Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is the Mecca of Spooky Season. Every basic girl (or boi) must make the journey at least once in their lifetime. In true spooky fashion, Salem really is a storybook that lets you choose your own scare™ Check out a little history or just skip to the guide below (after the second set of pictures).

Photos from left to right: Witch House, Bewitched Statue in Lappin park, Architectural photos taken on Brown Street, Photo taken on Derby Street at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site

Background

  Prior to Europeans showing up, the area now known as Salem was inhabited by the Native American Naumkeag people for thousands of years. Leading up to the arrival of the Europeans, many of them died due to wars between other local tribes, and once the Europeans showed up and shared their gross germs, the smallpox epidemic provided a devastating final blow.

The seaside city of Salem that we know today was officially founded in 1626. In its hay day it was a bustling port of trade (rivaled only by Boston). It became infamous in 1692 when hysteria arouse, leading to the Salem Witch Trials. During about a 1-year span, 20 people were sent to death for the alleged crime of witchcraft.

Who ran these trials? The Puritans of course. And let me tell you, the Puritans were total dicks. The fled England because they did not want to be subjected to religious persecution. So they come over here and do the most obvious thing…. persecute other people. They had a zero-tolerance policy of anyone who had different beliefs. Especially the Quakers, who wanted nothing more than to make friends and eat oats. Oh and did I mention that they regularly used human remains for various purposes? Need to make soap? Get some fat from that sinful convict who was hanged the other day. Need to fix a random ailment? Scrape off some of that moss growing on that human skull you’ve been keeping in the cupboard. Yum.

There is also some speculation that perhaps there was an ergot outbreak on the rye during the time of the witch trials. Ergot is a fungus that LDS is made out of. Victims of ergot can experience paranoia, hallucinations, twitches and spasms, cardiovascular issues, and stillborn children. So when someone would tell the town they saw something totally nuts, maybe they did!

  Anyway. Salem is also the birthplace of the famed novelist Nathanial Hawthorn, who you may know from such works as The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables.

Moving forward a few hundred years to modern day, and the area experiences a revived interest due to the 1993 movie Hocus Pocus!

 Photos from left to right: John Ward House, Burying Point cemetery + House where Nathanial Hawthorn lived, old Town Hall, Ice cream menu at Melt

Travel Guide

First off, I detest crowds and hate waiting in line. Theme parks? No thanks. If I wanted to wait around just to be disappointed by an over-hyped experience, I would go back to my ex.

When we first got to Salem, I was…apprehensive. This place gets crazy crowded in October. But for some people. That’s not a problem. If you are just interested in the history of the town, I would recommend going another time of year (even mid/late September). But if you are in to halloween decorations, costumes, and crowds don’t bother you, October is the month for you!

Places To Stay

Housing in Salem books up quick and far in advanced. For example, we tried booking a place in Salem ~2 months prior to this trip. No joke, literally every single hotel, airBnB, bed & breakfast was booked up in October. So we ended up staying in Boston, which is an easy and affordable 30 minute train ride from Salem.

• The Liberty (Boston)

  • This is where we stayed. Very posh. Live music on the weekends, cool bar, and within a short walking distance of the train.

• Courtyard Boston Downtown/North Station (Boston)

  • Short walking distance to the train station

• The Merchant (Salem)

  • This would have been my first choice if we stayed in Salem

• Hawthorn Hotel (Salem)

• Hampton Inn (Salem)

Transportation

I would not recommend driving to/around Salem unless you plan on getting there really early (parking lots fill up by 9am)

From Boston:

• Train North Station -> Salem

  • 3 stops/30 minutes, $8 each way. Buy tickets ahead of time on your phone via MBTA

  • Make sure to check train schedule

  • Runs roughly every hour, but timing varies

  • Find the schedule on MBTA.com or get a physical copy once you go to the train station 

• Ferry

  • About an hour ride, ~$25 each way

  • You can also find pricing/times on MBTA.com

  • Departs from: Long Wharf, Boston. Departure Point: Boston Long Wharf

  • Arrives: 10 Blaney St, Salem, MA 01970, USA Salem Ferry Center

In Salem

• Salem is extremely walkable. Expect to walk a lot though, in the ballpark of 15,000-20,000 steps per day.

• We did not utilize uber/lyft in Salem, but based on traffic, it wouldn’t be the best option unless going from Downtown Salem to Pioneer Village.

 Attractions

 Tours

• There are quite a few different tours that you can take in Salem. We ended up taking a tour by Salem Night Tour, which is a 90-minute tour that stops at tourist hot spots such as the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, Old Town Hall, Old Burying Point Cemetery, and Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church.

• I recommend checking out TripAdvisor.com to compare tours and check out reviews!

Places To Go & See

• Burying Point Cemetery & Witch Trials Memorial

  • Can get quite congested. Also check opening time for Burying Point Cemetery (only open for a few hours on certain days)

• The Witch House

  • Get here early and expect to wait in line for ~1 hour

• Ropes Mansion and Garden

  • Get here early and expect to wait in line for ~45 min – 1 hour

  • Can visit the gardens in the back without waiting

• Pioneer Village

  • This is ~15-minute ride outside of Salem

• McIntire Historic District

  • Pickering House and Phillips House

  •   Broad Street Cemetery

    • Less crowded than Burying Point

• House of the Seven Gables

  • Buy tickets online ahead of time

• Essex Peabody Museum

  • Buy tickets ahead of time

• The Satanic Temple

• Salem Witch Museum

  • Sort of gimmicky but gives a decent overview of the Salem Witch Trials. Felt kind of rushed

• Witch Dungeon Museum

  • Some people we talked to said they liked it, but it had some cheesy scare tactics involved. Online reviews are mixed   

Food & Drink

• Boston Hot Dog Company

  • Good for a quick bite. Recommend the Chicago Dog

  • Right next door to ice cream!

• Gulu-Gulu Café

• Turner’s Seafood

  • Seafood spot inside the lecture hall where Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated the long-distance phone call.

  • Cocktails

• Rockafellas

  • Restaurant that was recommended to us by a local!

• Witch Which

  • Spooooky ice cream sandwiches

• Brew Box Coffee

  • Seasonal coffee! Get there early because they sell out of the festive stuff fast.

• Melt Ice cream

  • Has unique and seasonal flavors

  • Vegan options available

• Polonus European Deli

  • Delicious, authentic Polish food!

• Howling Wolf Taqueria

  • Mexican food and cocktails

• All Souls Lounge

  • Cocktails

• Deacon Giles Distillery

  • On theme Halloween cocktails

Left to right from the top: Grave from The Burying Point Cemetery, pretty houses on Broad Street in the McIntire Historic District, The Pickering House, House of the Seven Gables, Hamilton Street in the McIntire Historic District, Broad Street Cemetary, House of the Seven Gables, Ropes Mansion