This tour is as amazing! We learned so much about the movie, actors and locations! It is a 3.1 mile…read morewalk so be prepared. Thanks Topher!

I found Hocus Pocus Tours while seeking things to do in Salem on Yelp and TripAdvisor. Fellow…read moreYelpers' rave reviews did not disappoint! In messaging Hocus Pocus Tours with a couple questions about the tour and travel to and from Salem, the owner Susan replied immediately and suggested that I call her. This led to a one hour phone conversation where Susan was so gracious with her time, knowledge, and suggestions, not just about how to make the most of the tour, but how to appreciate a day in Salem. I can see why those who had the opportunity to take the in-person tour with Susan really enjoyed it. Covid changed the business model and Hocus Pocus now offers a self-guided tour by purchasing one of two tour apps. I opted for the $19.99 grand tour and it was well worth it. It has 37 points of interest. The app is user friendly and well designed. It provides a map of all stops, tracks where you are, and guides you to the next stop that you select on the tour. When you get to your stop, you can confirm you're at the right spot by comparing a photo of the site with what you see. Then you click on a 2-3 minute audio recording that provides a great snapshot of the significance of the site. As Susan had pointed out to me, there is much more to Salem than the historic witchcraft trials. It includes author Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, America's oldest candy company, and other interesting sites. Of everything I visited, I experienced a very deep emotional connection with the 1692 Witchcraft Memorial with 20 stones dedicated to each of the victims of the witchcraft trial. The tour includes brief descriptions of some of the victims including those written about in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. If you plan to visit Salem, I highly recommend this tour. All sites can be visited on the outside and some on the inside at no charge. Some sites, such as The House of Seven Gables, charge separate admission fees. If you want to travel to Salem and don't have a car, the ferry from Boston offers a nice, scenic, and entertaining 50 minute ride. The commuter trains run more frequently and can come in handy if the ferry schedule coming or going doesn't meet your needs. There are plenty of good places to dine at to break up the tour. We had lunch at FINZ and really enjoyed it (I'll post separately about that).

This was a great walking tour of Salem!! I went in knowing basically nothing about the witch trials…read moreand left knowing a lot more about- and with some local restaurant recommendations. We got plenty of steps and saw a lot of Salem. I carried my baby around, and he got a great nap!!

Fantastic Tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. It's a difficult subject and she…read moregave some made it educational and enjoyable.

Such an amazing tour with our guide Jack. He was so knowledgeable, answered questions, and was…read morehighly entertaining! Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for the history of the Salem Witch Trials. You get to stop at some of the key places during your tour, plenty of time to take photos to see if you catch a spirit, or two.

Truly enjoyed every minute of this tour. Check in was easy and the staff inside the store was very…read morefriendly. Our tour guide, Vin, provided stories full of historical facts and just enough humor to make it a fantastic adventure. (We did another tour with another company and the tour guide made constant jokes making the tour corny and we lost interest) He didn't rush us and answered all of our questions I would 100% book with Black Cat Tours next time we visit Salem and request Vin to be our guide

We had the pleasure of having Dawn as our guide Friday afternoon. From the beginning of the tour…read moreshe set a wonderful tone. I lean towards introversion, but her welcoming energy made me more inclined to engage with and enjoy group. I was worried two hours was too long for a tour, but I was shocked by how quickly it flew by and it felt like the perfect amount of time. I felt there was a good balance of trivia, facts and local lore. Dawn left plenty of room for questions, which she readily answered. My partner and I had a fantastic time. Would definitely recommend

We chose Witch City Walking Tours to introduce us to Salem. Aurelia was our guide and she was a…read morewealth of information. Unfortunately we started the tour in Derby Square and it was very loud. It was very hard to hear Aurelia and the noise was very distracting. Aurelia was a lifelong resident of the Salem area and clearly very invested in the city. Before arriving in Salem I thought it was a small town. Salem is a much larger town located just north of Boston. The tour covered about 1 1/2 miles and the walk was easy. Much of the focus was on the witch trials and the mark it left on the city of Salem. The tour ended at the memorial for the victims of the witch trials and it was very solemn. This tour gave me a new perspective on Salem and its history.

I have used Salem Historical Tours three times; twice for private tours and a third time for a…read moreregular Salem Witchcraft Walk. The private tours were great because we could request customized information. For example, learning the fascinating Black history of Salem. The tour guides have a wealth of knowledge and experience. I've learned lots on every tour. The guides go into different angles of history. Last time, I learned about why the Puritans came to the New World (now the United States) in the first place and that they were very different from the Pilgrams who arrived before them. Giovanni, in particular, has always given me tips for more activities. He is active in the Salem United which had a free exhibit at Hamilton Hall about the Negro Election Day a couple years ago. I've appreciated that the guides are all conscientious about climate comfort too. It rained on the first tour and our guide made sure that we could be covered when he was speaking. The last time was a hot and sunny day and our guide found shaded spots for us.

Tried to take a walking tour provided by this company, but no one was there…read more I called their customer service number and was given a description of a person, but that didn't match what the operator ended up telling me. They continued to harass me after requesting a refund, which they denied. Just a gross company.

My friends and I really enjoyed our tour with Mikayla! She was the absolute best at storytelling…read moreand history. We learned so much and appreciated her enthusiasm on what was a bitter cold, rainy day! Thank you!

We did the extended tour last night. Guide was very nice, meeting spot was easy to find. The group…read morewas way too large and it was very difficult to hear at times. It also ran long so plan for extra time. I only took one photo the whole time because I love hocus pocus and when I zoomed in on the lit window this morning this is what I saw ...

Didn't get to take the tour, it seemed a little expensive to me... but I felt like it did offer…read moremuch more bang for your buck then some other near by attractions. And honestly I would have paid it but we were almost out of our fun money for the trip. I will probably do it next time, or honestly staying here would be really cool!

Great day for a visit! Worth the drive Spent the day in…read moreSalem. Very comforting! conveniently located.

The trolley experience is a must if you want to know more about this city. The local ghost walking…read moretours are also nice, but you get more out of the trolley. I did both. The trolley takes you further out. The staff was knowledgeable. They made the experience nice. It was nice to just sit and enjoy a nice historical ride. This was perfect. It is too hot to be walking around. The experience was nice. Tips are welcome by the staff.

Update: Mark and Ramone awesome and we're even kind enough to drop people off on another spot…read morebecause they were late for something else. They didn't tell us when we bought the tickets that it could be up to a two hour wait. If you have people who can't stand for long periods of time or use walkers like we did, it becomes a real issue. We were forced to forfeit our tickets because my elderly parents which waited an hour just couldn't stand any longer. Another elderly couple had to leave because they had a wedding recital to go to. Extremely poor customer service and frankly a waste of our time and money. Be warned!

The staff are the nicest people and they had real artifacts inside. I had to touch everything for…read moresome reason. Lol. I heard someone say they didn't like it right before going in so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. It is a museum so you have to stop and read all the things otherwise you won't like it either. It's not a scary place where people jump out at you, if you want that you should go to one of the haunted houses. The guy at the gift shop was dressed up too and was good at staying in character. He added the fun aspect and he told us he is one of the Jason's during October. He even makes masks you can buy. Cool guy.

This well exceeded expectation! The story telling In The beginning, setting the scene made the…read moreattraction even more special. The real life artifacts and pirates treasure were top tier... this is a NON CHEESEY WORTH THE MONEY attraction. My family loved a little something different in Salem and not the same regurgitated witch stories. This did not disappoint. 10/10. Will come back! #worthit

You can easily find this house along the salem which self tour. This house has been well preserved…read moreand is a vision with it's large elevation and beautiful trimming.