This tour introduces you to a walkable city by the sea just north of Boston that gained notoriety during the Salem Witch Trials, but has since become a tourist destination for those who love haunted houses, witches, and all things Halloween, sprinkled with pop culture references.
1. Salem Armory Visitor Center
- Duration: 15 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
Tour starting point. Outside are benches and a park with granite benches. Inside are National Park Service maritime displays and park rangers for info, a gift shop, water for purchase, free restrooms, and benches for sitting.
2. Peabody Essex Museum & Essex Street Pedestrial Mall
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
We're just stopping here briefly, but we highly suggest that if you're going to choose just one museum out of all of them to visit, you make it this one. It's the best one and the one with the most accurate, true, and powerful exhibit about the Salem Witch Trials.
3. Daniel Low Building First Meetinghouse
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
This is the spot where the First Meetinghouse of Salem once stood, where the preliminary witch trials were held. There is a plaque on the side of the building saying so. The current building now houses a restaurant on the ground floor.
4. Rockafellas
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
This restaurant, in the Daniel Low building, is said to be haunted.
5. Bewitched Statue
- Duration: 7 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
An iconic landmark statue in the middle of downtown Salem.
6. The Ropes Mansion
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
An old sea merchant mansion said to be haunted, and where the movie Hocus Pocus filmed scenes, aka "The Allison House" in the movie.
7. The Ropes Garden
- Duration: 10 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
The garden behind the house, open to the public all year round, free to enter, is also said to be haunted.
8. Hamilton Hall
- Duration: 10 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
A shining example of Federal Architecture and the crowning design of famous architect Samuel McIntire. Loaded with history, including the activist Remond Family, and it sits on the most beautiful street in America -- Chestnut Street.
9. The Witch House
- Duration: 15 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
The oldest home still standing associated with the Salem Witch Trials, the former home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, and said to be haunted.
10. The Witch Dungeon Museum
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
A museum that we will only stop by to point out, but it offers witch trial artifacts and an idea of what the jails used to look like, where those accused were once held.
11. The Court of Oyer and Terminer
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
The old court once stood in the middle of Washington Street, so we'll stop by the intersection of Washington and Lynde Streets so you can look out into the street and imagine the court of the Salem Witch Trials.
12. The Merchant Hotel
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
Considered to be haunted, this hotel sits on the grounds of what was once the home of Sheriff George Corwin, said to have abused those accused of witchcraft.
13. Old Town Hall
- Duration: 5 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
Said to be haunted, this community building in the heart of Derby Square in Salem was used to film scenes from the movie Hocus Pocus.
14. Charter Street Cemetery
- Duration: 15 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
A cemetery dating back even before the Salem Witch Trials.
15. Salem Witch Trials Memorial
- Duration: 30 min
Lizzie Gerecitano
A square plot adjacent to Charter Street Cemetery, where there is one granite bench for each of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials.
Explore Haunted Salem with Shaka Guide
The Salem Witch Trials were the last time that executions of accused witches were ever allowed to take place in America. With Shaka Guide’s Salem Tour, you’ll uncover the chilling stories of these tragic events as you explore the historic town.
Hopefully, learning about them will help keep our nation from repeating those mistakes. And as for the haunted houses and ghosts…are YOU a believer?
Take the Haunted Salem Tour with Shaka Guide and explore at your own pace with stories, directions, and must-see stops along the way.
Still planning? Check out our Know Before You Go guide to prep for an epic day.
Need help? Email us anytime at aloha@shakaguide.com!
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