What if you found out your great-great-great-grandfather did something really, REALLY embarrassing?

The Day Nathaniel Hawthorne Was Born!

Meet the man who wrote America's spookiest stories

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on America's birthday and turned spooky history into famous stories!

On July 4, 1804, while fireworks were probably popping in the sky to celebrate America's birthday, something else amazing happened in Salem, Massachusetts. A baby named Nathaniel Hawthorne was born — and he would grow up to become one of America's most famous storytellers!

Here's a spooky secret: Nathaniel's great-great-great-grandfather was actually one of the judges during the Salem Witch Trials! Those were the scary times when people accused their neighbors of being witches. Nathaniel felt so embarrassed about this family history that he even added a 'w' to his last name (it used to be spelled 'Hathorne') to distance himself from it.

But instead of running away from the past, Nathaniel turned those creepy feelings into incredible stories! He wrote about guilt, secrets, and mysterious happenings in old New England towns. His most famous book, 'The Scarlet Letter,' is still read by students today — more than 170 years after he wrote it!

Nathaniel was also best friends with another famous writer named Herman Melville, who wrote 'Moby Dick.' They would hang out and talk about writing in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains.

💡 Nathaniel Hawthorne added a 'w' to his family name because he was embarrassed that his ancestor was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials!