DAY AND NIGHT TOURS • ALL AGES • ~2 HOURS
The 1692 Salem Witch Trials History Tour
The true, documented story of the witch trials – told on foot, on the streets where it happened, by a local guide who knows this city and its history.
A tour created by a local historian who’s spent thirty years combing through court records.
DURATION
~2 hrs
Easy walking pace
PRICE
$35
Adults • $10 children 10 and under
AGES
ALL
Family-friendly
MEETS
DOWNTOWN
Botanica
272 Essex Street
WHAT THE WALK IS LIKE
For two hours, you’ll follow the story exactly as it unfolded. From the first strange accusations in the winter of 1692 to the summer when the executions started. Your guide doesn’t perform it. He walks you through it, building the timeline stop by stop until you understand how an ordinary Puritan village talked itself into hanging its own neighbors.
You’ll learn what likely lit the spark, learn about the girls whose accusations set it all in motion, and hear the true stories of the nineteen people who were hanged and the one man pressed to death beneath heavy stones for refusing to enter a plea. None of it is embellished. It doesn’t need to be.
“This is no ghost story. It’s an eye-opening, genuinely shocking account of what real people did to each other 334 years ago.”
Everything you’ll hear is drawn from thirty years of research into 17th-century court documents, firsthand accouns, and trial records – which is why so many visitors call it the most historically accurat walk in Salem. It’s a heavy subject, told with care, and it’s why families and school groups come back.
THE ROUTE
Ten + stops, four centuries of history
Here’s where the history tour takes you with a few stops in between that aren’t listed here.
1. BUILT IN 1675
The Witch House
Home of Judge Jonathan Corwin, one of the magistrates who examined the accused. It’s the only building left in Salem with a direct, documented tie to the events of 1692.
2. CIRCA 1727
The Ropes Mansion
Home to three generations of the Ropes family – and, to Hocus Pocus fans, Allison’s house. Centuries of real Salem history with a wink of pop culture.
3. FOUNDED IN 1629
Salem's First Church
One of the oldest congregations in America, founded by the Puritan settlers whose beliefs shaped everything that followed. The Meeting House you see today dates to 1836.
4. GIFTED 2005
The Samantha Statue
A bronze statue of Elizabeth Montgomery honoring Bewitched, which filmed her in 1970. A lighter moment – and a chance to talk about how Salem became “Witch City.”
5. EST. 1813
Old Salem Jail
In a parking lot next to the old Salem Jail is the location of one of the most shocking deaths during the Witch Trials. Back then, this area was a field, and it was here that Giles Corey was pressed under heavy stones.
6. EST 1801
Howard Street Cemetery
The cemetery contains roughly 1,100 headstones, marking the graves of Revolutionary War soldiers, local sea captains, and members of Salem’s early 19th-century African American community.
7. FOUNDED 1733
Saint Peter's Church
Built on land donated by accused witch Philip English. Its tower still holds Salem’s oldest surviving bell, cast in 1740, with original headstones moved out front.
8. BUILT 1950
Witch Goal
The first Salem Jail was located here in 1692 and was where those accused of witchcraft were held. In 1950, the New England Telephone Company demolished the building to make way for the office building you see today.
9. DEDICATED 1992
Witch Trials Memorial
Three granite walls and twenty stone benches, each inscribed with a victim’s name, date, and manner of death. A solemn, reflective space we never hurry through.
10. EST. 1637
Charter Street Cemetery
One of the oldest burying grounds in the country and the resting place of trial judges John Hathorne and Bartholomew Gedney, a Mayflower passenger, and America’s firt millionaire.
5.0 • 270 Google reviews
Why visitors call it
the best in Salem
“He focused on the story of the trials, not witchcraft – reminding us not to let history repeat. Two full hours of detailed, empathetic storytelling.”
-Holly W., Google review
“Jeff answers so many questions – social, economic, and religious context of the trials. Favorite thing I did in Salem.”
-Alysen W., Google review
“He knows everything about the trials and can recite the court documents from memory. Do not bother with the other tours – just do this one.”
-kbr, Google review
RESERVE YOUR SPOT
Walk the real 1692
$35 adults, $10 children ten and under, about two hours on foot. Tours fill fast in September and October – booking online is the surest way to get your date.
AFTER DARK, FOR ADULTS
Prefer your history with a chill?
When the sun goes down, our 18+ Bloodbath Adult Ghost Tour trades the daylight facts for Salem’s hauntings, murders, and restless spirits.