Brainstorming, of sorts.

I’ve been brainstorming research topics for the past week or so, trying to find a topic I can really get into and do a good job on.

My first thought was possibly something that relates to the Salem witch hysteria, but it is a very broad and, possibly, overspeculated topic. I’m still partially considering it; however, if I can think of a way to put a new “spin” on it to make it original and interesting to research. Why? I recently finished reading H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward”, a fiction that, while based in modern times, concerns a character who fled from Salem during the “Salem scare”. It’s only really mentioned in passing, but it’s interesting to contemplate what it would have been like for other persons during this time who may have seemed very “witch/wizard-like” like alchemists, people who used herbs for ailments and for remedial effects, and the like. The infamous Salem witch trials are surely only the beginning of what, while somewhat short-lasted, must have been difficult and distrustful times for those living in Salem and the surrounding areas.

Beyond that, I’m a bit at a loss for ideas. Or, rather, my ideas, while interesting to me, are either too broad or too well-researched.