House of the seven gables

So, apart from witches, Salem’s other claim to fame is the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, who has a couple of books on the set lists in American schools.

One of them ‘The house of the seven gables’ is based on a house his aunt owned, which had been extended several times so that it did actually have seven gables ends.

It was ripped back to a fraction of its size by a later owner, only to be bought by a massive fan of the book, so obsessed that she used pictures of the original to completely rebuild it. Not just that but she put in features which weren’t in the original house, but appeared in the book. And then best of all, stung by comments that one character keeps on appearing unexpectedly in a way that makes no sense, she had a secret staircase built. Which is what you can see here.

Absolutely nuts, but you have to admire the devotion to a book.