Fall is almost upon us (although its 90 degrees in Colorado this week), and I’m reminicing on last year’s October trip to Salem.
I spent 2 days in early October in Salem, and everything I had heard about how busy and touristy Salem would be was true. But I went in knowing that there would be long lines and kitchy witchy stuff, so didn’t mind.
Getting There:
Salem and the road to get there is packed during October, and there is pretty much no parking for tourists in Salem. So I do not advise driving. Also 98% of what you’ll want to do is within 3-4 blocks so its very walkable once you get there.
Instead there are two great options to get there.
The first is the Ferry, information can be found here.
But I opted for the 35 minute commuter rail from North Station on the Newburyport/Rockport Line. I downloaded the MBTA app and was easily able to buy a ticket (less than $15 round trip).
Day 1
So I went Monday/Tuesday to avoid the crowds. However, Monday in 2021 was the re-schedule of the Boston Marathon, so I needed to GTFO early from Boston on foot due to all the road closures. So I walked from Beacon Hill to the North Station. I also got a bit lost and ended up in the subway area, not the train area, so be careful with google walking directions. It was easy to resolve but that early my mind wasn’t working fast.
I used the app to buy my ticket on the commuter rail. They don’t seem to announce the track until right before, so just wait in the main area and follow everyone after they announce the track. It was early and so pretty empty.
I sat on the right side and had a good view of some mud flats (high tide in the morning) which was cool to see.
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After arriving you walk up the stairs and go across the street and then will start seeing the Red Line (Salem Heritage Trail) so just follow that, it’ll get you to the city center.
I stopped by and took a picture of the Witch House, but decided not to buy a ticket to go in as I believe most of the items within the house are not original/ from the time of the Witch Trials.
There are also a bunch of decorated houses all around the city. Just be mindful they are real people’s homes. I saw a few Instagramer’s not get out of the way of locals who were just trying to get into/out of their own homes.
I walked by the Satanic Temple as well but didn’t go in.
Instead I walked to my first Hocus Pocus filming location, the Ropes Mansion (318 Essex Street). I believe they sometimes hold tours of the building but it was closed the day I went.
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Instead head around the back through the right gate to their lovely gardens. It was a beautiful way to kill some time while I waited for more things to start opening.
Afterwards I continued my walk towards to center of town, stopping to snap a quick photo with the Samantha Bewitched Statue. There will be lines to do this later in the day. (There will be lines to do everything later in the day.)
I should note since I was only going for less than 48 hours, I only brought a change of clothes, a light jacket, and some food in a small flashpack. So I was not planning on checking into my hotel into much later in the day.
So instead I headed to Peabody Essex Museum, a great museum, and one of the first museums in the country. This was during COVID protections, so I needed a time entry ticket. I also needed to check my small bag with them.
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I also booked an early time to visit the Yin Yu Tang House within PEM. It is a late 18th century Chinese house that was moved and rebuilt exactly, with family belongings and furniture. The included audio-guide gives you so much information on this unique house (the only example of it in North America.)
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The rest of PEM was also lovely. A lot of maritime art and artifacts. Far East trading artifacts, etc. I spent most of the morning here. They also had a limited Salem Witch Trial exhibit as well.
I had pre-made a sandwich in my bag as I heard that food in Salem in October can be 2+ hour lines, plus I have food allergies, so I just wanted to avoid wasting that time.
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After PEM, I headed to the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, which is a small park-like area with benches for each of the victims. As this is a small area, it gets busy quick. People also leave flowers and mementos on the different benches.
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Right next to this is the The Burying Point / Charter Street Cemetery. You can pickup (for a fee) a map at the visitors center of the Cemetary to understand it better.
Did I say there will be a lot of lines?
I had to wait a while to even enter the cemetery, they have a limit of how many people can be in at any one time.
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Then I decided to grab an Uber and visit the next Hocus Pocus filming location Max/Dani’s House at 4 Ocean Avenue. Since I was in an Uber, and it’s someone’s real house, I literally just hopped out down the street, took a few quick photos, and then got back in.
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I then had the same Uber drive me to Proctor’s Ledge Memorial. This is pretty far away, and so few tourists visit. But this is at the bottom of the hanging hill, and it is where the bodies of the victims were thrown (instead of buried). Loved ones then had to go into the crevice to get the bodies and then rebury them. This location was actually lost for many years and only recently was confirmed. And a descendent of John Proctor realized not only did it still exist, but they still owned that small part of land. So this sits at the bottom of a hill, between two houses.
So…since it was far out, it took over an hour to get another Uber to come to me to take me back. If I had known that earlier I would have booked it the moment I got there, as I lost a bunch of time waiting for the Uber after I had spent significant time looking around.
Once I got back to the town center, I went to the next Hocus Pocus filming locations, the Town Hall (32 Derby Square). Note only the backside (without the stairs) was used for filming.
From here I then wandering around the 2-3 blocks shopping. In October, there will be LINES TO ENTER THE STORES. I cannot stress enough that October = lines. It could take an hour or more to enter a store.
The stores will be a mixed of tourist crap, tourist crap associated with the “museum” the store has. (Like a one room museum of just Witch Boards / Ouija.) There will be Harry Potter like wand chosing experiences. Voodoo Stores. Vampire stores. Crystal stores. Witch stores. etc. And yes I bought a lot of random crap.
In the off-season you could probably hit everything quickly, but in October you’ll not be able to even enter most stores. Also many close during the week since the weekend is the busier season. So a few stores I saved for the following day (Tuesday) I didn’t realize would be closed.
This was around 3PM, so I headed to my hotel (Salem Waterfront Hotel) to check in and take a nap. I probably ate some other food from my bag as well.
I then walked back to the Town Hall to start the Mysteries & Murders of Salem Guided Night Walking Tour. I chose this tour as it was adults-only. And I thought it would be more serious instead of tours like the Vampire walking tour. It honestly wasn’t great. Apparently the murders in Salem are mostly run of the mill, sad stuff. So the first half was interesting, the 2nd half just sad. I bumped into one of the general all-ages ghost tours afterwards, and even though it was more kitchy it seemed more fun. So don’t go with one of the adults-only tours, its depressing.
After the tour I walked by the Samantha Bewitched Statue again, to go to Flying Saucer Pizza Company for dinner. I picked this as it would have a gluten free pizza, and cider. And I went late a bit before they closed, so I wouldn’t need to wait in any lines. I do not recall the gluten free pizza as being good. But the location is a fun sci-fi/kitchy stuff, with movies playing in the background.
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I then walked by The Burying Point / Charter Street Cemetery which was great to see at night in the moonlight.
I then bought tickets for the other museums for the following day as they do sell out. I believe they may release a few the day before, so made sure to grab what I needed before going to bed.
Day 2 post coming soon!
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