Today was forecasted as the most “touristy” day of all, a fact that was obviously true after entering Salem. We visited the House of the Seven Gables, which according to a poster within the visitor’s center is in the top ten most visited homes in America. The house, complete with secret passageways and intricate architecture, was wonderfully interesting but unfortunately fake. Caroline Emmerton bought the property in 1908 for the express purpose of using the tourist trade to support her Settlement House Association—to help in the settlement of immigrant families. The house opened for tourists in 1910. Emmerton asked an architect, Joseph Everett Chandler, to restore the house to its state when Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote House of the Seven Gables. The museum curator and historians have since decided, however, that many of the features were added during a popular period known as “colonial revival” and are unfortunately incorrect or simply for the sake of the novel. For example, a penny-shop was added on the first floor, a room that directly reflected the novel, not the history of the house. Also, the secret passageway, though a fun aspect of the architecture, was also added to help boost ticket sales of the newly preserved house. Our tour guide said this passageway even confused the curator and historians, who thought this secret stairwell may have been used to hide slaves. This, of course, was not true. Thus far, this has been the least authentic house we have visited. I can’t help but think it is perfectly set in Salem, a city that capitalizes on the image of the witch, brought on by the events of the Salem Witch Trials.