1. Salem Wax Museum

    1. Salem Wax Museum

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    Salem, MA

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    Salem Wax Museum

    1.8 (58 reviews)

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    Rebecca Nurse's wax/mannequin children exhume her blanket/body to give her a proper burial.
    Anna M.

    This is a tiny wax museum focused on the history of a small city. Do go into it expecting cheesiness and somewhat low quality wax figurines. (But do you necessarily want "better" wax figurines? They won't be any less creepy!) The history is simple but basically correct, and what struck me was the very effective background music as I looked at the scenes. You could find a worse way to spend 10-20 minutes and you may well have the place to yourself in the off-season. Most likely you'll want to grab a pass bundling this place with one or some other museums/events.

    Burger B.

    My family and I have a ritual. We visit the cool, old cemetery outside and then, hyperactively bring our cameras into the wax museum. The wax statues definitely have a creepy quality about them. Their faces look bulbous and overly dramatic. In short, it's a great place to snap photos of yourself while contorting your own face into the most horrific of expressions.. wax statues in the background of said photos, naturally. The museum is a one-room attraction. If you're looking to kill time, stop in. Once you leave the room filled with wax people, you descend down a flight of stairs to an activity area. The activity area is good for kids. They supply black newsprint-quality paper and black crayons. Kids can do a rubbing of old tombstones to bring home--a neat (free) little souvenir. There's a generic build-a-bear station in the far corner, a wooden pirate cutout that's great for photos, and a rendering of an old wooden jail cell. My niece and I climbed in there and shut the door. There are no lights in there--it's creepy as hell! There's also a gift shop just beyond the activity area with the predictable Salem t-shirts and assorted souvenirs.

    Lojeen H.

    If you want a voodoo doll purchase one here. I visited most of the witch stores in Salem and none had a real voodoo doll except for this store. The staff of girls who work there are crazy. They talk out loud about their boyfriend problems and they talk badly about their coworkers. I've never seen so much envy between employees. It's a great little store except for the background noise of the employees bad mouthing each other. They need to play a bit of pagan/folk/witch music in the store. It will create the Salem black magic ambience most people expect in Salem. This store has so much potential because of its location to the cemetery out back. Who is the owner? If you walk outside towards the back of the store you'll come upon the cemetery that dates back to the 1600s and there you'll find one of the original Mayflower passengers.

    Loading casks of rum. A historical scene of Salem.
    Kenneth Z.

    Yeah, it was pretty lame. It's very small, and some of the wax figures were missing hands. But I dunno, I don't really regret going. I kind of liked some of the wax scenes. There is a kids play area downstairs; "grave rubbings" are free; everything else costs extra. You can get a wax mold of your hands for $9, but the process is really slow and you have to wait a long time for it. I guess my advice is: avoid it if you don't like wax museums, or if you are trying to decide between this and another, more authentically historical attraction. Consider it if you have children or otherwise enjoy wax museums.

    I see a face in the background. How creepy! The ghost of the pressed to death Giles Corey, maybe?
    Miss C.

    The first wax museum I've ever attended and I am going to give it a thumbs down. Though being one with interest in the paranormal, I did post a photo or 2 that looked like activity. Hey, I believe in it :) I sincerely dislike that such a beautiful and historical place has turned into such a tourist trap.

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    11 months ago

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    9 months ago

    Overly priced, low quality, outdated, haunted houses suck, management always unavailable, should be fired.

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    12 years ago

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    6 years ago

    If you wanna waste your money, go here! Even if you can get in for free it's not worth it. Takes less than 5 minutes and is so stupid.

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    16 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Don't waste your money. A very small room with only a few wax figures and poorly organized scenes.

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    14 years ago

    Lame, sorry I spent $8 pp to go. Way too small, poor upkeep and figures were missing body parts. Mainly hands, total tourist trap.

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    10 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Salem Wax Museum

    Rest in peace to all of the innocent victims of the Salem witch trials.

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    Hocus Pocus Tours - Town Hall

    Hocus Pocus Tours

    4.9(203 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    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 legit SO much fun! The name Hocus Pocus kinda throws you off because you may be thinking…read moreabout the movie, but this tour really is amazing. Start off with the tour guides, extremely friendly and beyond knowledgeable. They really know their history for Salem. The tour itself was a few hours and you walk to all of the sites in Salem with historical significance. There is so much to learn from Salem. So much history and heartbreak. It really is eye opening to hear the stories oof the witch trials and how the witch trials began and who all was wrongly persecuted. The tour guides were so nice and explained everything with such great details. This tour was definitely the highlight of our trip in Salem. I highly highly recommend Hocus Pocus Tours, I learned so much regarding Salem, the witch trials, the history behind the two, and a little bit of Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. So much fun!

    Photos
    Hocus Pocus Tours - Bix's House

    Bix's House

    Hocus Pocus Tours - Allison's House

    Allison's House

    Hocus Pocus Tours - Max's House

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    Max's House

    Sinister Stories of Salem - www.sinisterstoriesofsalem.com www.salemmorningstroll.com www.salemkrampustour.com

    Sinister Stories of Salem

    4.5(16 reviews)
    0.1 mi

    Ken really brought this city to life in an authentic and detailed way that other tours lack. It's…read morenot full of Disney fluff but is instead representative of all the true history and culture here- including the native Americans, the Caribbean influx, the culture of sailors as well as (of course) the witch hysteria of 1692. I've been coming to visit Salem since I was a little girl and I can't believe how much I learned and appreciated in a new light! Ken carefully answered all questions, and was diligent about taking any he couldn't answer down so he could find the answer and email us later. He was so thoughtful and knowledgeable!

    When we decided to come to New England for a trip, I knew I wanted to stop in Salem and learn a bit…read moreabout the history of the witch trials. However, I did not want a tour that was tacky or strange. The morning stroll tour of Salem with Kenneth got good reviews and seemed legit and not too cheesy. I definitely have to say that he delivered! The tour group was about 25 people, which was a good size and did not feel too big. We walked around Salem and learned about not just the witch trials, but also many other stories of the history of Salem and important people who lived there. We spent some time at the memorial site for those that were executed and he brought some flowers to place on the stone, which was a tad cheesy but also kind of nice. Kenneth is very informative and was willing to answer any and all questions. He very obviously has a passion for Salem history. The only thing I would say is a bathroom break and maybe even a snack break would have been nice. The tour went at least 2.5 hours even though it was supposed to be 2 hours. We appreciated the extra time he gave us and it was nice that he wasn't in a rush. However, we had traveled over 4 hours that morning to make the tour and could have used some food and a bathroom. The tour is reasonably priced and a recommended thing to do to see Salem and learn some actual history!

    Photos
    Sinister Stories of Salem - Kenneth Photographed at his favorite mausoleum.

    Kenneth Photographed at his favorite mausoleum.

    Sinister Stories of Salem - Www.sinisterstoriesofsalem.com www.salemmorningstroll.com www.salemkrampustour.com

    Www.sinisterstoriesofsalem.com www.salemmorningstroll.com www.salemkrampustour.com

    Sinister Stories of Salem - "Not in Kansas anymore"  A book by Christine Wicker tells a story about Kenneth and Myrna, the death puppet.

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    "Not in Kansas anymore" A book by Christine Wicker tells a story about Kenneth and Myrna, the death puppet.

    Salem Wax Museum - museums - Updated September 2026

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