Witch Hysteria in Salem
Graveyard in Salem
Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and caldron bubble!
Looking for somewhere spooky to spend Halloweekend? Salem, Massachusetts is rich in horrifying history and has plenty of frightening celebrations to take part of during the month of October.
In 1692, a wave of hysteria spread through Salem Village. When some members of the village were experiencing violent contortions and uncontrollable outbursts of screaming, local doctors were perplexed and diagnosing these individuals with “bewitchment.” The bewitchment diagnoses led to accusations of witchcraft and thereby led to the infamous, Salem Witch Trials.
From 1692 to 1693, more than 150 people were accused of witchcraft, and nineteen people were found guilty and executed. In 1697, the court deemed the trials unlawful and the Massachusetts Colony passed legislation to restore the good names of the condemned.
However, legend has it that some of the witches still hold a grudge and a curse lingers over the city making it one of the most haunted places in America.
Salem has certainly used their witch history to their advantage, hosting a month-long celebration every October that includes carnivals, haunted houses, haunted tours, psychic readings, and more!
Even though I only live about two hours from Salem, I’ve never visited the city during their haunted happenings month. This year, I decided to change that and took a day trip up with my boyfriend and my best friend.
Some very important words of advice: plan ahead.
Salem is CROWDED in October. More than 500,000 people from around the world visit Salem during October. This means, buy your tickets to the museums and tours you want to go to ahead of time. I also recommend making meal reservations in advance, as there was 3+ hour waits at most of the restaurants.
There is no lack of museums here. Some of the more popular ones include: The Salem Witch Museum, The Witch House, The Witch History Museum, The Witch Dungeon Museum, and The New England Pirate Museum.
The lines were crazy for most of the witch related museums, so we decided on The New England Pirate Museum, which was $10 per person or you could do a combo ticket for $22 that gave you access to the New England Pirate Museum, The Witch History Museum and The Witch Dungeon Museum.
The New England Pirate Museum is a guided tour that gives an inside look at Salem’s pirate scene back in 1692. You’ll hear stories about Captain Quelch, Blackbeard and Kidd.
We also signed up for the Candlelit Ghostly Walking Tour, which brings you around downtown Salem to visit the different locations of haunted history and accounts of spirit activity. I highly recommend this tour, as not only did it provide historical information, they also just had good stories about haunted happenings. They also provide tips on how to get ghost photographs at some of their spooky stops!
Some other highlights of the day included a stop at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, where there is a stone bench remembering each of the 19 victims of the witch trials. There are also quotes on the ground that represent their last words.
Outside of Ropes Mansion a.k.a. Allison's Mansion in Hocus Pocus
There are also a handful of must-see locations for fans of the movie, Hocus Pocus. Visit Ropes Mansion on Essex Street for the Halloween party at Allison’s mansion. Old Town Hall which is in the historic district of Salem, is the location in the film where the Sanderson Sisters bewitched the parents of the town while they tried to steal the souls of the children. Lastly, Max and Dani’s house is on Ocean Avenue!
There is so much to do in Salem, that we just couldn’t get to it all. It was fun to see everyone in costume, and the spooky decorations around the town but I can’t wait to spend another day in Salem outside of tourist season so that I can really dig into the history of the witch trials.
Happy Halloween! And remember, a candy a day keeps the monsters away!
Have you ever been to Salem? Let me know in the comments what you’re favorite thing about this mysterious city is!