Witch City Walking Tours
Top Walking Tours in Salem, MA
Explore a Historical
Journey in Salem Massachusetts
Walk With Us
Come take a stroll with us down a historical journey through the streets of Salem. From the beginning, our past has been notoriously labeled from the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 to modern day. With almost 400 years behind us, "The Witch City" has lots of wicked stories to tell.
Witch City Walking Tours offers a workshop:
- Witch City Broom Making Workshop
Witch City Walking Tours offers many captivating tours:
FEATURED TOUR: “Ghosts of Christmas Past”: a Haunted Holiday Stroll
- History & Hauntings of Salem
- Mysteries & Murders of Salem
- Hocus Pocus Movie Locations
- Specters & Apparitions: A ghost hunting tour in Salem
- Merchants & Mansions of Salem
- Spirits, Sinners & Scandals Tour
- PopSalem! A pop culture walking tour
- Spirits & Supersitions: a Friday the 13th tour
With your licensed professional tour guide, explore the social, political and environmental influences which spread mass hysteria, causing the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Discover how Salem became a world-class seaport, creating some of the wealthiest families in America and America's first millionaire. Stroll the cobblestone lined streets, taking in some of the most stunning 17th and 18th century colonial architecture. Or, if you like to be scared, get chills down your spine hearing ghastly tales of ghosts, macabre murders and true crime stories in Salem's history.
Witch City Walking Tours 'History & Hauntings Tour' was named the "No. 1 Cultural & Historical Tour in the United States and No. 2 in the World" by Trip Advisor in 2024.
Other accolades:
- No. 1 Cultural & Historic Tour in the U.S. in 2023 by Trip Advisor
- No. 6 Cultural & HIstoric Tour in the World in 2023 by Trip Advisor
- "Best Historical & Cultural Tours in the World" by TripAdvisor 2022.
- One of the "Best Historical & Cultural Tours in the United States" in 2022.
- "Trip Advisor's Most Booked Fall Experience in America" for 2021.
- Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Awards and a multi-year recipient of TripAdvisor's "Certificate of Excellence".
So.... come take a walk with us and see why our tours are simply magical!
Please note: OUR TOURS OPERATE RAIN OR SHINE! 24 hour cancellation required for a full refund. All sales are final September 10 - November 11.
“Ghosts of Christmas Past”: a Haunted Holiday Stroll
Uncover Salem’s fascinating and ghostly holiday history, from strict Puritan bans on Christmas making it illegal even to celebrate, to Victorian Holiday ghost stories originally told around the fireside. With warm Yuletide cheer, we examine ancient customs of Yule and other Pagan winter solstice traditions of Krampus, Frau Perchten “the Christmas Witch”, and Mary Lwyd! Spend your holiday season with us for a storytelling experience you’ll never forget. Visit spots including Old Town Hall, the Witch House, Ropes Mansion, Hamilton Hall, and more—each being a portal to spirits and stories from Salem’s past, lingering even in the holiday season. Each guest on our tour will receive complimentary hot cider and hand warmers!
History & Hauntings of Salem
History, hauntings, the Salem Witch Trials, architecture and hidden gems. Suitable for all ages. Get ready for a mysterious journey through almost 400 years of Salem’s rich and storied history. Your local, well-versed guide and historian is excited to share their passion of this beautiful quaint city with you. Rated as the top walking tour in Salem, you will experience approximately two hours of captivating tales of our city's history, chilling tales of the supernatural, while being awed by the breathtaking architecture, and discover the fascinating truth of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. Your guide will take you off-the-beaten path, while you experience the lesser known sights and history of Salem.
Mysteries & Murders of Salem
For those who prefer a slightly *darker* historical perspective of Salem. Your guide brings to life the true crime stories of murder, myth and macabre. (Ages 13+ only.) Come experience the darker side of Salem with our 1 hour 45 minute Mysteries & Murder tour. We retell the most spine-chilling true crime tales of murder, mystery and macabre that happened in Salem's past. Why did an insane woman in the early 1600s murder her child? Who was the famous hitman who murdered the slave trader in his sleep? Did the Boston Strangler really make a visit to Salem? These tales and much more will unfold on this whirlwind tour of this mysterious seaside city.
Hocus Pocus Movie Locations of Salem
Brisk 4 mile walk. Come relive the magic of Disney's Blockbuster, Hocus Pocus! Starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, Hocus Pocus has become one of the most beloved movies of the 20th century. The majority of the movie was filmed in Salem in 1993. We will take you to 5 locations used during filming. Your ticket price includes entry to Pioneer Village, as well as a special Hocus Pocus gift! Along the way, you will also hear about the Salem Witch Trials, the maritime history, how we became the "Witch City".
Specters & Apparitions: A ghost hunting tour.
Have you ever been curious about the spirit world? Or are you a ghost denier? This tour dives into Salem’s paranormal activity using actual professional ghost hunting equipment. This hour long tour may change your mind if ghosts are real or not? We visit some of the most haunted locations in Salem on this journey to connect with the spiritual world. Our guides walk you through Salem using professional ghost hunting equipment and techniques to seek out the spirits who haven’t departed yet from Salem. You may catch a glimpse of a ghost peering through the windows at you. You may hear voices. Or you may catch an anomaly with photo/video on your cell phone with something quite peculiar or unexplainable. Come take a tour in search of the spirits of Salem with us. ***We cannot guarantee ghost sightings or unusual phenomena or paranormal activity of any kind. Results may vary. *Professional Ghost Hunting equipment is only available during the tour and must be returned to the guide at the end of the tour with a credit card deposit. We will be using professional ghost hunting equipment including A Spirit Box, EMF reader, Temperature Sensors, and laser grids. *** We recommend bringing a fully charged cell phone for pictures and video for the duration of the tour. Please note: We will NOT be entering any cemeteries or buildings during the tour. This is an outdoor activity only. It is illegal to enter a cemetery after dusk.
Merchants & Mansions of Salem
Suitable for all ages. Spring and summer only. Do you love architecture? We do! No trip to Salem is complete without a tour of the most beautiful section of Salem, the McIntire district. Come experience over three centuries of architecture from First Period American, to Georgian Colonial and the stately Federal style. Your guide will wind you through the cobblestoned streets of Salem, discovering hidden gems, viewing over two dozen sites, and sharing stories of Salem's rise to becoming the wealthiest city in the country in the 18th century.
PopSalem! A Pop Culture Walking Tour
Curious how Salem became the Witch City and the Capitol of Halloween? From Witchcraft to Lovecraft, the PopSalem tour is for you. Salem's journey to the Witch City couldn't have happened without popular culture. Discover how Bewitched, Hubie Halloween, author H.P. Lovecraft, video games, textbooks and other types of media all influenced the way we experience Salem today. · A guide brings the history of Salem to life through storytelling. · Learn about the people and events that made Salem the "Witch City" and Capitol of Halloween. · Visit some of Salem’s most iconic sites – including the Witch Museum, Burying Point, and Bewitched Statue - in a fun, festive, one-hour tour. · Brand-new tour from Salem’s number one walking tour company – only in October!
Spirits, Sinners & Scandals Tour
Salem's spookiest, haunted *adults only* walking tour! Want a late night hour long tour of all things creepy and shocking? We take you into Salem’s darkest corners and consecrate our otherworldly past by sharing our city’s sinister tales of deception, greed, torture, murder, curses and delve into the supernatural. Learn about Harry Houdini’s silver handcuffs and seances, multiple suicides and grisly murders, inhumane living conditions for Massachusetts’ worst criminals, and even learn about our very own sadistic Sheriff appropriately nicknamed “The Strangler”. This tour visits some of the most notoriously haunted locations in Salem with numerous documented ghost sightings and unusual paranormal activity. We pass by 400 year old cemeteries, uninhabited haunted homes, 2 of the most haunted Hotels in America, as you relive Salem’s most terrifying moments. Adults only, 18+.
Spirits & Superstitions: a Friday the 13th Tour
This is the only tour in Salem which focuses on Friday the 13th, superstitions and local ghost stories. On this 90-minute tour, learn the secrets behind some of the most mysterious superstitions. Hear ghastly tales of hauntings and the paranormal. Discover for yourself some of the most shocking secrets of Salem's chilling past. This limited edition tour is only available on Friday the 13th.
Witch City Broom Making Workshop
We had a brilliant tour with Dawn on a very, very rainy night, Monday 9/11. The content of the tour was interesting, it gave me a very good overview of Salem’s history. The tour was more history than hauntings in my opinion. Dawn really brought the stories to life and was very generous with her time and encouraged the group to interact and ask questions.
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I am a long-time resident of Salem and had forgotten how amazing our town is, thank you Violet for awaking my interest in Salem's history again! Violet is a fantastic tour guide, and our group is extremely impressed by her. Violet spoke well, charming and is clearly knowledgeable. She was able to change a muggy dreary rainy night into very pleasantly memorable evening.
During a day trip to Salem, I participated in the History and Hauntings tour provided by Witch City Tours. This walking tour was so informative and beautiful! Our tour guide, Michael, knew quite a bit about the history of Salem and the witch trials. His summary of Salem's dark past piqued our interest into learning more about it, which led to the purchase of a history book in a local shop.
Seen On
Abc News
Boston.com
Destination Salem
Fox News
Good Morning America
National Geographic
Patch News
Travel AAA Guide
Travelers choice
Travelers' Choice™ Best of the Best
Charities We Sponsor
Witch City Walking Tours proudly gives back to the community of Salem, Massachusetts! Every month, one of our guides chooses a local non-profit that is important to them and we donate $1000 to support their missions. In turn, these worthy organizations work diligently to lift the members of our community.
Recently, Witch City Walking Tours has supported:
- Salem Education Foundation and their raffle for “Dinner for Two” anywhere in the world!
- Northeast Animal Shelter for blankets, towels, and food for the animals.
We’d like to thank all of our tour guests for helping us make this possible, and for helping us keep Salem a vibrant and beautiful city where we, along with our neighbors, live and work.
Who We Sponsor
Charitable Contributions
Working Hours
Sunday to Saturday
09:00 AM to 11:00 PM
Location
32 Derby Square Salem, MA 01970
(Outside on the 3 staircases of the Old Town Hall)