropped Whitney, Nicole, Christina & I off near downtown. We meandered over to the Veterans Memorial to visit our pal Ron again. I became very emotional as we said hello & approached the plaque of names. I turned on the iOvilus app to see if he could communicate, but heard “you remembered” in my head. Our visit with Ron was brief as Jake had already scored a parking spot, so we said goodbye to Ron & ventured to find Jake & Emi.

We met up with them & began strolling through the historic streets & checking out some of the shops along the way. Last year Jake & Christina wanted to visit the Blackcraft clothing store, but it was closed for the evening. Luckily it was open this year & only had a short line! The weather was perfect that day, so we didn’t mind the wait. Once we got inside, we were greeted by a ginormous witch hanging from the ceiling & red ambiance. The store was filled with witchy clothing, accessories, & even shoes! Jake & Christina got Emi the cutest outfit & a few things for themselves.

We continued wandering through the streets & looking in stores before grabbing a bite to eat. Once we finished our delicious food, we began walking around again — coming across the Witch Trial Memorials & Charter Street Cemetery. We walked along the walls, stopping by each memorial to pay our respects. Baby Emi took a real liking to Bridget Bishop’s — squealing as she reached out to touch the stone.

As we were admiring the memorials, we happened to notice people walking through Charter Street Cemetery. Jake & Christina surprised us with a reservation to walk through the cemetery ourselves, & boy was it an experience. We began taking in the cemetery — allowing ourselves to be guided to whichever headstones called to us. Each headstone was very thin & frail-looking, but beautiful nonetheless. Before we entered, we didn’t think much of the fact we were witches ourselves who also are very open to the paranormal. Whitney's legs began feeling very weak as soon as we set foot in the cemetery.

The atmosphere was incredibly heavy & I found myself almost wandering in a trance. I stopped in front of a grave, unsure as to why I was pulled to it. As I stood there studying the headstone, I realized I was unable to swallow. This went on for at least 10 seconds, & I asked if there was someone who would like to come forward & speak. A spirit immediately came through, however they did not divulge any information about themselves. They instead gave us a warning of “one bad spirit” that resides in the cemetery, following that response came “untransformed”. Further down the path we received “I am here” on the Necrometer app & the name “Jessica”. We believe she was the spirit who was trying to warn us of the negative spirit that was keeping a close eye on us.

Our journey through Charter Street Cemetery came to a close, & we began our journey back to the car to head home for the evening. Saturday, our final full day in New England, was going to be another big day!

Saturday morning we got up, loaded the car, & made our way to Keene, NH to set up a booth at the Keene Pumpkin Festival. Jake & Christina started a nonprofit organization to fund vacations for families of children with Pediatric Cancer, so they had a booth at the festival to raise donations. (If you would like to learn more about this amazing organization or give your support, you can visit their website at www.JollyCations.org.)

We underestimated how chilly the rain would be, but we made the best of it nevertheless! For instance, there was a pumpkin carving contest where anyone could enter! Shelves of Jack-o-lanterns lined the street, all leading to the giant wall of carved pumpkins. Right across the middle, someone had even carved “Marry me Emily K?” (Don’t worry, she said yes!).

Throughout the remainder of the day, we strolled the rainy streets, checking out all the little stores lining them. We found ourselves in the coffee shop quite a few times for a hot drink! Later in the afternoon, we happened across a small Magick Expo & couldn’t help but gander at all the beautiful stones & artwork. Soon sunset came, & we began taking down the both & loading everything into the cars. We got back to the house & all showered for the evening before packing our things & heading to bed.

5 am came far too fast, & the struggle was real. I had apparently been snoozing my alarms for around 40 minutes before I shot up in bed. The first thing I saw as my eyes focused was Nicole standing at the foot of the bed staring at us like a creeper. She had been awake, but she let me keep snoozing my alarms! (Not her fault, let’s be real)

Nicole’s flight left first on Sunday morning, so Whitney & I enjoyed some coffee & snacks while we watched the sun rise over the runway. Soon enough it was our turn to board, & we began our journey home.

I’ll never get tired of seeing New England’s fall foliage & breathing in that fresh air — it’s something you just can’t quite explain. I’m forever thankful for Jake, Christina, Sean, & Jacqui’s hospitality, as well their amazing souls.

Until next time, New England.