A green, modern version of a (fake) witch is displayed at the Salem Witch Museum. Pam LeBlanc photo
When a hurricane temporarily blew my plans to visit Cape Cod off course last month, I diverted to “Witch City” – where the Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692.
If you’re into witches or spooky supernatural stuff, you’ll find plenty of that in Salem, 25 miles north of Boston.
I wanted to learn about the history that unfolded in the small seaside town, which frightens me more than a flying broomsticks and bubbling cauldrons.
I uncovered plenty of details.
What really happened in Salem?
Thousands of innocent people were accused of witchcraft and killed in Europe starting in the 1300s. By the time the hysteria was winding down there, it ramped up here.
Historians trace the Salem craze to a Puritan minister named Rev. Samuel Parris. Parris’ daughter and her cousin began having screaming fits in 1692. Parris accused his Caribbean slave, Tituba, of being a witch and casting spells on the girls. Beaten by her owner, Tituba confessed, and her husband accused others of witchcraft.
Paranoia ensued. More girls had fits, and other people – one a beggar and another an impoverished woman – were blamed. Ultimately, about 200 men and women were accused of using witchcraft. A special court was established, and the first victim, a woman named Bridget Bishop, was hanged at Gallows Hill.
In the following months, 18 more people were hanged, and one man was pressed to death with heavy stones after he refused to go to trial. Five more people died in jail.
It’s a horrible history that still serves as a precautionary tale.
Explore the town of Salem
Salem ranks high on the list for people who like to dress in costume. Black witch hats and goth garb are popular, and we met a guy posing for photos with a black cat on his shoulder.
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Pick up a copy of the Salem City Guide and Map, which is packed with listings for museums, walking tours, events, and attractions. The offerings include a wax museum, psychic readings, a haunted house populated by actors and animatronics, a pirate museum and more.
The Witch Trials Memorial
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We started with a stroll through the Salem Witch Trials Memorial located just off Charter Street.
More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem between 1692 and 1693, and 20 of them were executed. The simple, three-walled memorial honors those victims with granite benches and etchings. Fresh flowers are laid at markers, and pavers are inscribed with chilling quotes from the victims, like “God knows I am innocent.”
The memorial was dedicated in 1992, on the 300th anniversary of the trials.
Right next door you’ll find Old Burying Point Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Salem. Two magistrates from the trials are buried there.
A witch from the ‘60s
Elizabeth Montgomery starred as the good witch Samantha on the TV series “Bewitched” from 1964 to 1972. A bronze statue of the actress astride a broom soaring in front of a sliver of a moon stands at the end of the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall.
The cable television channel TV Land sponsored the statue, which was unveiled in 2005. Interestingly, several episodes of the show were filmed in Salem in the 1970s, after a fire burned the set where it was usually filmed in Hollywood.
A tour bus full of tourists crowded around to snap selfies as we walked past.
October in Salem
October is prime time for a visit to Salem.
One of the largest Halloween celebrations in the world, Haunted Happenings, takes place each October and draws about half a million visitors. Highlights include a parade, a Psychic Fair and Witches’ Market, fireworks over the North River on Halloween Night, and other spooky shenanigans.
Visiting the Salem Witch Museum
The Salem Witch Museum is the most popular museum in town. Pam LeBlanc photo
We hit the most popular attraction in town, the Salem Witch Museum, which years earlier had made an impression on my friend when he visited as a boy.
“More weight,” my friend kept moaning. We had no idea what he meant at the time.
We found out a few hours later. The museum’s theater features a series of dioramas depicting the events of 1692, and one scene showed a man getting crushed beneath huge rocks. That man was Giles Corey, who called out “More weight!” as he was pressed to death when he refused to admit he was a witch.
The museum is cheesy, but a fun way to learn the basics of the horror that unfolded here. An exhibit near the end reminds visitors that witch hunts still happen today, even if they don’t involve people accused of casting spells.
Other bewitching attractions
Visitors can tour the Jonathan Corwin House, also known as the Witch House, which is the only building still standing that’s directly tied to the trials. Corwin served on the court that sentenced 19 victims to their deaths.
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Trolley tours, walking tours, night tours, ghost tours, candlelight tours and more are offered year-round.
Beyond the witches
Through Nov. 26, you can catch an exhibit about the witch trials told through court documents at the Peabody Essex Museum, but that’s not the focus of the museum. Its collections include more than a million works of art, from paintings and sculptures to photographs, textiles, and decorative objects that date back to the 1700s. Don’t miss the African art exhibit, which includes masks, a ceremonial axe, and other donations from seafaring merchants.
Visitors can tour the home that served as the setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel, The House of Seven Gables, and see where the author was born, too.
Follow the Salem Heritage Trail, a yellow line painted on sidewalks and streets created in the 1980s and updated more recently. It covers 400 years of Salem’s history, from the indigenous people who lived there to the town’s industrial heritage, African American stories and more.
At the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, learn about 600 years of maritime history through historic buildings, films, and exhibits. You can also tour a replica of the three-masted, square-rigged Friendship of Salem, built here in the late 1790s. The merchant ship carried silk, coffee, cheese, and other items during trading trips to the East Indies.
The original was captured during the War of 1812 and eventually sold at auction in London. The replica is docked at Derby Wharf.
If You Go
Getting there:
Fly into Boston (JetBlue, Delta and American all offer direct service) and drive 30 minutes to Salem.
Stay:
I stayed with friends in Boston, but Salem has many options, including The Cove at Salem. The recently renovated hotel features 10 immersive themed rooms, including a haunted circus room populated by creepy clowns, a medieval dungeon decorated with a guillotine and skeletons, and an ice castle with glowing headboards.
Do:
Visit the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, walk through the cemetery, take a walking tour, and go to the Salem Witch Museum.
Insider tip:
Grab a beer at the East Regiment Beer Co., with a taproom and a covered patio where you can catch live music. We loved Thai Place, where we dove into bowls of pad thai and green vegetable curry. Red’s Sandwich Shop, tucked inside the historic London Coffee House, serves comfort foods like chicken pot pie, meatloaf, and roasted turkey. For an eclectic twist on classic diner grub, head to the Ugly Mug for chicken and waffles made with duck confit and candied pecans.
