My mom and I finished our fall adventure with two nights in Salem, Massachusetts (not to be confused with Salem, New Hampshire, only a 50-minute drive away). We both really like locations with historical significance, so Salem did not disappoint, of course with the Witch Trials as well as other fascinating maritime history.

Impressions

I imagined Salem would be packed all October long and full of nightlife. While it was busy when we were there (October 8 and 9), it wasn’t nearly as busy as I expected it to be—I think Acadia National Park was more crowded. Of course, it was still early in the month and not a weekend. There wasn’t as much nightlife as I imagined, either. After most of the shops and attractions closed around 6:00pm, the streets were very quiet, aside from large walking tour groups. Both nights walking back to our hotel we were shocked to be some of the only people out! I still enjoyed our time there, but it does make me wonder how much of the “Salem in October” experience we missed because we were too early. I know they have a huge costume ball and other events right around Halloween, I just figured the town would be hopping all month long!

Food

Our dinner the second night wasn’t anything to write home about, but our first night in Salem we ate at Turner’s Seafood at Lyceum Hall, which is where Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated a long-distance phone call in 1877. The building is also supposedly haunted by Bridget Bishop, the first woman who was hanged during the Witch Trials (it’s located on what was once her property). The building and atmosphere were really cool, and the food did not disappoint!

Walk-By Activities

The touristy part of Salem is extremely walkable, so I recommend parking your car once you arrive and exploring by foot. There were several locations around town that I knew we wanted to see but not necessarily pay to go inside. One thing I learned while doing my research is that Salem is full of attractions—you could spend a fortune paying to enter every museum, house, and haunted experience. From what I read it sounded like a lot of them were overrated, so I was happy to just walk by most and see the interesting architecture from the (free) sidewalk.

Salem Witch Trials Memorial—The two sites most associated with the Salem Witch Trials are the memorial and Old Burying Point Cemetery. The memorial is free and includes a stone bench for each of the 20 victims, which is inscribed with their name, manner of execution, and date of death. There are also words on the ground that are pleas from the accused, taken directly from court transcripts. It’s a powerful memorial, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly peaceful or solemn due to large tourist groups and souvenir shops nearby.

Old Burying Point Cemetery—Also known as Charter Street Cemetery, this graveyard is one of the oldest in the United States and the location of some graves of people associated with the Witch Trials. However, none of the victims are buried in the cemetery nor at the memorial. Their burial locations are mostly unknown. The cemetery is free to enter but we did have to get reservations online in advance, which I think is only an October requirement. The Salem Witch Trials Memorial was purposely built right next to the graveyard to be symbolic, so the judges and other perpetrators of the trials would forever rest next to the innocent people they executed.

House of the Seven Gables—Before dark on our first night we wandered to the House of the Seven Gables, which is the historic home-turned-museum that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel by the same name (I tried to read the book before we visited but couldn’t get through it). As it turns out, you really can’t see much of the house unless you pay to go inside, which we did not. An interesting bit of trivia we learned on our historical tour is that Hawthorne hated being from Salem and associated with the Witch Trials, partly because his own relative (unclear if it was his great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather) was Judge John Hathorne, one of the judges who presided over the trials. You may be thinking, “Grace, there’s a typo, you spelled ‘Hathorne’ wrong.” But not so. I never have typos… Nathaniel Hawthorne actually changed his name to add the ‘W’ to distance himself further from his family history. If you think of Hawthorne’s books, like The Scarlet Letter or House of the Seven Gables, you’ll notice themes very reminiscent of the Witch Trials—accusations, ostracization… Write what you know, eh?

Bewitched Statue—Another walk-by attraction is the Bewitched statue, portraying Elizabeth Montgomery (rather unflatteringly) as Samantha from the 1960s sitcom. I had never seen the show before, but it was fun learning about it from my mom, who grew up watching it. Another tidbit we learned during our walking tour was that the show Bewitched, which filmed part of one season in Salem after a fire at their studio in Los Angeles, is largely responsible for putting Salem on the map as a tourist (and witchy) destination.

The Witch House—Another famous house to walk by, the Witch House was once owned by one of the Witch Trial judges (different than Hathorne) and is one of the only buildings left standing from that time. This house is an example of Puritan architecture and has a façade that is featured in art and marketing throughout Salem. While my mom and I both like history, we normally find house tours to be pretty boring, so we just enjoyed it from outside!

Ropes Mansion—This mansion was largely made famous because it was featured in the movie Hocus Pocus as Allison’s house. It’s pretty in the day, with a beautiful garden in the back that is free to explore, and incredibly creepy at night. All of the window shades were closed saved for one, that was open just wide enough for a face to be peering out… The house also has a dark history of tragedy and death, adding to the haunted element. It’s located in the McIntire Historic District, so if you get a chance to wander further from town center to explore the district you’ll see some incredible colonial mansions, some of which are still private residences today.

Shopping Around—Salem has a lot of really fun gift stores to explore with no shortage of spooky art, thematic clothing (lots of coffin purses), and “witchy materials” (for lack of a better term). We even went into one gift shop with a row of curtained off rooms for palm readings and seances. Some notable stores included Blackcraft Salem, with a massive witch hanging from the ceiling; Black Veil, with a cool mirror display and photo-op; Coven, with witchy clothes and a “I put a spell on you” light; and Modern Millie, with cutesy vintage-inspired clothing.

Paid Activities

Witch Pix—Witch Pix is one of those photo studios (you know, where you dress up like it’s the Wild West?) except that it’s exclusively witch-themed. You get to wear a dress, cape, and hat and then choose between a handful of backdrops for your witchy photoshoot. We decided on the “Olde Salem Village” set, which was by far the best, in my opinion, because it included a spooky forest, a cauldron, a crystal ball, and a cottage door. The photographer took a lot of pictures, both with the two of us together and individual shots, and was great in posing us and setting up the props. The whole appointment only lasted 45 minutes—and the faster you choose your outfit, the more time you get for photos! We got to preview our pics in the studio and then by the next day, all of the edited images were sent directly to my inbox—26 frames/poses with four different edits (normal, saturated, sepia, and black & white) for a total of 104 images. It was expensive, but SO worth it. Such a fun experience and the best souvenir!!

A couple of tips: Because we visited in October, Salem’s busiest time, we had to book our reservation a month in advance. Plan ahead if you want to do this! The website also has a lot of tips and tricks that surprisingly not very many people follow. As they suggest, make sure to wear a black tank so you can easily put on your chosen outfit. You also want to wear black shoes in case they’re visible in any of the photos. My mom and I did fun dark makeup, which they don’t provide at the studio but is a must if you want really witchy photos. We were also really grateful we decided to paint our nails a dark blue, which added so much to the pics with props. Overall, as long as you plan ahead, I can’t recommend this experience enough! We booked our appointment for first thing in the morning so we didn’t have to worry about our hair/makeup getting messed up the rest of the day.

Cry Innocent—I had read about this online but completely forgot about it until my mom and I saw actors wandering the main street, talking about this production. Cry Innocent is an interactive theater experience where the first person accused in the Witch Trials, Bridget Bishop, is brought to trial and the audience gets to play the Puritan jury. Actors use real court documents to reenact what is essentially a grand jury, and audience members get to question Bridget Bishop to determine if there is enough evidence to send her to trial (not to execute her). It was a really interesting way to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials and put yourself in the shoes of people living at that time. Some of the “evidence” against her was ridiculous, like someone claiming they saw her flying above her, but other things were more suspicious, like how she couldn’t recite the Lord’s Prayer (a common “test” of witchery). Our group decided there was not enough evidence to take her to trial, 45 to 22.

Gallows Hill Main Show—We decided to do one kitschy attraction, which was the show at Gallows Hill. It was a 22-minute performance that included light and sound effects, puppetry, and acting. We learned a couple of interesting tidbits about the Witch Trials and Salem more generally. While I still enjoyed it, I don’t know that I would recommend it. I assume it’s rated similarly to Salem’s other kitschy attractions like the Witch Museum. I tried to find a blog post or something comparing all of the witch/haunted museums but couldn’t find anything good. I did think it was impressive that this was a one-woman show, though! At least, I’m pretty sure it was—she was always off stage just long enough to change into her next costume.

History and Hauntings of Salem Walking Tour—I sifted through a lot of walking tours on Viator and am so glad I ended up choosing this one. Like any tour, it really depends on the guide you get, and our guide Jarad was incredible—loud enough for our large group (40 people!) to hear, super knowledgeable, and funny. The tour was the perfect balance of Witch Trials history, other Salem history (there’s a lot more to the city than just witchcraft), and ghost stories. It ended up lasting 2.5 hours, and while a lot of people left throughout the tour (it was cold and uncomfortable to stand so long), it was never a question for us to leave; he was that engaging.

Two nights in Salem felt like the perfect amount, but if I did stay longer I would have added the Peabody Essex Museum, which I heard from multiple sources is a really good museum (but not related to the Salem Witch Trials at all). If you visit Salem in October, make sure to plan ahead and book everything months in advance as it will fill up, even earlier in the month. Overall, we had a great time there, and it was the perfect historical/spooky way to end our vacation!

In case you missed them, check out my other posts about our fall New England road trip:

Fall New England Road Trip: Itinerary and Details

Fall New England Road Trip: Maine

Fall New England Road Trip: New Hampshire and Vermont

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace