Nov 6, 20228 min read

Our Weekend in New England: Whitney's Perspective

This blog post was written by Whitney Dankemeyer, one half of Two Halves of a Soul.

Something as little as the moisture in the air was enough to remind me I was far from home. I had never visited the East Coast before, and I’ve definitely never set foot in the New England area. Nonetheless, I was in for a surprise as soon as we touched down in Boston. Wisconsin was only founded in 1848, so I knew the Earth I’d be walking on had many more stories to tell than the manure-infested fields back home. The history actually spoke for itself the minute we’d glance over at a random date from the 1600s etched into some stone in the middle of town.

Swan and I landed in Boston, Massachusetts around 9:00 o’clock in the evening on Saturday, October 29th. We were picked up at the airport by our good friends Christina and Jake, two of our gracious hosts for the duration of this trip since all the surrounding hotels were booked up. Of course, the Air BnBs were an option if we wanted to pay over a grand a night, but we were fortunate enough to reserve a bunk bed at Jacqui and Sean’s place instead.

Jacqui and Sean were relatives of Christina’s and our other hosts while we were visiting. Their home was where Christina and Jake were staying after moving back to New Hampshire, and it was where Christina’s baby shower was being hosted the following morning. For the whole weekend, this home in Litchfield was the center of our productivity. This was also where we developed deeper connections with all who came through the door. We were so welcomed with open arms and sarcastic jokes that it was as if we were at a reunion and not introducing ourselves for the first time.

The baby shower on Sunday went until about midnight, so the New Hampshire investigations we initially anticipated fell through for plans. This was hardly a problem for us though because we ended up being so invested in the lives around us that we hadn’t seemed to notice. Swan and I spent the whole night instead huddled in different groups getting to know the others there. What started as small talk even grew into open-minded conversations of everyone’s perspectives/experiences with the paranormal, which was something we really enjoyed.

We ended the evening by hopping into bed and leaving the night as it was. We knew regardless that the morning after was going to be full of experiences. For our Samhain celebration, Christina, Jake, Swan, and I arranged plans to tour and investigate Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween.

We woke up the next morning and prepared for the day with a ritual. We weren’t able to bring all our usual equipment, so we only used the devices on our phone, which was the voice recorder and iOvilus device. The only other tool we had on us was ourselves. So, we sat in front of each other and performed a ritual to open up each one of our clairs for this experience.

Getting to Salem was the tricky part. All non-resident traffic was restricted, and no parking was allowed. This meant that our means of transportation would be either bus or train. We decided on the train and found that it was headed to Salem around 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

We wanted to make sure we got to Newburyport, Massachusetts in advance so we didn’t miss the train. With our luck, the train was actually late so we were there in plenty of time. It wasn’t until about 5:30 pm when we actually got off the train in Salem.. But that was when our experience truly began.

The minute our boots touched the ground, it felt like a familiar place. It truly, from the bottom of my heart, felt like I’ve walked the Earth there before. I could see myself walking on a normal day in another time period, watching the leaves swirl like mini tornadoes across the way. I saw the trees parting ways with the leaves and felt the wind on my face. I think I even recall Swan saying she saw herself in a long skirt. It was almost like we were both dreaming out loud and our eyes were projecting it in front of us like a movie. It was almost hard to come back from.

Again, there were a lot of things we hoped to see that we didn’t get a chance to in New Hampshire, and it was the same way for Salem. That was alright though considering the channeling we were already doing. The whole point of this experience was to be open to whatever opportunities we were given as we arrived. So, while we hoped to see the inside of the Salem Witch Museum and come across the giant Ouija Board in the commons, the Ouija Board was taken down for Halloween and the museum was all sold out. We did walk the entire grounds though before dark and had the opportunity to see vendors, go inside a few shops, and try some of the food there, so I’d say our evening was still well spent.

This is where we come to our first mini investigation. We didn’t investigate too much when we were there because we also wanted to enjoy the experience, so our sessions were brief and only a couple minutes at a time. The first one was in the food line while Jake was buying Italian sausage for him and Christina. The iOvilus immediately said “OCEAN” and “FAST”. You could tell Swan was already emotionally connecting with someone, so I let her do the communicating.

I had just looked down at my phone when I heard Swan say something along the lines of, “Are you over there by the memorial?” and look over to see her in an incredibly emotional state. The concerned look I gave her was enough for her to sputter that she had an image of someone going down in a plane and something happening to their legs. The iOvilus then said “DIED” and “MESSENGER”. Swan asked him if he could tell us his name and if he died in the war. He responded, “RON” and “YES”.

We walked over to the memorial and took a photo of it. We also quickly glanced to see if we could find any Rons on it to validate our response. To our surprise, there was in fact a Ronald under Vietnam. He was the only Ronald listed on that memorial. Once we got home, Swan had even come across links for Ronald DeForrest, who served in the Vietnam war when he was just 22-years-old. His plane of him and 18 other men went down overseas in Thailand due to strong winds in the air that day of April 25, 1969. He was laid to rest in Salem, Massachusetts, and we thank him greatly for his service.

The next and only other investigation we got was not too long before we got back on the train to head back to New Hampshire. I didn’t even know where I was standing at first because of all the haunted houses and tours we were passing by. Jake pointed out that where we were standing was in front of the Charter Street Cemetery. I looked over to my right and saw lines of the thinnest headstones I think I’ve ever seen. Immediately I knew this cemetery was OLD, and not too long after I discovered it was established in 1637.

I rested my hand on the stone ledge covering the perimeter of the cemetery and immediately was filled with dread. The air grew heavier, and my throat was tight. I immediately felt like I was going to cry. To break myself out of this state, I took my hand off the stone and wandered down the path around the cemetery a little further. I noticed a bunch of stones sticking out with flowers laid across them and asked Swan to capture a few photos as we approached them.

I looked down to read once I noticed there was writing on each stone. Tears pooled my eyes the minute I read “Hanged.” These stones were the memorials for the innocent girls hanged during the Salem Witch Trials. Some of them even had notes from passersby apologizing to them and reminding them of their innocence. It nearly broke my heart.

I heard Jake holler in the distance that two of the more popular ones were at the end. Without thinking, my mouth responded with, “Rebecca Nurse.” Jake replied, “Yeah, that’s one of them.”

I walked up to Rebecca Nurse and felt the tightness in my throat again. It was almost suffocating, like I couldn’t breathe. Something in me kept drawing my hand to the stone, so I knelt forward and rested my hand on her name.

Within seconds, my head was swarming with young girls yelling. From different directions in my mind, I heard “Why are you doing this?,” “I am innocent,” “I am not a witch,” “I didn’t do anything wrong,” and so forth. It was then I started to weep. There is simply no other explanation to put into words the pain and sadness I felt in those few moments.

I knew I needed to ground myself because I was starting to get overwhelmed with the thoughts in my mind. I tripped over the tree roots of the tree growing into the cemetery walls next to me, and that was when I began snapping out of it. I continued to try and ground myself by leaning over and talking to Swan. I didn’t know what words of choice to use to speak, so the only thing I could think of was to ask her to take a photo of the roots that nearly wiped me out.

With not too much time left before catching the last train back to Newburyport, I asked Swan to turn the iOvilus back on one last time before leaving. I knew there was a reason for it because it was around the same time a nearby tour guide pointed out the hanging tree next to us. Again, my eyes welled with tears. I was in such a vulnerable state from where we were walking that I almost couldn’t control it.

Once the iOvilus was on, it said “COME”. I, without questioning, asked the spirits if they recognized our souls. The device responded “FRIENDS” and “GASP”. I asked if it was from a previous lifetime and the device said “MEASURE”. Being as open-minded as I possibly could have been at that moment, I took that as a sign that they were using that word to explain the concept of time and how long it’s been. After all, they only have a 2,000-word word bank to choose from.

Before we concluded the session, the iOvilus sputtered out “SHEPPARD,” “GIVE,” and “COFFIN”. We asked if they were insinuating they didn’t have a coffin or a proper burial and it responded “YET”. Once again, my eyes filled with tears while I’m learning that some of them were still pleading to be laid to rest after all of this time. We even later found out that families dug up the accused from shallow graves and buried them near their lineage. And there we were, desperately wanting to help them with little to no time to do it.

Leaving the grounds, returning to the station, and arriving back to New Hampshire, I carried a lot of remorse back with me. Keep in mind I experienced everything I wanted out of Salem, but there was a lot of history that still lingered on the grounds.. And weighed on my heart. There are still things I’m still trying to process from this experience, especially when I think back to the voices and images I received at the Charter Street Cemetery. If only we could go back in time.. But all we really have is right now.

I would love to venture back to the East Coast or consider a long-term future there. I don’t think my soul has ever felt so much comfort and familiarity in one area of the world other than this one. And I definitely feel that there is unfinished business with Swan, Salem, and I now. It will only be a matter of time before we find ourselves back in the New England area to continue the investigation we started. Hopefully this time too, we will be able to bring peace to some of the spirits reaching out for our help.

Until next time, Salem. Thanks for reading.