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Salem Witch Museum
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42 reviews for Salem Witch Museum
I was warned that the Salem Witch Museum was cheesy, but it was definitely not what I was expecting. Everyone was directed into a dark room with benches around the perimeter and life-sized dioramas along the walls. We listened to an automated presentation about the Salem witch trials as the dioramas lit up (but did not move). Then half of the group was led into the next (and last) exhibit, while the other half of the group waited in the gift shop. The exhibit, about perceptions of witches, included some life-sized figures, some herbs in a glass case, and a timeline. There were no artifacts from the witch trials or from that time period. The guide hurried us through the exhibit in under 10 minutes. Then the tour emptied out into the gift shop.
We were able to get a group discount, but I don't think the museum is worth the regular price of $8. My younger cousins were scared by the museum, so maybe that justified the discounted price.
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Disney World's Hall of Presidents.
In the round.
During a power outage.
Running on Energizers.
With a wooly Satan stolen from a shitty carnival haunted house.
Voiced-over by a guy who saw a picture of Vincent Price once.
-Twenty minute mandatory gift shop break to buy viking horns, a Grow-A-Boyfriend you'd find at Spencer's, Haribo gummies and other shit that has nothing to do with the Salem Witch Trials-
A smaller room.
Walls partially filled with the content of an eighth-grader's tryptich project on witches in Hollywood.
"I'm a real witch - I cook and dry herbs!"
"I'm a false witch - and I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!"
Random timeline of Wiccan persecution
Social math loosely equating the witch hunt to the AIDS pandemic and Nazi fucking Germany.
No pictures! No recording!
No thanks.
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Worst. Museum. E-V-E-R!!!
On my trip back east, this was the lowest point. Taken in by the beautiful (converted) church building and the low ticket price, we handed our couple of bucks to the cashier, walked in to the dark assembly room, sat down and had the most boring diorama presentation on the witch trials. The best part was that it was cool (as in temperature) inside the building.
Talk about a tourist trap! The mere mention of this place makes me raise my voice and say things that aren't proper in good company.
Three stars for being rooted in such history. Even after reading some less than enthusiastic reviews of this museum, I felt compelled to visit. I am glad that we did, ONCE. Would I go back? Probably not. It is pretty cheesy, and the presentation with the wax models could really use some updating. For as much money as this place is raking in daily, you would think they could spruce it up a little bit. It was a good excuse to get out of the city and drive a ways up north and check out Salem. It would probably also be pretty entertaining for children.
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In a word....
LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME
...why oh why did I not listen to Matt L's review?! *sigh* His review is spot on except for the price as my friend visiting from Germany and I only had to pay $8 each... but it still wasn't worth that. Really? The most visited museum??? WHY?!?!
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If you are in Salem... you really should stop in this place. For a few (~$8) bucks you get to see how the witch-hunt started. It's good for kids, first timers, the handicap, and an hour of your time. I don't know why people don't care for it (lets face it... it's not Disney), but it sure beats the witch-wannabees out there... this is why we come to Salem to learn about this whole hysteria.
The building of the museum is more impressing that the actual musuem itself.
You basically sit in a dark room as a story of the witch hunt is told,and dioramas are lit up.
The story is very good and tells alot about what happened, but it's not very exciting (maybe for kids)
The "gift shop" doesn't have a whole lot either, and its better to visit some of the surronding stores for gifts or souvenirs.
Going to Salem for Halloween, must be a lot like going to the North Pole for Christmas.
I have been to Salem, Ma. several times, since I lived on the South Shore of Boston for 8 wonderful years. On a 2 week, whirlwind tour of New England, just 2 years ago, Salem could not be missed.
Salem is a Seaport Village and a lot has changed since 1692, when the first "Witches" were brought to trial and their untimely deaths.
The Restaurants are fabulous, for the most part and I have reviewed quite a few of them, in my early Yelping days. The City is very clean and always has the hustle & bustle on the streets by Guided trolly's, Folks adorning costumes from centuries ago as the witches are being sought after by the Town Folks and tourists.
The oldest Graveyard dates back to 1637 and buried there in two of the graves lie a Mayflower pilgrim and witchcraft trial Judge John Hathorne.
Salem is also famous for the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion or better known as the House of the Seven Gables.
Salem is plentiful for Museums and if you still conjure up thoughts of a Witch having long black, uncombed hair and a green face and hands and teeth to match and claws for fingernails, with a cauldron to stir up a big mess, then you would be wrong and very disappointed. Although, during the month of October, they do stir things up a bit. ;+}
The Salem Witch Museum is Salem's most visited Museum. Into the Courts you go as the trials of innocent and tragic events are depicted from Century's long gone. Then you enter surreal scenes with lifelike settings and everyday people. There your eyes are opened ( close your mouth, please), and you witness how young girls scream out in the middle of the night and name names ( Adolecents=hormones=blah ). Doctors and town folks gather these harmless women that are accused to be Witches. Witchy Woman ..see how high... you can fly....
Joan of Arc comes to mind... teeheehee Burn that Bitch, I mean Witch, Burn. Hanging was a popular sport too!
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Wow, people, put down the Haterade on the Salem Witch Museum already!
The Salem Witch Museum is a great place to get an overview on the Salem Witch Trials. I would definitely take someone who wanted to learn more about what happened here as a first step in starting their knowledge. The Museum is like a diorama come to life. You enter the presentation hall and get a run down on what happened via a recorded audio program and through figures in various poses (hence the diorama description). The staff are very knowledgeable and many have studied the time period extensively. The selection of books in the gift shop is impressive -- a great starting point to learn more. I guess the message of "Harm None" has been completely missed by a lot of reviewers here....
I know there are a lot of tourists and that can be a hassle, but kids, I live in New York and tourists are here ALL YEAR LONG, not just one month out of the year.
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NO, NO, NO, NO, NO... STAY AWAY FROM HERE
There is barely ANY museum in this gigantic gift shop. There are no artifacts on display of the 1692 time period, absolutely nothing! Just some pictures on a wall, dumb props and life-size figures of witches, and some tour guide trying to pass on the message of some groups being demonized because of fear.
The only museum part was a automated presentation in a dark room and a tour guide leading us into a very small exhibit and talking to us about the various images of a witch came to be. THAT WAS IT.
IT WAS A PIECE OF MOTHERFUCKING SHIT, I PAID 8 DOLLARS TO SEE A GIFT SHOP, THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO DAMN SHAME.
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I gave my niece the choice of coming here or going to the Aquarium to kill time on a rainy day, and much to my chagrin, she chose this place. She's 11 and she L-O-V-E-D it...I was kind nodding off during the weird diorama presentation. The only thing I can add is that we had a "tour guide" who did seem pretty knowledgeable and was trying to engage the audience. In the end it was like an advertisement for modern day Wicca: "See, we're not bad people, we're just like you". Yawn.
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This place is a total tourist trap. I had last visited it as a small child, so I forgot how lame it was. My boyfriend, who is from the Southwest, dragged my family to Salem to see the kitschy/witchy sights of Salem. Let me tell you, he totally LOVED this place. The rest of us were unimpressed, although the presentation with the dummies was sort of funny in a terrible way.
If you want to explore the history of the witch trials, read a book and take a trip to a local cemetery.
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Ok, so I was raised in Salem. I am used to Halloween with its constant tourists. I am used to the crappy weekend traffic. I still don't know what is so fascinating about this place that makes people come by the thousands to visit establishments such as the Witch Museum.
I have been here many many times over the years and the story is always the same. Always the same narrator and story, which is a great, really interesting story, but come on guys, update this place!!!! I don't think the wax figures have been updated since 1984. The poor lady Tichuba looks like her face is literally melting off, they are dusty and the colors are faded.
Bottom line, as a Salem resident I am embarassed that a place like this represents our city and its history. Update the narration, get new wax figures at the very LEAST, and maybe it will be an improvement.
What a rip off. $8? I"ll spend mine elsewhere. Thats enough for 2 beers!
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Wha huh?
Museum? (eek) Methinks not.
Tourist trap? Indeed.
Had this been called "Salem Witch Dioramas" or "Salem Creepy Voice-Over Mannequins" I think I would have had a better time. But to wait in line forever to be herded in to the central chamber only to have a story read to me while "creepy" red lights flashed on dusty dolls is too much for me. Oh but wait, then you're sent in to the next room to listen to more creepy voice-overs...no thanks.
I know a witch and am offended on her behalf.
Would have been awesome if this were...you know...a museum. :'(
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Salem residents get in to this trashytastic tourist trap for FREE! I went 7 times with various out of town guests and enjoyed it each and every time.
This place is not a museum per say, it is more of a single exhibit. Meet the friendly townies who will escort you in to the huge viewing room where you will hear and see the story of the Salem Witch trials. Inside tip, sit on the benches along the RIGHT side of the room, you will need to be able to turn in all directions.
It's cheesy, it's funny, and it is a must see for all visitors to Salem. The best part of the whole display is when the narrator tells the story of how the girls started to get hysterical with the idea of witchcraft and began screaming... totally sounds like they stole the voice track from a porno! Plus, the doors let you out to a loooooovely gift shop so you can bring home souvenirs to all your loved ones.
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TOURIST TRAP ALERT!!!!
This was the biggest waste of $8. You sit in the dark listening to some supposedly scary-sounding voiceover summarize The Crucible in about 5 minutes while you look at wax figures posed ominously. Boooooooooring.
Then they take you into a room and "set the record straight" about wiccans and blah blah blah. THEN they show you a timeline of witch hunts throughout history, including: the Joe McCarthy Era communist witch hunt, the persecution of homosexuals, and the Japanese persecuted during WW2, all of which are horrible things of course, but really, why bring your socio-political ideology into this? It's this kind of thing that makes me embarrassed to be liberal.
Then there's the gift shop, featuring "old fashioned candies" like M&M's and Skittles. Oooooh wooooow. Also, lots of crappy toys and doodads that have nothing to do with witches.
Anyway, don't end up here. Unless you have kids. It MIGHT be fun for them for about 5 minutes. If you're going to Salem as a tourist, save that $8 for your gas tank so you can go somewhere else that won't be such a sorry waste of time.
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At this museum, you are taken into a large dark room with everyone on the tour. The presentation is about 30 mins. long and tells the complete story, covering the most important details of the Salem Witch trials in 1692. The room is open and when the presenter talks, a portion of the wall depicting what is being said is highlighted. The plastic models are very life like - I thought at one point they were going to move!
After the presentation, you are taken to another part of the museum where you learn about the history of witches (how they went from being revered to feared).
After this presentation, I got a sense of how real these trials were and how the "witches" were actually normal people who were plagued with an ignorant society. I expected more of a focus on witches and other scary things, but this was quite serious and to the point of what actually happened in Salem.
I highly recommend this place!
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Perhaps I shouldn't have had drinks with my lunch, but I ended up falling asleep during the first part of the tour. You sit in this big room, they dim the lights, and then you have to stare at mannequins above you while you listen to narration of the history of the witch executions. BORING!
The second part of the tour, we were led to another room where a guide talked about, oh, fuck, I don't even remember. It was that boring.
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Mooooorrrree Weeeiiiiggghhhhttt!
I freakin love this place. I've gone 4, 5 times now? Once as a little kid and even then I thought it was hysterical. Now, my friends and I have an annual pilgrimage (groan) to Salem, where we act touristy, get drunk on Washington Apples and go to the Witch Museum. I highly recommend it. But those benches are as uncomfortable as the high school locker room they remind me of.
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They say you get what you pay for...and in this case it is the truth. I definitely wouldn't consider this a museum in any sense, more of a comedic and half-*ss interpretation of history. It is cheaply done and to anyone with any knowledge of modern Wicca or historic paganism this could be seen as quite offensive.
I wouldn't recommended bringing children here, could be frightening. The second half of the "tour" one person asked what the symbolism of the witches broom was and the tour guide actually said, "I am not sure, nobody knows." Guess they don't teach that in training.
With all of that said, it cost $7.00 and if you are in the area and looking for something to make you laugh...go for it! Apparently you are not supposed to take pictures inside...hmm not sure why, well unless they don't want the unknowing public to see how poorly put together it is. I did get one picture before anyone noticed.
The best part of this "Museum" is the gift shop!
Really should be a 2.5 but I'm feeling generous.
Although some of the info presented was interesting, the "show" is a bit lame.
Better for children than adults - although young children will be scared (a number of parents had to remove their kids as they began to cry.)
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I don't know that I'd call this place a museum. To me, museums involve actual pieces of historic significance usually in cases with little blurbs about what they are, why you should care, and who you should thank for making the exhibit possible.
The Salem witch museum, however, takes you into a room with benches, wax figures and speakers that illustrate scenes from the witch trails. You sit on said benches and very quickly realize that you will have a good view of part of the story, a passable view of part of the story, and no view of another part of the story because it's going on right behind and directly above you.
Then the real fun begins! They take you out of a room and lead you to a timeline (YAY A TIMELINE!), and more wax figures with more pre-recorded messages! The general gist being "this is what witches were like, this is how they're portrayed in movies and ACCEPT OTHER RELIGIONS YOU INTOLERANT IGNORANT BASTARDS!!!! Now here's the gift shop, please watch your step. Thank you and come again."
I'd give this place one star, but even with the partially crappy view from every seat, the psychedelic wax show was fun.
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Sometimes Yelpers take things to seriously.
This place is just so hokey it's adorable. Maybe part of that has to do with the fact that I was in the 8th grade when I first visited, but if you kind of like witches and folk lore and don't act like you're dropping into the Met, than you'll have a good time. There are plenty of interesting little factoids about the past, and the whole thing is presented in a way the kids aren't going to be terrified, they're just going to enjoy themselves in a really simple, pleasant way.
If I do ever accidentally knock a girl up and we're forced to take a family vacation to the easy coast, we'll probably drop in.
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Not at all what I was expecting from a "witch museum", but then again, I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting. Whatever the case, a giant room full of larger than life figures, spotlighting, and a disembodied voice reading a scripted account of the Witch Trials was not it. As far as the presentation goes, I suppose I had no complaints. Historic Salem is a very kitschy/touristy town in general, mostly because of the fame of the witch trials more than anything, so in light of that, the museum's slightly tacky presentation was fairly standard.
I would have enjoyed the museum much more if it toned down the drama and presented the trials in a more historic light, with perhaps information and exhibits on daily life in the 1600-1700s in New England. The front lobby area of the museum had several small exhibits, but for a town that has built its fame on the witch trials and the (then) enormous impact they had on daily life at that time, I felt the information presented was not nearly enough.
The "special exhibit" in the back room at the time that I went was "Witches through the ages" or something like that. Again, it was a nice exhibit but didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know aout witches and modern day wicca, and really did not add anything to my experience of historic Salem.
This place needs heavy renovating and modernizing but it's authentic, cheesy and quite funny and although it could easily be mistaken for a tourist trap, I still think that it's a pretty decent exhibition which follows an important piece of Salem history.
They could totally make it a lot scarier and interesting if they were to modernize it though, I swear. The gift shop is a lot of fun too.
I have to give them credit for trying to make witches and the history of Salem more interesting than playing to witch stereotypes. The admission is inexpensive and you are treated to a two-part tour. As much as it looks like a castle from the outside, you will not be able to wander a castle or a dungeon freely. You first gather in the dark around a glowing circle that has the names of the victims of the Witch Trials spirlaing out from the center. Then a series of scenes is lighted in time to the narrator around the edges of the room. This is followed by a walk through an exhibit depicting different types of witches, past and into the present, including a brief overview of wicca.
Times visited: 1
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A general comment to folks who felt the show was sub-par entertainment... Walt Disney World is 1,337 miles behind you. You totally missed the turn off. Please go back.
I've heard loud and clear how nobody who is the least bit worldly would get anything worthwhile out of choppy mannequins and badly synchronized and corny recordings. People shell out money for slick special effects - like shelling out $500 million for the third installment of the Pirates trilogy based on... oh yeah, choppy mannequins and corny recordings.
It's dated. The building, the old East Church completed in 1846, wasn't built to suit. The museum was opened in 1972, and I don't think it has been rolling in cash to update things much beyond what they started off with at that time. The mannequins, if you care in the least about what they are depicting, give a scale reference. The only improvement I can think to make if you take the mannequins away is to hire a cast of about 75 who will work for way under scale for 8 hours a day and forgo eating and peeing the whole time. That's gonna happen...
And enough with the comments about how "I wasn't scared..." Grab a copy of Blair Witch and stay home. I don't know what you're doing in a museum if you want to be all scared. The stories here were basically about how much life sucked back then. It sucked to be a colonist - disease, famine, and fear. It sucked even more to be a colonist accused of being a witch by sick, starving, scared people.
If you're coming to Salem to scare your kids, I don't get that at all. I plan on taking my niece to Los Angeles to scare her when she's old enough. Oh - the whole schpiel about coming here for Halloween - enough already! The witch trials have zero, zip, zilch, nothing, nada, null, and not a friggin thing to do with Halloween. The serious witch crap went down in the spring and summer of 1692. Halloween was brought to America by the Irish in the 19th century then commercialized in the 20th century to the sorry excuse to drunkenly hook up that it is today so go to Southie or Dorchester, or Quincy, and complain about how commercialized folks have let Samhain become.
Lastly, if you're a tourist complaining about going to places on your tour map or in your tour guide books and complaining about how touristy everything is - do you listen to yourself?
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Only the finest disappointment, carefully crafted to bring down or enrage everyone except the elite few who have always dreamt of paying cash to stand in a dark room looking at crude handmade mannequins under spotlights.
I suppose children might like it. If you're in Salem, stick with the Peabody Essex Museum.
I thought this museum was fun! I know, I agree with the other Yelpers about how cheesy this place is. It is like a wax museum for witches and the decor is down right funny.
It reminded me of a thrown together haunted house rather than a professionally done museum.
The mandatory gift shop at the end was more exciting than the museum itself.
However, as a one time excursion, it is worth the cheap admission price.
After the witch museum, we learned how to do gravestone rubbings and we were led to an ancient cemetery to get started.
Considered an elemetary school field trip "rite of passage", the SWM is beyond hokie.
Its ok for some kids, but younger ones will be frightened. The lines outside of this place are humongous during October, so if you must go, go during August or in November, if you can. School trips will always be there (I think we would go during the Spring cause I remember a swarm of ants outside of this place one time).
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My first time to Salem, MA. We got a late start from Portsmouth, NH, while visiting my friends. We did a trolley tour, then only had enough time to go to this museum. I liked the show, the history. It was dated, but I enjoyed the retroness, compared to the California theme parks, always pushing new technology.
But I do want to go back sometime and experience all the other places that were touristy. Somday... OH! don't forget to use your AAA card to get a discount.
Went in to this attraction with a different expectation. It puts you into a large room surrounded by various sections that light up on very old statues (some with peeling paint on their skin) and tells the story of the Witch hysteria of the 1600's through an overhead loudspeaker. The tape on this speaker sounds like something out of the 1950's and it is very dramatic. The lights go around the room and highlight the statues and tell the story. Afterwards, you are taken to the back of the building for a 10 mintues tour by uneducated tour guides that show you more outdated statues and timelines of the time. Its not worth the 15 bucks a person that you pay ($13 with AAA card). Its something okay for the kids, but not smaller kids as the rooms get dark and this could scare kids. There is also a statue of the devil with red light up eyes. During Halloween it could be fun, but it needs some serious upgrading and repair. I would skip this attraction!
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I don't get this place. When me and my BF decided to come here, I did NOT think it would be like this. My neck and back were both hurting by the time this thing was over because 1) the seats are benches really, 2) you have to constantly be turning around and sometimes looking up. I think this place tries to be scarier than it is, with the ominous voice as the narrator, but it fails miserably. I'd rather spend my money learning about the witch trials somewhere else instead of here.
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If you are into cheesy, dusty old wax dummys and a poor immatation of Charlton Heston's voice on a scratchy record (or was it Orson Welles?), highlighted by a goofey light show... then this place is for you!
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Everything to creep you out about witches in general. My namesake, Joan of Arc, is mentioned here. Hmmmmm. No, neither of us is a witch. I'm sure. The museum centers around the witch trials & executions in 1692 Salem, all of witch was really just a terrible mistake. Some young girls called out names in the night. There already was a predominant belief in the devil. Found guilty of witchcraft by a special court, 13 men and 5 women were hanged on Gallows Hill. One man, who refused to stand trial, was pressed to death in a field. In Oct., later that same year, the court was disbanded. A new court stopped the trials & pardoned the condemned. Years later came apologies & restitution to families of the victims. It had all been a terrible mistake. http://faq.salemwitchm...
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The Salem Witch Museum is Salem's most visited museum!
Prices are $6.50 adult, $6.00 Seniors, and children 6-14 yrs $4.50.
The Salem Witch Museum brings you there, back to Salem 1692. Visitors are given a dramatic history lesson using stage sets with life-size figures, lighting and a narration - an overview of the Witch Trials of 1692. A new exhibit: Witches: Evolving Perceptions, examines the stereotypical witch, aspects of witchcraft in the 17th century, modern witchcraft and the phenomenon of witch hunts. Do you believe in witches? Don't answer until you visit.Hours of Operation 10 am - 5 pm daily; 10 am, to 7 pm in July and August.
Call for schedule of extended hours during Salem Haunted Happenings Open year round. Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. There is an interesting museum store as well. The Salem Witch museum is a great educational tour stop for school groups and daycamps. A must see on your Salem Attraction list.
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"Witch! Witch!" Whatever it costs...SAVE your money. Your TIME is worth more than that! Okay...unless you have kids...cause they might like it. The musuem is somewhat interesting...but, we thought the show part was pretty lame to tell you the truth. It's a bunch of paper machete figures and they pipe in a story and the room is dark with a lit up circle in the middle. For a better day...go to Boston and take the Freedom Trail...that is REALLY interesting! Or...I'd suggest the New England Aquarium or the Museum of Science.
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The museum is impressive from the outside, and looks like a scary castle. They have lots of interesting facts you can read about the witch trials in the waiting area. And once you are inside the museum, this is what happens: you sit in a huge room and watch a dramatization/ history lesson of the witch trials. They use dummies, but for little kids, the music and lighting could be scary. After that, they bring you to a room and give you an overview of the American conception of witches and warlocks (it was kind of cheesy to me). The whole museum takes less than an hour to go through. There is a gift shop in the back, if you want to buy some souvenirs.
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I like this enough. But it isn't my fave place to bring my out of town guests. It is an akward set up seating wise. You have to twist and turn to see half of the "show" no matter where you sit. The price is on par with other types of witch museums in town. It is ok but not the best place to visit. But it always has a line at halloween! I don't know why.
Avoid, avoid, avoid. Now together repeat after me. Avoid.
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