Witch History Museum

This by far was one of the better museums we saw. Very informative and the exhibits are detailed with a tour guide. Very clean. Purchase combo tickets. Worth the savings. The staff spent all their time on their phones, which I thought was strange. But still a nice experience.

To say this was a unique experience would be an understatement. We entered the facility and the worker had taken in a street bird from outside, ensuring us that it could not fly as she held it in front of us. Immediately after she spoke these words, the bird lunged towards our friend, most likely trying to attempt a last leap towards freedom from us, however we did not pick the bird up, and it was taken back behind the register by the worker. We had a very personal tour with our guide who we don’t know the name of unfortunately . They only do tours every 30minutes. We first entered the room filled with pews. We sat there alone waiting for our guide. She popped out of the witch house and started speaking about the Native Americans, saying that they gave the Puritans small pox. Although that was questionable, we continued down into the basement, which smelled like mildew, for an hour filled with suspense, laughter, and chaos. We entered the dark-filled forrest where Abigail Williams and the other children were dancing with the devil. The guide even climbed into the scenes to take off the clothes/ hat of the mannequin dressed like the town doctor to give us a closer look at his ugly face. The guide did not refrain from using modern slang to effectively portray the scene. For instance, she describe a family leaving the witch trials with such elegance, saying that they said we gotta PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUT. Then, we moved throughout the scenes with mannequins who we thought were gonna jump out at us. Although she spoke wicked fast, our tour guide was knowledgeable and well versed in the stories behind the witch trials, maybe too much. Multiple times while explaining the story, she would use the pronouns “us or we” as if she was indeed participating in the Salem witch trials. I am suspicious that she is a witch reincarnate, trying to retell the story. She was so entertaining as she was infatuated with many of the scenes. If you are looking for the history of Salem you may need to look to elsewhere, but if you want a memorable experience, this is for you.

If you want a sleek, modern museum with interactive touchscreens, this isn't it. But if you love retro, theatrical, old school museum charm, the Witch History Museum is an absolute blast! The historical dioramas utilize mannequins and wax figures that look like they stepped right out of the 1970s or 80s, which honestly makes the whole basement walkthrough feel way more eerie and unsettling. Our tour guide was incredibly passionate, energetic, and threw in tons of great historical facts during the intro. It is a fun mix of genuine history and classic, campy Salem storytelling.

We were able to catch the last showing before they closed the shop down. The prices are reasonable for the show since it’s only 30 minutes. The wax figured that they had were some of the better ones we have seen on the different tours we have done. Our tour guide did a great job.

The basic experience is a guided tour through a basement containing a series of dioramas relating to the Salem Witch Trials. I do always appreciate a guided tour with a knowledgeable guide, and maybe the guide did know more than she was saying, but all I heard was a very brief overview of the events of the witch scare which somehow managed to skip… the entire trial? No dioramas occurred in court, which seems a weird oversight. What really bothered me is that the whole thing was overwhelmingly focused on the men. We got more details about Reverend Paris’ life than anyone else. There were multiple dioramas about George Burroughs, one for Cotton Mathers, one Gilas Corey, and even one for the sheriff. Who didn’t get a diorama? Any of the fourteen executed women or the others who died in prison. Of the women victims, only Martha Corey was mentioned by name in the narrative, and then only in relation to her husband. The narration was more interested in telling ghost stories about Giles than actual facts about what went on. For a time in history in which women were overwhelmingly targeted, and a piece of history that has largely been taken back by women, this was such a weird route to go. I know this group runs several other properties, so maybe the others focus on the female stories, but nothing about this experience made me want to look into the others.

The Witch History Museum in Salem is fantastic! It tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials in a really interesting way. The exhibits are engaging, with life-size scenes and great storytelling. The guides are very knowledgeable and friendly, making history come alive. It’s a must-visit if you’re in Salem and want to learn about this fascinating and spooky part of American history. Perfect for both kids and adults!

This place I would hardly call a "museum" as it doesn't have any real artifacts from the Salem Witch Trials or anything from that time period. It just has wax figures in the basement, which I will address later in this review. The "museum" conducts tours every 1/2 hour, so if you buy a ticket early, you can either wait outside or in the gift shop. Once it is your turn for a tour, everyone is brought into an auditorium and is given a little history lession from the tour guide. Once they are done, they bring everyone down to the basement level, where there are recreated scenes of the witch hysteria using wax figures. I didn't get the name of our tour guide, but she seemed rushed when explaining some of the scenes, where she actually forgot to go over a few. She also looked like she was either bored or annoyed. The whole tour from start to finish, including taking photos and asking questions, can take anywhere between 30-45 minutes. In closing, I have done so many other tours during my stay in Salem that were just as informative as this one, or better, so it is really up to the tourist whether or not they want to add this place to their go-to list.

Unfortunately, this 30 minute short tour of wax figures in the basement is not worth the $14. It is not a museum and much more akin to a tourist trap, that heavily depends on the guide giving either interesting or accurate information. Highly recommend seeing something else and saving your money and time.