Haunted Salem! - Witch City History

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In 1692, 20 innocent people were put to death in the infamous hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials. This notorious violation of civil liberties still haunts us today. Salem is also home to famed literary master Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose works were often inspired by Salem’s dark, puritanical past. Explore Salem’s past through the following museums and historic sites!

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Museums
New England Pirate Museum
274 Derby St (978) 741-2800 Visa / MC
Features a guided tour where you will visit a recreated dock-side village and pirate ship and experience the adventures of New England's sea robbers. Combination tickets available: Witch Dungeon, Witch History Museum and Pirate Museum.

Salem Wax Museum of Witches and Seafarers

The Salem Witch Museum
19 1/2 Washington Square North, Salem. (978) 744-1692
The Salem Witch Museum brings you back to Salem 1692, a time of hysteria and fear that ended with the deaths of twenty innocent people. Using life size figures, stage sets, a sound track narration and lighting, the museum recreates the accusers and accused, the court proceedings and finally the execution of the victims of this terrifying wave of persecution. The thought-provoking narration invites visitors to ponder questions of human rights and tolerance that affect contemporary life and determine for themselves how a witch hunt can occur. Translations available in French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Italian. The museum is open daily year-round with presentations every half hour.

The Witch Dungeon Museum
16 Lynde Street, Salem (978) 741-3570 Visa / MC
An award-winning live reenactment of a witch trial from the original transcript of 1692 followed by a guided tour through the dungeon. Combination tickets available: Witch Dungeon, Witch History Museum and Pirate Museum.

Witch History Museum
197 Essex Street, Salem (978) 741-7770 Visa / MC
Experience the characters and untold stories of the 1692 witch hysteria. Learn the fate of the victims as a guide brings you back in time in Old Salem Village where you will view 15 life-size scenes. Combination tickets available: Witch Dungeon, Witch History Museum and Pirate Museum.

Historic Sites
The Burying Point
Charter Street
The Burying Point is the oldest cemetery in Salem. If you love roaming through old graveyards, make sure you stop here. Among the buried is Judge John Hawthorne, the most malevolent of the Witch Trial judges. Also located within the Burying Point is the Witch Trials Memorial, erected in 1992. No headstone rubbing please!

Gallows Hill Park
In 1692, at what is now a baseball field and children's park, twenty innocent people were condemned to die. Nineteen were hanged while one was crushed under heavy stones. Each year at Halloween, Salem Witches hold a public circle to commemorate those who died as part of the hysteria. They also honor all those who died for freedom, including great leaders of recent past. Following the ritual, the Witches hold a candlelight procession to the center of town.

The Witch House
310-1/2 Essex Street, Salem. (978) 744-0180
This historic house, built in 1642, earned its name because it was once the home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, who helped preside over the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The accused were often brought here to be examined for supposed "Witches' marks".