In celebration of the Halloween month, and in honor of Massachusetts' claim to Halloween fame (Salem, MA), Kings Boston led a tour of the Witch City.
During the tour, students visited the gorgeous backyard of The Ropes Mansion, a Georgian Colonial mansion in the McIntire Historic District. The mansion, now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM), was formerly the home of a merchant, then a judge, and finally the Ropes family before being given to the Trustees of the Ropes Memorial and, eventually, PEM.
Year-round, but especially during October, fans of the Disney movie Hocus Pocus come to Salem to see locations featured in the film. The Ropes Mansion is one such location. "Allison's house" was where wealthy families were holding a Halloween party in the movie. According to legend, the mansion is haunted. What better place to film a scene from a movie about witches and witchcraft?
Another stop on the tour was outside Frankenstein's Castle (a local haunted house) and the neighboring Salem Wax Museum. Here, Brazilian student Nara posed for a tongue-in-cheek photo involving a wooden post painted to look like the body of a witch while another Brazilian student, Camila, took a photo.
Lastly, the group of students enjoyed playing games at BitBar, Salem's barcade (a portmanteau of "bar" and "arcade"). Here, Saudi Arabian student Sulaiman and Nara faced off in a game of air hockey as fellow Saudi Arabian student Monira observed. Meanwhile, Colombians Bladimir and Danial played retro arcade games (Street Fighter and Pac-Man) while Camila blasted away myriad enemies in one of a few shoot-'em-up-style games offered by the venue.
