travel Archives - Art & Words

The Spirit World

Well, that’s a loaded title, isn’t it? Last weekend my husband Gary and I took a trip to Salem, Massachusetts to see a new exhibition at PEM (Peabody Essex Museum). It’s called Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums, and it runs until February 2, 2025. We’ve visited Salem many times and have been to PEM four or five; it’s always greatly enjoyable. When I had read about this new exhibition, I just had to go.

The spirit world

I’ve always been intrigued by mediumship – or claims of mediumship. After my dad passed away in 2022 I read several books on the subject. I’m also very intrigued by spiritualism, haunted houses, ghost hunting, seances, even the tradition of Ouija and other spirit boards… basically discussions of “the spirit world” in general. I am not a complete true believer, but believer I am. I have had too many of my own experiences to simply dismiss. But I do not immediately believe, and I do not believe without considering more concrete or reasonable explanations.

The exhibition

We arrived in Salem just after PEM opened. The museum already had a good number of visitors, and the exhibition was popular and busy. It’s actually pretty cool that there were so many people there. I think that despite our inclination to doubt before we believe, there is still at least the desire for something to believe in. We aren’t all just automatic skeptics.

The exhibition was great. We were impressed by the extent and variety of the pieces on display, and by how well each piece was presented and described. The posters and newspaper advertisements for different mediums or magicians were thought-provoking. Supposed “spirit photography” was so interesting to see, considering that people at one time truly believed it to be authentic. A photo of a child who had passed was protected by a heavy curtain, so visitors could decide whether or not to look at this object (I actually declined to look). The death mask of a very old woman was probably the most poignant item for me personally.

The curators did an excellent job selecting these pieces, as well as recreating devices that in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were claimed to bring forth spirits and other entities. This wasn’t quite a hands-on experience, and certainly it was experienced through a contemporary filter, but it did very much demonstrate what people would have seen.

Some major figures were represented as well. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was apparently very much a believer. Not only that, he was a defender of mediumship as well as fairy photography. Harry Houdini was honored with quite a bit of exhibit space, and a number of famous (or infamous) mediums were of course also represented.

Memorabilia and souvenirs

I was not able to take photos during the exhibition, but I did purchase the accompanying exhibition book. Also for sale were a selection of prints of posters from the exhibition, as well as a good number of titles on ghost hunting, mediumship, and even a Salem Ouija Board (that I was so tempted to buy!). I had been hoping for a t-shirt – I have a t-shirt from an earlier PEM exhibition (It’s Alive! Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection) that I love – but I admit I do not need any more graphic tees!

Salem Witch Trials 1692 Exhibition

After enjoying Conjuring the Spirit World, we grabbed a late lunch around the corner, then returned to PEM to see the Salem Witch Trials 1692 exhibition.

In all the times we have been to the museum, we had not checked this one out. A smaller, ongoing exhibition, it was effective in portraying the time, and just how brutal the accused’s fates were. Much respect was shown to the accused men and women, and there was appropriate messaging regarding intolerance and injustice. The exhibition featured historic court documents, as well as recorded testimonies of the accused. There were a number of pieces preserved from victims and their families: a walking stick, a cane, a cabinet; leaded glass windows, a (beautiful) wooden door, and heavy wooden pieces of a wall from a jail cell. This last was quite moving to see; it was immense and foreboding, when considering it had held an innocent person in their final days.

I would suggest that despite its smaller size, this exhibition is a must-see for anyone interested in the witch trials. And of course, I highly recommend seeing Conjuring the Spirit World. If you can get there in October, even better for enjoying the city. Salem – the Witch City – in October is a very fun experience, and can’t be missed for a great Halloween season. I already look forward to my next trip to Salem, and to PEM.

We wrapped up our afternoon in Salem, having spent all of our time at the museum. Then we headed north to the shore. I do love Salem, and love walking around and shopping in the Witch City… but the beach was calling…

~ Nellie

A Year Full of Challenges

Personal

Well it has certainly been a while since I last posted. 2023 was a year full of challenges, one after another it seemed, and all of them came while going through the first year of grieving my dad.

Early in the year I got food poisoning while visiting the shore. That lasted longer than I’ve ever had food poisoning for, was quite awful, and has had continued, residual effects. It was followed soon after by a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s Disease. I had heard of Hashimoto’s but had never considered I might develop it myself. After that I was diagnosed with Celiac disease. Those weren’t enough apparently, and I developed frozen shoulder (fun!). And then after all of that I was sent for a bone density test, and learned I have osteopenia. I began hearing such reassuring admonitions as, “don’t have any falls, your bones might fracture more easily now!” It all quite impacted my day-to-day life, my mood, and my outlook. It also impacted my expectations for the future.

At best and at worst

My doctors recommended learning as much as I could about living with autoimmune disease. However, as wonderful as they have been, it seems doctors fail to provide that education themselves. The simple reason for that appears to be that few doctors (relatively speaking) understand autoimmune terribly well. The guidance regarding Celiac is rather straightforward. It’s something I’m already familiar with since I have a family member with it. But the guidance for Hashimoto’s sometimes seems to contradict itself, often seems to not be based on very strong evidence, and also seems to be quite individual. So that has been hard to figure out. It has all created a whirlwind at best, and an uncomfortable, sometimes unpleasant, scary, and painful roller coaster at worst.

Learning and rethinking things

I guess that’s the gist of it though, isn’t it? The worst, so far, seems to be this roller coaster of symptoms and uncertainty. I’ve had to revisit previous beliefs I had about food (like, whether veganism is good for me – apparently it isn’t, not for me), spend way more time thinking about what and when I eat or how I will afford eating a super healthy diet, address episodes of frustration and anxiety related to these new health issues, and crucially, make sure I do actually take better care of myself.

One thing I have learned is that some of these conditions can have “flares.” The term is rather new to me, hence the quotation marks. These flares can be really difficult to deal with, and sometimes cause very real stress. I’m currently mostly over the frozen shoulder, am on – I think – a steady course of healing, but am experiencing a “flare” right now. Still, I am mostly optimistic. I’ve been able to follow most of the guidance (as far as I understand it). And I’ve also been able to do things that for months last year I was unable to do.

But I used to be so healthy!

When I was eight or so I had Mono. For weeks I missed school and was basically confined to staying in bed and taking ice cold baths. I also spent a lot of that time reading and playing with my dad (not having any idea of how serious Mono could apparently be at that age), so I actually have fond memories of that time! Other than the Mono I was a healthy, very active kid, and I continued to be in a state of good health most of my life. This is all really new to me, having actual chronic conditions; it’s a lot to get my head around.

New hopes and visions

In January of last year I did not foresee the challenges that were to come, beyond grieving. I have had to rebuild somewhat tenuous new hopes and visions for this year. They are different hopes and visions than what I had last year; they center my own health and well-being, they are more open and flexible, and in a way they may be more authentic.

A year full of joys

Highway 83 South into Baltimore — *The highway into Baltimore, MD – first time visiting this great city!*

At the same time, I know that last year was also a year full of joys: I was able to see my daughter and her partner numerous times through the year; my husband and I traveled to places we love and to places we’d never been; I had many opportunities to enjoy the beauty of nature; I attended cultural and arts events; and my holidays were celebrated with love and family.

The health issues, the many challenges I was suddenly faced with, didn’t ultimately define the year. Even the grieving process I knew I would journey through, didn’t define the year. I can reflect on last year and look ahead knowing that this year might also be a year full of challenges, but also a year full of joys.

So that’s some of where I’ve been! 🙂 Still here, just going through some new stuff. If any of this is true for your own story, please feel free to reach out and say hey. I’m always happy to hear from others!

~ Nellie

p.s. the feature image is of Mount Mansfield, in Cambridge, VT. I chose this photo because it kind of sums up how life felt last year – very big, sometimes overwhelming, mysterious, and always still profound and beautiful.