This was an incredible experience, and a huge part of that was our fantastic guide, Vin. Vin is a born storyteller. He was incredibly theatrical and had a way of bringing the city's haunted history to life. His performance was captivating, and he kept our whole group on the edge of our seats with every twist and turn of the ghostly tales. He was also great at answering questions and made everyone feel like they were a part of the story, not just listening to it. If you're looking for a tour that is both spooky and entertaining, this is the one. Vin's passion for the supernatural and his flair for the dramatic made for an unforgettable night. Highly recommend! read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Historical Tours Near Me

Vinnie was very knowledgeable and a great story teller. We really enjoyed ourselves.

Did the 8pm tour with Jack. I have done the 1692 and a ghost tour before but this was my favorite and most informative one. Jack was a great host. I really wanted to do the Adults only one at 10pm but we have an early day tomorrow. I would highly recommend. read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Historical Tours Near Me

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Vin gave an incredible tour full of dramatic story-telling, history, and laughs. 1.5 hours went by in a flash. We could have followed our guide around all night, listening to his spooky narrative. 5+ stars. read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Historical Tours Near Me

My friend and I were looking for a tour that blended history with legend. Black Cat Tours hit it out of the ball park and nailed our expectations! Our tour guide was great! A wealth of knowledge, and a great sense of humor. We plan on heading back to Salem next October and we will definitely book again with Black Car Tours! read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Our tour guide was great! - Historical Tours Near Me

Great tour! Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and shared so many interesting things with us.

You could see the enthusiasm amongst the team, especially the tour guide. I enjoyed this tour last year and that's why we came back this year! Will be back. read more

We toured with Vin at the later adult showing (with a smaller group). Great experience! Storytelling was fun and included some spooky torture and ghost stories that expanded what I knew about Salem. read more

Great tour with a great guide. We had Vin and he was a great guide and was a very charismatic person!

David was a great tour guide! The only tour we took on this trip where we could actually hear the guide. A true blend of ghost and historical facts. Would recommend this local company. We even captured photos of ghosts! read more

I've been on a Black Cats Ghost tour a few times now, and it's ALWAYS a great time! I love the blend of spooky ghost stories, Salem history and also tying it into the witch trials. BCT focuses on the truth and tragedy within the stories, without having to embellish or force over-the-top theatrics. Love this company and will always book with them. read more

We had such a great tour with Vincent! He was knowledgeable and so funny! I already have friends that want to do the historical tour! The stories are so much better than the made up Hollywood versions! A definite must do! read more

PROS: I heard from a local this was the best ghost tour there was. We were guided by a man who's done this for 20+ years (as seen in the pictures) and he really knows his stuff. Big history buff and knows the town and all its sites. 10/10 wouldn't find someone more qualified than him. 1.5 hours and showed all of the sights without leaving anything out. CONS: It was tough to find this place. It had no store front like all the other tour groups did and the address it has leads you to a liquor store where you can buy tickets. However, you can only buy tickets online. Meanwhile they meet to start the tour in an alley way which got me sketched out. OVERALL: Despite the inconvienence before I'm glad I chose this ghost tour. I learned more about Salem's ghosts than the Ghostbusters would even know! read more

This was my first time in Salem and the second walking tour of the day I took on November 2nd. The Ghostly Night Tour was so much fun, and our guide made it even better with her inviting energy. I unfortunately don't remember her name and she's not listed on their website, but she was great! (Also, make sure to check out their shop, it's really cool.) read more

We had fun on the tour, it was exactly as advertised. Spent just over an hour and a half walking around downtown Salem with a very knowledgeable gentleman. (He wrote a book about the cemetery, so he had done a lot of research on the area) Note: the tour ended on the far end of the Main Street about 3 blocks from the starting point, so for your time planning purposes add a few minutes to get back to the car. I'll read more

I think the tour was not as spooky and exciting as expected for an adult-only evening time slot. Overall, I did enjoy myself and learned a lot. read more

Wonderful tour of the main parts of Salem. Learned about some of the witch history, ghost stories, and ghost hot spots. The walking is not to much with frequent spots to observe the area. $20 per person was worth it for a little over an hour of fun. Even a little bit of rain couldn't drown out the experience. Olivia was a fantastic guide and is passionate about the city. read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Hawthorne Hotel - Historical Tours Near Me

I can't say enough about this tour!!! It was the most coolest and amazing walking tour I ever been on. Everyone is Sooooo friendly! Our tour guide Jeff was beyond amazing. He loves what he does he loves the history and he enjoys every part of being a tour guide and I believe this is because he lives the history. He really and truely was awesome!! The tour itself was super cool and I love history so this was a perfect dose of spook and history and not to mention the AMAZING full moon On this GLORIOUS OCTOBER NIGHT. It's the end of October and it was fkn freezing so layer up because this tour is too good to be shivering on!! read more

The Black Cat store is incredible, and the tour experience was no different. Daniel, the owner of the store, personally gave us our tour, and it was an amazing experience that was so detailed and fun as it was informative. Daniel literally wrote the book on the town's oldest cemetery, and gives these tours with so much energy, kindness, and gusto that makes it a must for your visit to Salem. I can't thank Black Cat enough for a great time. Highly recommend you do yourself a favor and experience this tour - it is so very worth it! read more

This tour was absolutely amazing! I learned so much about Salem & it's spooky history that I didn't know before. Our tour guide, Vin, was an absolute joy! His storytelling skills were impecable & he was also very funny & made sure everyone was engaged. Would definitely recommend this tour if you're visiting Salem! Their shop is also great & has lots of cool things. read more

The night tour was fun and informative. David was a FANTASTIC tour guide. He was very personable and didn't make it feel like touristy shtick. If you are coming to Salem, Black Cat is THE tour to take read more

This was a great tour! It had the historical background mixed with the ghosts that haunt popular spots in Salem! Would highly recommend. David was our guide, and he did a great job educating us while telling the stories. read more

great tour with vin! he even showed us a real ghost picture captured on one of his tours!!!

As a historian, you can imagine I squirm a little at the idea of taking local history tours. There is certainly a mix of information given out in Salem and it can be difficult to know what to expect. Many guides choose a good story over true history. I was invited by Black Cat Tours to take their history day tour and was delighted at its historical accuracy. Our guide, Dan was incredibly engaging and had wonderful bits of comedy woven through his stories. Dan not only could he talk in detail about the stops on the tour but also welcomed questions about surrounding buildings and landmarks. He referenced sources he had used in his research and explained how history is always evolving as more information becomes available. As a side note, I also appreciate Black Cat's dedication to their community, they offer free tours to Salem residents and their owner's Dan and Lara can often be found attending city meetings and advocating for Salem's burial grounds. I highly recommend you hop on a tour next time you're in Salem or play tourist for the day and grab a complimentary spot as a Salem resident. You won't be disappointed! read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - Tour with guide, Dan Fury. - Historical Tours Near Me

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This tour company was highly rated on trip advisor so we decided to go with them while in Salem. I am soooo glad we did. Jeff, our guide was a truly knowledgeable & passionate about his job! He shared little known historical tidbits as well as telling accurate stories about the town of Salem. The group was small so it felt much more personal than the much larger groups we passed with very gimmicky guides. I highly recommend this tour if you want fun & facts! read more

Salem Black Cat Tours - See any ghosts in the top window? - Historical Tours Near Me

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The staff overall is amazing! Knowledgeable on facts and fiction. Jeremiah was our guide and did a fantastic job explaining everything in the right depth and answered all of our questions with ease. It was a pleasure for us. Thank you! read more

Throughly enjoyed this tour! Our guide was funny and extremely knowledgeable about all things Salem! Some good spooky history to end our night in Salem was definitely the best way to go! read more

Booked the ghostly night tour while on a girls trip on 10/9/23. David was our tour guide. He was knowledgeable and friendly. The tour unfortunately covers much of the same ground as some of the daytime tours while adding some anecdotal stories of possibly haunted places. If you've booked daytime tours the evening tour will be a repeat of a lot of that. David had to deal with some heckling from a drunk or crazed person at the start of the tour (guy screaming about Samantha from Bewitched being a witch and that Davis was too. Death threats were thrown in as well) but he handled it beautifully and with class. My rating of 4 is purely because the tour covered the same info as others and I had hoped for more of the scary stories or phenomena. Also nothing that Black Cat can do but there are so many tours going on simultaneously it can be hard to concentrate. I think during our walking tour we saw at least 5 other tours including having to detour from our path due to other tours. I'm including that only to emphasize the amount of people sharing the same kinds of information. Overall it was a good time but if I had it to do again I'd probably skip doing multiple tours (trolley, sunset cruise, and Black Cat). read more

I really enjoyed Black Cat Tours, I am a former paranormal investigator but wanted to bring my new fiance' for a light hearted spook tour in Salem. I wanted less of the commercial feel for the tour. The Black Cat tour delivered. This is not a scary tour, but it is a very fascinating tour of the historical spots in Salem. I though the tour guide was really quite good, our tour guide was dressed up like Rose the Hat from Doctor Sleep. She did a good job of trying to give the group a chance to do some "ghost hunting" lol. However it was one of the better ghost tours I have been on. Just one minor criticism, I know the ghost hunting app is fun to tell noobs to use, but it's totally not real. I would not suggest people download that onto their phones during the tour. Just keep it to the actual ghost stories because reality is more frightening than app fiction. However well done, 5 stars and to qualify for readers. When I say the tour is not scary that is graded on a bell curve, I have investigated some of the most haunted places on Earth such as Waverly Hills, USS Salem, Larnarch Castle NZ, etc. read more

Our tour guide was awesome and knew his history. He made a beautiful evening downtown Salem just perfect.

We are honeymooning in Salem and wanted to join a tour. We were able to get one the same day and our tour guide was amazing! His name was Jeremiah and he was an EXCELLENT storyteller. If you're looking for cool stuff, stop by the shop! If you're looking for an adventure, join their night tours! read more

Salem is packed with history, and if its walls could talk, they might sound a lot like Dan the tour guide - full of fascinating stories and information. Dan was the best tour guide I have ever had, hands down! And I've been on a lot of tours in my day. He was extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and polite. He presented information in a way that was fun to listen to and easy to absorb, and had us hanging on every word. The tour was very informative and offered a mix of creepy stories, historical facts, jokes, and anecdotes. There was SO MUCH packed into this tour, and Dan also offered to answer any questions we had at each stop along the way. I was fascinated by all of the lesser-known history here in Salem, and the many eerie ghost stories brought to life by Dan's expert storytelling and by seeing the exact locations they took place! At $16 for nearly 2 hours, the price is right too. In terms of quality and value for your money, this is the best attraction we have found so far in Salem. We are glad we picked it! This is a must do while you are in Salem. As always, wear good walking shoes, dress for the weather (it can get chilly at night!), and bring a phone or camera to take pictures. (There will be opportunities to try and catch spectres on camera!) read more

Jeremiah was our guide. He was amazing. Great story teller. I highly recommend. He had a large group and was able to keep us close and had everyone's attention through the entire tour. read more

This tour was so much fun! Daniel was the best tour guide and had a lot of interesting information! I learned a lot about Salem that I never knew, being a yearly visitor. I would 100% recommend this tour to others! read more

Really enjoyed the tour. Our guide was a great storyteller. So many interesting stories and history. Highly recommend!

Specifically was looking for a tour that was a good mix of history and spooky without a super "touristy" vibe. Black Cat tours did not disappoint and I found myself thinking, "this is already over?!" at the end of it. The walk was great, guide was phenomenal, and I was so glad we did this our first night in Salem to get familiarized with the history and the town layout for the rest of our visit. A local walking his dog passed our group at one point of the tour and said, "oh, he is one of the good ones," referring to our guide. If it's local-approved, you know it's good!! read more

It's easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of tours Salem has to offer, but if you were to do just one this should be it. Daniel was amazing, entertaining, lively, and full of information. He was well spoken and his stories left you anxiously waiting for the next one! This is a must do in Salem! read more

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The ghost tour at night was so much fun and we learned so much! Our tour guide was great and so knowledgeable, we had a great time!! Definitely a must if you're visiting Salem!! read more

Booked the Black Cat Tour because of the 8pm start time, our guide was Daniel. He was entertaining & informative, he kept everyone interested. You can really tell that his love for Salem & yes, the supernatural are his passions. And he knows so much about the town and it's history. The info we got from Daniel was more accurate than at other attractions in town (I did my research!) The tour is a good length, not too much walking and lots of stops... so much fun to do at night, with just a touch of spookiness. Loved it! Thank you Daniel! read more

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Well, the five stars should be an indication that I really enjoyed this tour. But, to explain it in detail I have to provide some background. This is in regards to the 2 PM historical tour, not the ghost tour. I went on this tour for the sake of taking an old friend and company, who come from as close as Watertown and as far as Ireland around Salem. I've lived in Salem (although not downtown) for almost my entire life... still, I preferred a professional tour guide. We ended up in luck, not just because the tour was great, but because our group ended up being the only people on the tour. The tour guide was Daniel, who is, by the way, an officially licensed tour guide. He is a walking encyclopedia! Tour isn't scripted, which adds a tremendous amount of benefit, especially considering our group was very small. For instance, someone in our party was wearing a Japan-related T-Shirt. Daniel talked a little bit about his recent trip to Japan and was then able to connect that back to Salem's history, and how some of the initial ties and cultural exchanges with Japan were formed. Tour didn't cover a whole lot of ground, but doing so wasn't necessary (I'll explain below), but this does not mean the tour was not exciting. The stories were non-stop, about the witch trials, maritime history, pirates, and other Salem related curiosities. Didn't at all seem like a history lecture, stories were engaging and captivating. Tour is under two hours long (1.5 - 1.75 hours long). Salem's history can go a lot longer, but at some point, it will start becoming a history lecture. Remember, the tours are unscripted, and groups are intended to be small enough that the people can guide the tour. If you want to know more (or not so much) about something, ask! Not only did I enjoy the tour, despite being a lifetime Salem resident, but the people I took on this tour has a marvelous time! Hey, if they're happy, so am I. Prices are very reasonable at $15 per tour. If you are also in a large(ish) group, do email them to ask about group rates! ~~ Alright, now to address the fact that not a lot of ground was covered (along with some other, potentially important information) I have taken many walking tours in Europe, usually with Sandemans. When I was over there, I was a tourist and did not know very much about the cities. Then I realized that while it is true that these tours cover little ground (as they state on the website), this isn't Europe. Having lived in Salem my whole life, I know that all the exciting downtown-y stuff is rather compact, and I know some history through what I learned in school. All this said, doing a lot of walking would not add a whole lot of material to the tour. Seeing Derby Wharf and the Custom House is nice, of course, but being there to learn about the maritime history of Salem is a lot of extra walking for very little extra context. If you are in Salem, know this... the history is two-fold... witches, and maritime. Very little remains with ties to the witch trials... the Witch House was a residence to one of the judges, and the Witch Museum is a tourist trap... it is two rooms, and recordings telling you stories... that's about it. This tour covered pretty much what the "museum" covers, for a lot less money. In terms of maritime, a lot more "stuff" remains, but it isn't too thrilling (perhaps I'm biased, having lived in Salem) there's a couple building that belonged to captains or merchants of the time, and the Custom House, which imposed customs, and other such enforcement. Because both sides of history are more about the stories than about the artifacts or buildings, venturing far and wide to see them will objectively not add a whole lot of value to the tour while taking up valuable time. Again, was this Paris, seeing the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc. do add considerable value... Salem is not Paris. read more