Wicked Fairytale Destination, Salem, MA

Explore the history behind the legends…

From hanging witches to hanging out with witches!

Pieces of Salem, photo by Christa Thompson

If you like adventure, history and Halloween, then Salem, Massachusetts is your Halloween destination for the Northeastern United States. Salem is rich with history, and they are serious about sharing it with their visitors. Last week, The Fairytale Traveler was fortunate enough to explore Salem, its city, waterfront, and history… and we even had the pleasure of meeting Frankenstein!

A Monster a Day, the Haunting of the Lizzie Borden House, Fall River, MA

Do you have the guts to spend a night?

One of America’s most haunted…

A weird black cat in the guest room where the murder of Abbey Borden occurred photo by Christa Thompson

Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.” -anonymous folk rhyme 

Fairytale Destination, Sleepy Hollow, NY USA

The legend of the Headless Horseman lives…

by kitgentry.com

Regarding Tarry Town, NY

Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley among high hills which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook murmurs through it and, with the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks the uniform tranquility. From the listless repose of the place, this sequestered glen has long been known by the name of Sleepy Hollow.”

– Washington Irving, American author of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 

A Monster a Day, the Black Shuck of Norfolk, UK

The Hellhound…

By The Fairytale Traveler’s contributing author, Scott Malthouse

Black Shuck depicted by Forteanzoology

Tales of ghostly dogs and hounds of hell are abundant in the British countryside, with most counties having their own variation on the creature. One of the most famous of these monsters is Black Shuck (or Old Shuck), popularized throughout Norfolk and Cambridgeshire as a “black shaggy dog, with fiery eyes, who visits churchyards at midnight.” (Revd E. S. Taylor).

A Monster a Day, the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow, NY

Hold onto your heads…

The Headless Horseman visits locals in Sleepy Hollow, NY photo by Christa Thompson

Most everyone has heard of the Headless Horseman, the dark, ominous and speechless specter from “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow“. He is known in American Folklore to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper killed by American fire.

It is said that he visits the site of his death, where an American cannonball decapitated him, in search of his disembodied head. He has been  known to show himself to people walking the village at night, chasing and tormenting them upon his battle horse, trying to cut off their heads.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the most well known folktales in American culture. It was originally introduced into American literature in 1820 as a short

A Tour of Legends Dublin, Ireland Part 1 the Hellfire Club

Hundreds of years…

Driving to the Hellfire Club photo by Christa Thompson

Just outside of the bustling streets of Dublin stretches miles of unscathed rolling mountains. These mountains are home to legends hundreds of years past, legends so tightly woven into the bogs of these hills that I needed a personal guide to share them with me.

Meet Ed Hannon, writer of Visions of the Past, one of my favorite Irish blogs documenting Irish history and locale. Ed was kind enough to cart me about these breathtaking hills,

A Monster a Day, the Ghosts of Huntington Theater, Boston

The show must go on…

by The Fairytale Traveler’s contributing author, Peter Muise

Huntington Theater by Peter Muise

This area probably has more weird folklore per square foot than any other part of the country. You’re most likely walking past a haunted building or site of strange happenings every day without even knowing it.Just this week I realized I had been doing this myself. I was looking through Holly Mascott Nadler’s Ghosts of Boston Town when I came upon the chapter about the Huntington Continue reading...

A Monster a Day, Ghost Legends of Temple Newsam House Leeds, UK

A ghostly gathering…

by The Fairytale Traveler’s contributing author, Scott Malthouse

Photo by Carl Milner

Leeds is one of the most metropolitan cities in the north of England, which has recently come to be known as the London of the north. Leeds is also an old city and carries many a local legends, including hundreds of ghostly tales.

One of the most beautiful parts of Leeds is Temple Newsam, a farm and the grounds to the titular

A Haunting at St. Francis, St. Augustine’s Oldest Inn

Lily’s Room photo by: Christa Thompson

“Is the Inn haunted”, I asked, having no idea of the Inn’s paranormal history at this point. “Well, yes. We have a young servant girl that is said to live here, her name is Lily. We have had a lot of investigators stay in her room, Miss Lily’s Room.” My eyes grew wide, always having been fascinated by the paranormal. The legend of the St. Francis Inn invited my curiosity.

Get Ready for Halloween with The Fairytale Traveler’s Monster a Day Series

Are you ready?

Monks Corridor of the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo City Sicily, Italy thanks wikipedia

Get ready my fairytale friends. The Fairytale Traveler loves Halloween! Just to show you how much, beginning October 1st we are bringing you the creepiest, scariest and darkest monsters every day until October 31.

YESSSSS! We know, it’s awesome.

If you haven’t already met the team of contributing authors for this creepy affair, go ahead and check them out. They won’t bite…maybe.

Meet the team!

Be sure to check back everyday for vampires, mummies, ghosts, witches, hauntings, mythical monsters and good old fashioned serial killers Fairytale Traveler style. We really hope you creep on over.