A great memorial--the victims' name engravings were treated with respect and remembrance…read more I loved how people left stones/flowers/trinkets/coins/etc. I recommend coming to the memorial after you've been to one of the museums that spoke about the history of witches/witch trials in Salem

In a town that seems to now embrace what was once a dark spot on its history, this Memorial is…read morepoignant and non commercial. Feels like a place to reflect and remember in a quiet way. There are lots of "stories" but the history reveals a movement that took Women and Men, young and old, mostly by hanging (not burned at the stake as sometimes is portrayed) though there was the one older gentleman who was pressed. A docent told us a bit about him and his refusal to plead which resulted in the "pressing", a legal process at the time. It occurred in a relatively short window of time with several individuals being hung on the same days. Each person is memorialized with a stone ledge and I took the opportunity to speak each one's name. Looked like folks were also leaving flowers and other tokens. If your time is limited, I would make this a priority.

We almost didn't make it see the Ropes Mansion before heading back home last week, but we decided…read moreour trip wouldn't be complete if we didn't see it. Do you remember in the movie when Dani and Max are outside the mansion just staring up at it in awe? That was me. The infamous mansion where Allison lives is a sight that can't be missed! It is located in a residential neighborhood at the very end of the street, but it is worth the quick detour away from the hustle and bustle of the tourist area. We came later in the evening so were only able to get a couple of night time shots - we wanted to get one of us in front of it, but a tour group was coming through at the same time and we didn't want to be too distracting. I'm not sure if they ever do tours inside, I believe the Ropes Mansion is owned by the Essex Museum, but the outside was definitely enough for me. If you're a fan of Hocus Pocus, this is a must stop!

As a fan of Hocus Pocus (it's one of my favorite Halloween movies!), I was very much looking…read moreforward to visiting Allison's house. While I didn't enter the house, it was great to see the exterior and take photos from outside. The Ropes Mansion garden is free to enter, and is accessible through an arched pathway at the side of the mansion. The garden, while small, is beautiful and tranquil to walk through, complete with plenty of roses and a small pond. It's a great spot to take tourist photos as well. A must-visit for Hocus Pocus fans!

I am about 10 years too young to have watched Bewitched when it was released, but oh my did I watch…read morethe reruns. We took a tour of Salem and this was a popular stop. The tour guide said the town was not initially receptive to the show being based/filmed in Salem because they thought it was disrespectful to the tragedy of the witch trials. It turns out Bewitched helped revitalize Salem and locals became much more accepting. Elizabeth Montgomery visited the town and our tour guide said the little girls in Salem were all trying to wiggle their nose like her. The statue is easy to find and a very cute addition to the downtown area.

Worth a look and quick picture when walking the Salem area. Especially if you are old enough to…read moreremember the TV Show.

I visited the Salem Witch Museum with my mom when we spent a day in Salem a week or so ago. Yes,…read moreit's entirely kitschy, cheesy, and dated. But I didn't have a terrible time, and it does tell the story of the Salem Witch Trials in a way that is a pretty good introduction to the history if you haven't heard it in a long time! So why are the reviews so bad? The name of the business is probably a mistake, because museum is the wrong word for this experience (they did tell us when we walked up that they are not a traditional museum and explained what the experience was like, so people should be aware if that is their standard process). The Salem Witch Museum is really a two-part experience. The first room is a square room that functions as a theater. As the story of the Salem Witch Trials is told, different tableaus around the room are lit up. They don't move, and a narrator (a dated 1960s-sounding British narrator) uses that tableau to explain the next part of the story. The mannequins are clearly old - you can see some are not in great condition when the tableau is lit up. But I hadn't read about the Salem Witch Trials in so long that I didn't remember much of the story, and that first experience wasn't a bad introduction! And I do like a little kitsch! The second experience is more like a museum. A guide that works at the museum walks the group to different displays, using them to explain different parts of the history of witch trials. Then there's a big gift shop where you can all kinds of things relating to witchcraft and the Salem Witch Trials. I don't think this experience is bad. I do think it's cheesy and dated and not for everyone. But I think it's possible to get something out of this experience, too. I hope this review helps people figure out if the experience is right for them!

Shocked to see such low ratings for this museum, I enjoyed the presentation and found it more…read moreinformative and entertaining than another museum I tried. We walked up minutes before a presentation, so had no wait time. The first presentation was 30 minutes long, and took place in a large room. Different Tableaus of figures lit up to illustrate each scene as a voice over narrated. The narration style and audio quality reminded me of an old school Scooby-Doo episode - I kind of liked the nostalgic feel, and I felt it explained a lot of details of the timeline of events I hadn't heard at other museums or exhibits with great detail and consideration. There were some people talking during this part that made me miss a few lines, which was frustrating- I almost wish staff was stationed around the room visibly to hopefully deter this. I was a little shocked at how graphic the audio and visuals for the pressing event were, I was a little horrified that there were children in the room for this and for the hanging scene as they are quite literal, and the accompanying sound effects are upsetting. I personally would not bring young kids to this for that reason, it would have given me nightmares as a young kid. It's one thing to hear about these troubling events, but seeing it is even harder to forget. The second part of the visit is an approx 15 minute walk through of a small exhibit. One wall has a huge, detailed timeline of all sorts of witchy events, but so many people were in the room that you don't have time to read through it. The guide gives a well rehearsed and animated schpiel, but I would have liked some unguided time to walk through the exhibit and read all the info provided. The gift shop had a wide array of unique items I wasn't seeing in other shops around town (and trust me, I checked out a LOT). There was a whole wall of packets for purchase about descendants of the famous 20 people killed the stories often center on. I got one for my ancestor and haven't even been able to get through all the information yet, it's extremely detailed (and a little dense to read through to be honest). It felt a little weird to have to pay for something like this, but it's one of my favorite things I purchased on my whole trip, so I'm glad it was offered. The gift shop also had the best enamel pin selection in town. The outside of the building is beautiful and a great photo op, although crossing the street right in front of it was tricky since it's so busy. I felt the ticket price was well worth it, but do wish the time in the exhibit space was a bit longer or that there was more to the exhibit. Worth a visit for sure!

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.

Really cool stop with the combined three attraction ticket! The outside is beautiful with a spooky…read moreinterior. You are celebrated warmly and the live action of the trial is so well done. The dungeon is cold and dark makes you feel like you are really there. Gift shop is amazing and affordable.

Very informative about the salem witch trials. Began with a show of what a trial would look like…read moreand then shows what the dungeons would look like and talk about the accusations of the witch trials in salem.

Excellent site to visit! Beautiful views! We had a great docent lead tour. Our guide shared lots…read moreof details and did a great job trying to answer our group's many questions! Learning about the different architectural phases of this property was very interesting. The Secret Staircase is special! Gift Shop was a fun stop! Friendly staff. They have their own parking lot with ample and FREE parking while you visit. Now that's a plus. Everywhere else in Salem is paid parking, including the Peabody Essex Museum (park and hike!) Highly recommend visiting The House of Seven Gables if you are in the area.

My mom and I toured the House of the Seven Gables when we spent a day in Salem a week or so ago,…read moreand it was one of the highlights of our time in Salem. The house dates back to 1668, when it was built for a wealthy sea captain and merchant. It remained in that family for three generations before it was bought by another family. The house is mostly famous for being the setting and subject of a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a second cousin of Susannah Ingersoll, who lived in the home for years. In 1908, the home was purchased again, this time by a woman who made it her life's mission to restore the house, protect it for posterity, and to turn into a museum that could be visited by tourists to Salem. The home was renovated many times (by different owners of the house) - it didn't even always have seven gables, but that's a part of its interesting story! We learned all of the above and more from our tour guide on a guided tour of the house. Our tour guide was great - friendly, informative, and interesting! After our tour, we explored Nathaniel Hawthorne's birthplace home, which was moved to the grounds of the House of Seven Gables to avoid demolition. It was a great way to learn a little more about Hawthorne. There was also a gift shop, where my mom and I both bought copies of The House of the Seven Gables, stamped so we always remember where we bought it. Our tour was interesting, and the house is striking and fascinating. It's well worth a visit if you're exploring Salem.

I'm a local and previous member of PEM. I would recommend this museum to history buffs and Asian…read moreart enthusiasts. I appreciate that the museum has held workshops with the Mashpee Wampanoag and has held events with iconic Native artists like Joy Harjo (Muscogee). The Native American exhibit is refreshingly good. As a Native person (Choctaw Nation of OK) I feel really comfortable going here.

I visited the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) with my mom at the end of our day in Salem about a week or…read moreso ago, and we really enjoyed our visit. The museum has an extensive collection of Asian Art, but it holds more than 800,000 works of historical and cultural arts covering maritime, American, Asia, and Oceanic and African art. The highlight of our visit was visiting the Yin Yu Tang House. The house dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Huang, a prosperous merchant, built this stately 16-bedroom, two story-house with a courtyard and called it "Yin Yu Tang," meaning "Hall of Plentiful Shelter." It was home to the Huang family in the Huizhou region for more than 200 years until the last of the family descendants moved from the village in 1982. In the 1990s, as part of a cultural exchange, the home and its contents were dismantled and transported to Massachusetts, where it was re-erected in the PEM. The PEM opened to the public in 2003. The house is currently undergoing work to preserve its roof tiles and masonry walls, so there was a lot of scaffolding obstructing views of the home and pictures taken of the museum. But it still well worth a visit; it's incredible. (The website says the house is closed 7/27-7/31 and 8/3-8/7, so maybe they'll have the work done by the end of those stretches!) I only wish the staff that had walked us into the house had explained exactly how much time we'd get inside the house before being ushered out for the next group, because my mom and I were using the audio guide to learn about the house as we explored. Before we finished several rooms, we were told our time was up, which was a bummer - we barely had time to peek into the rooms we hadn't gotten to yet, so I wish we'd known and could use our time better. They call it a tour on the website, but it's a self-guided experience; no museum staff walk you around the house. (FYI: You need a separate ticket for the Yin Yu Tang House, which you can buy on the website.) We explored the rest of the museum as well, including some of their interesting temporary exhibits: "Anila Quayyum Agha: All the Flowers Are for Me," "On This Ground: Being and Belonging in America," and "Beyond the Broom: Salem Short Films." Other highlights of our time were visiting the East India Marine Hall and seeing art and artifacts relating to the Salem Witch Trials. They also have a great gift shop, so save some time for that. A very nice regional art museum that is worth visiting if you have time in your Salem itinerary!

Henry was our guide. He did a fabulous job all the way around! Great storyteller and everything…read morewas well organized and well presented.

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