Things To Do in Salem, MA
Fall in New England is my favorite time of year. Apple picking, the foliage, Halloween movies, cider donuts, sweater weather… doesn’t get much better than this! The absolute number one thing to do in New England during fall is visiting Salem, MA. I have done a yearly trip to Salem every year since I was a kid and it still doesn’t get old. The Salem Witch Trials have been ingrained into our memories since elementary school since it happened in our home state. For those who are not aware of what happened in 1692 in Salem, 14 women and 6 men were accused of being witches, were tried, convicted, and executed. Salem now has the reputation of being “the witch city” and encompassing all things spooky.
I actually have a connection to the Salem Witch Trails- my 9th great grandfather was Roger Toothaker, one of the accused but not part of the 19 hung. He had died in prison before his trail had began. I was SHOCKED to say the least that my ancestory.com account had brought me information on him. Without that I had no idea!
Furthermore- for all the lovers of Halloween, here are all the best things to do in Salem during the fall!
HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES
Address: 115 Derby St, Salem, MA 01970
Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices: $11/adults
The House of The Seven Gables is a historic colonial mansion, built in 1668 and was made famous by author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The seaside mansion had been build for Captain John Turner I, the head of one of the most successful maritime families in the New England colonies and stayed with his family for three generations. Hawthorne was a cousin of the Turner family and would visit to spend some time out of the spotlight. After learning upon the history of the house, it is what inspired him to write the novel, “The House of the Seven Gables.”
For some reason, in all my years of visiting Salem, I have not visited before and highly recommend taking the time to walk the ground of this place. You’ll want to move in! I took this tour during Covid-19 times and was not able to enter into any of the buildings- and would love to go back and do that.
THE WITCH HOUSE
Address: 310 1/2 Essex Street
Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices: $11/adults
“The Witch House” was home to Johnathan Corwin, a judge who served on the court that sent 19 accused witches to the gallows and is the only direct connection to the Salem Witch Trails. Go early in the AM if you want pictures in front of the Witch House- it gets pretty busy as the day goes on!
PROCTERS LEDGE
Address: 7 Pope St, Salem, MA 01970
Tickets: No tickets necessary
This is where the hanging of 19 innocent lives actually happened. There has been a ton of research on finding the exact spot- if you’re interested this article has a lot of information! It is walking distance from Essex Street, but not worth the walk over in my opinion. If you have a car, taking a quick pit stop to this site is enough.
SALEM WITCH MUSEUM
Address: 19 1/2 N Washington Square, Salem, MA 01970
Hours: Daily 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Ticket Prices: $14/adults
If you are unaware of the history of the Salem Witch Trails, this museum this is the place to dip your toe into learning more on the cities history . The museum itself is not so much a museum- they just tell the story of how Salem came to be. The tours are fairly quick and educational, but if you already know what had happened in 1692, I would suggest you spend your time somewhere else.
PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM
Address: 161 Essex St, Salem, MA 01970
Hours: Thursday 10 am-5 pm, Friday & Saturday 10 am to 8 pm, Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
Ticket Prices: $20 for adults
PEM is one of the oldest running museums. If you plan on visiting in October, they usually have an exhibit with more details on the Salem Witch Trails.
SALEM WITCH TRIAL MEMORIAL & THE OLD BURYING POINT CEMETERY
Address: 24 Liberty St, Salem, MA 01970
The Memorial consists of 20 granite benches surrounded by a low stone wall surrounding an area adjoining the Old Burying Point. The benches are inscribed with the name of the accused and the means and date of execution. Surrounding the memorial is Old Burying Point Cemetery. It is one of the oldest cemetery in Salem and in the United States.
STROLLING THROUGH ESSEX STREET
When I was younger, strolling through Essex Street was one of the top things we did. This street during Halloween time is for sure the busiest area of Salem. On this street there are shops, restaurants and ton of walking tours you can sign up for one this street, if you are a tour person. During normal Halloween time and not during Covid times- the street is filled with tourists, vendors, and people in costumes charging for pictures with them. Think of it as the Time Square of Salem.
HOCUS POCUS LOCATIONS-
The hit Disney Halloween movie- Hocus Pocus was filmed majority in Salem. I am one of those millennials who watch the movie every season and love being able to see the film locations so close to where I live.
THE DENNISON HOME FROM HOCUS POCUS
Address: 4 Ocean Avenue Salem, MA 01970
Any Hocus Pocus fan has dreamed of living in this house. Max’s bedroom is the ultimate goals. I mean that lookout at the top of the stairs -can you even? It looks exactly like it did in the movie!
Something to remember- this is a private property. Please be respectful. The owner was sitting on their porch when I showed up and felt it was very disrespectful to take pictures in front of their house.
ROPES MANSION/ ALLISON’S HOME FROM HOCUS POCUS
Address: 310 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970
Hours: Thursdays 10 am–5 pm, Fridays & Saturdays 10 am–8 pm, Sundays 10 am–5 pm
The exterior of Allison’s home was filmed at the Ropes Mansion, a Georgian Colonial mansion built in the late 1720s. It was built by merchant Samuel Barnard and later on was purchased by Judge Nathaniel Ropes II. It is now owned by the Peabody Essex Museum due to its historic architecture which is very telling of the time.
I was not able to take a tour of the inside of the mansion due to Covid-19, but once the world is somewhat back to normal, I would love to come back and do an official tour. It looks absolutely beautiful from the pictures I have seen. Make sure you check out the garden in the backyard- it is free to all visitors and filled with gorgeous flowers. If I lived closer, I’d love to bring a book and enjoy this garden on a nice day.
To be completely honest, I had no idea until doing research that Alison’s house in the film wasn’t just a random house in Salem. In all of the years I have been to Salem, I haven’t ever seen this house in real life. I was very surprised to see how well this home has been taken care of and was a nice stop. The Ropes Mansion is also down the street from the Witch House and less than a ten minute walk to Essex Street.
PIONEER VILLAGE
Address: 98 West Ave, Salem, MA 01970
Hours: During the fall season, Pioneer Village is open seven days a week from 12pm to 5pm
Ticket Prices: $6 for adults, you can buy tickets at The Witch House.
Pioneer Village was built in 1930 to depict the life of Salem’s early residents in 1630. It covers three acres of land and has the same idea as Plimoth Plantation. It is very close to the Dennison family home in Hocus Pocus. Pioneer Village was used to represent Salem in the opening scene where Thackery realizes his little sister has gone missing.
OLD BURIAL HILL CEMETERY
Old Burial Hill is the setting of the daytime cemetery scene where Max gets his cross trainers stolen. For some reason I had assumed they also filled the evening graveyard scene here as well- but after a quick little google search at the cemetery, they filmed those scenes on a studio lot. We were walking around looking for the big gate to enter into the cemetery - but sadly that does not exists here.
This cemetery is located a town over from Salem in Marblehead. The view from Old Burial Hill is gorgeous- overlooking the harbor. It really feels as if transported back in time. Most of the graves date back to the 1600s and are still in great condition. If you have time- I would suggest strolling through the rest of Marblehead as well.
There are some spots for street parking along the street below Old Burial Hill.
OLD TOWN HALL
Address: 32 Derby Square, Salem, MA 01970
Salem’s Town Hall was featured in the movie as the place where the parents had the big Halloween party. When I had visited Salem when I was younger, we went inside the town hall for a live reenactment of the witch trials back in 1692.
GENERAL TIPS:
Salem during anytime other than Halloween is a very different place. If you are a person who hates crowds, but still want to hit Salem during spooky season, I would suggest going mid week in early October/ Late September. The decorations start end of September so you can still enjoy without feeling overwhelmed by people.
Go as early as you can! Once noon hits the streets get more and more busy. Especially if you are a person who likes getting your picture taken but also hating getting your picture taken in front of other people.
If you are driving in, park at Salem MBTA station. It’s $4 for parking for the entire day. Most other parking lots have a four hour limit. It is also walking distance from the downtown area. Here is the address- 252 Bridge St. Salem MA, 01970.
Thanks for reading-
Arrivederci
xo Jenna
