We did two walking tours in our one day we had at Salem. Crazy I know, but stay with me, I don't…read moreregret a single thing about it. Our first tour was the hocus pocus walking tour with Hilary. Amazing. Hilary was funny, knowledgable, and just a true joy to be around. That two hour walk went by faster than I thought it would. She has so many behind the scenes knowledge of the movie, I was thoroughly impressed. Oh, she also had a candy bucket! Cant ever go wrong with candy. Thank you Hilary for opening our day in such a positive way. My second walking tour was the history and hauntings of Salem. Our tour guide was Claire and she was great. She was able to keep the attention of our 13 yo son, no small feat these days. However, her story telling and live of history kept him into the walk and he didn't complain once. Thank you Claire for giving us a great tour of Salem and completing our night out!

We chose Witch City Walking Tours to introduce us to Salem. Aurelia was our guide and she was a…read morewealth of information. Unfortunately we started the tour in Derby Square and it was very loud. It was very hard to hear Aurelia and the noise was very distracting. Aurelia was a lifelong resident of the Salem area and clearly very invested in the city. Before arriving in Salem I thought it was a small town. Salem is a much larger town located just north of Boston. The tour covered about 1 1/2 miles and the walk was easy. Much of the focus was on the witch trials and the mark it left on the city of Salem. The tour ended at the memorial for the victims of the witch trials and it was very solemn. This tour gave me a new perspective on Salem and its history.

This tour is as amazing! We learned so much about the movie, actors and locations! It is a 3.1 mile…read morewalk so be prepared. Thanks Topher!

I found Hocus Pocus Tours while seeking things to do in Salem on Yelp and TripAdvisor. Fellow…read moreYelpers' rave reviews did not disappoint! In messaging Hocus Pocus Tours with a couple questions about the tour and travel to and from Salem, the owner Susan replied immediately and suggested that I call her. This led to a one hour phone conversation where Susan was so gracious with her time, knowledge, and suggestions, not just about how to make the most of the tour, but how to appreciate a day in Salem. I can see why those who had the opportunity to take the in-person tour with Susan really enjoyed it. Covid changed the business model and Hocus Pocus now offers a self-guided tour by purchasing one of two tour apps. I opted for the $19.99 grand tour and it was well worth it. It has 37 points of interest. The app is user friendly and well designed. It provides a map of all stops, tracks where you are, and guides you to the next stop that you select on the tour. When you get to your stop, you can confirm you're at the right spot by comparing a photo of the site with what you see. Then you click on a 2-3 minute audio recording that provides a great snapshot of the significance of the site. As Susan had pointed out to me, there is much more to Salem than the historic witchcraft trials. It includes author Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables, America's oldest candy company, and other interesting sites. Of everything I visited, I experienced a very deep emotional connection with the 1692 Witchcraft Memorial with 20 stones dedicated to each of the victims of the witchcraft trial. The tour includes brief descriptions of some of the victims including those written about in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. If you plan to visit Salem, I highly recommend this tour. All sites can be visited on the outside and some on the inside at no charge. Some sites, such as The House of Seven Gables, charge separate admission fees. If you want to travel to Salem and don't have a car, the ferry from Boston offers a nice, scenic, and entertaining 50 minute ride. The commuter trains run more frequently and can come in handy if the ferry schedule coming or going doesn't meet your needs. There are plenty of good places to dine at to break up the tour. We had lunch at FINZ and really enjoyed it (I'll post separately about that).

This was a great walking tour of Salem!! I went in knowing basically nothing about the witch trials…read moreand left knowing a lot more about- and with some local restaurant recommendations. We got plenty of steps and saw a lot of Salem. I carried my baby around, and he got a great nap!!

This was an excellent tour! Sarah is the host and she is terrific! She is very knowledgeable and…read moregreat in telling the stories and historical facts and events.

Such an amazing tour with our guide Jack. He was so knowledgeable, answered questions, and was…read morehighly entertaining! Highly recommend to anyone who is looking for the history of the Salem Witch Trials. You get to stop at some of the key places during your tour, plenty of time to take photos to see if you catch a spirit, or two.

2nd time on this tour! Jack was an amazing storyteller and had all kinds of insights and historical…read moreinformation! The tour had to circle around and miss a stop due to emergency vehicles- but he offered to tell us after the tour. Highly- highly recommend this tour.

Recently went on the tour with my wife and friends from Miami Florida on Saturday September 21st on…read morethe 7pm tour. This was one of my favorite tours I have been on in many years. Our guide was dressed like a revolutionary vampire and definitely looked the part. He was very knowledgeable of everything he said based on history, others experiences and his own. We had to walk everywhere "walking tour" but he was very fast and efficient to be able to show us a lot of spots in a considerably short time. He really cared about everyone in the group and made sure everyone was having a good time. I recommend this tour to anyone looking to hear and see the history of Salem including the haunted items in their store.

From the owner: Vampire Ghost Adventures, A Walking Tour of Salem! The only…read moretour in Salem where you enter a Haunted Building, see a collection of Haunted Objects and hear their stories! Welcome, Come hear the Ghostly secrets of Salem you won’t hear anywhere else! This is not like the other tours in Salem. You will be led around town by a Vampire for starters! While all the stories I will relate to you are true, this is not just a historical tour. We will be talking about vampires, ghosts, and spiritual phenomenon around this unique town. Experience the mystery and wonder of these tales. I will tell you what people have seen, heard, and experienced, and show you where these things happened. You will decide what you can believe or not believe. But I assure you, the reports of these incidents are all true. And there’s more than you might think! Now, How many here believe in ghosts? How many have had experiences with the paranormal? I myself am what is called a “sensitive” to an extent, But I’m a skeptic first. I don’t automatically assume the supernatural. And yet I have had spiritual experiences that I cannot explain. Come with me and I will tell you things and show you places the other tours won’t! And you will actually enter Chambers of Terror to see some Haunted Objects! The only walking tour in Salem where you actually enter a building!

Went on a ghost tour with Sam and was blown away with all the history behind the foreboding feeling…read moreand the famous witch trials. The tour lasted about one hour and thirty minutes which included a few stops in front of some iconic landmarks and monuments such as the first membership Library, the Witch House, Ropes Mansion, Salem Inn, Old Town Hall and Chestnut Street. To say it was nostalgic visiting some staples I have marveled in the movie Hocus Pocus is an understatement. Seeing Max and Dani's house, Allison's house and the Old Town Hall up close brought me back to my 5 year old self. If you have not learned about the Witch Trials or don't care to, no problem! However, if you find that Salem, MA is on your bucket list of places to go to, I would maybe listen to a podcast or read up on the trials beforehand because it's a lot of history to take in. I couldn't leave Salem without buying my own witch hat of course. Some things I recommend on a tour: 1) Dress comfortably and warm (if in the fall) it is cold and windy at this time and you will be walking over cobblestone most of the time 2) Wear a festive hat! I wore my witch hat 3) Make sure you use the restroom before you go on the tour. They don't stop for restroom breaks and there are only portable potties available which I would avoid as much as you can because - ugh!

A great tour! We chose the 1 hour tour because we didn't have a lot of time. A lot of great stuff…read morewas still covered. I appreciated the history and information about Salem that we wouldn't have known without doing the tour!

We had a great time learning history, stories and maybe a ghostly visit. Dr. Vitka is a fantastic…read moreguide and left us wanting to come back again. Bonus, I'm pretty sure I caught a little something in one of my pictures.

Michael was very informative, he showed us sightings around the downtown area. Was kind and easy to…read morekeep up with.

I have used Salem Historical Tours three times; twice for private tours and a third time for a…read moreregular Salem Witchcraft Walk. The private tours were great because we could request customized information. For example, learning the fascinating Black history of Salem. The tour guides have a wealth of knowledge and experience. I've learned lots on every tour. The guides go into different angles of history. Last time, I learned about why the Puritans came to the New World (now the United States) in the first place and that they were very different from the Pilgrams who arrived before them. Giovanni, in particular, has always given me tips for more activities. He is active in the Salem United which had a free exhibit at Hamilton Hall about the Negro Election Day a couple years ago. I've appreciated that the guides are all conscientious about climate comfort too. It rained on the first tour and our guide made sure that we could be covered when he was speaking. The last time was a hot and sunny day and our guide found shaded spots for us.

Tried to take a walking tour provided by this company, but no one was there…read more I called their customer service number and was given a description of a person, but that didn't match what the operator ended up telling me. They continued to harass me after requesting a refund, which they denied. Just a gross company.

I can't believe it's taken me two months to review! Im so sorry Kenneth I was so busy... But I…read moredidn't forget about you! I had the best experience on this tour! The tour guide, Kenneth, is amazing! He had a huge impact on my visit to Salem even though my only time spent with him was on the tour. He's an amazing guide, performer, and story-teller with a great heart. I can't say enough good stuff about him! I booked this tour the morning of, and I decided to take a 5pm show. I guess that was a little early because no one else was there! When Kenneth showed up, I asked him if he would rather me wait for the later tour but he said it was up to me and does not mind taking me on the tour by myself. Wow... What a cool treat! Especially since it was so cheap for about 3 hours of his time (about twice as long as the original time posted). So I agreed and we proceeded to walk. I don't want to give away all of the details, but seriously, if you love history and theatre, take this tour! Kenneth acts out the scenes at almost every place we stopped. He had tons of information about Salem and lots of mind-boggling personal stories as well. He sings beautiful, heart-wrenching songs that he wrote. You can tell that he put a lot of work and thought into making this the best tour in Salem (I went on 4 tours while I was there and they were pretty mediocre). Kenneth said that he also changes up the tour so you will get something different every time you take it! It will not disappoint! Oh and at the end, there's an amazing surprise. Keep an open mind and have fun! If you're in Salem, you should already have an open-mind. I had such an amazing time that I tipped Kenneth well at the end of the tour. It was well worth the $15-20 (I can't remember) I paid for the tour. I really appreciated everything he did and I will be touring with him on my next visit to Salem! Wish you love and luck all the way from LA!

Ken really brought this city to life in an authentic and detailed way that other tours lack. It's…read morenot full of Disney fluff but is instead representative of all the true history and culture here- including the native Americans, the Caribbean influx, the culture of sailors as well as (of course) the witch hysteria of 1692. I've been coming to visit Salem since I was a little girl and I can't believe how much I learned and appreciated in a new light! Ken carefully answered all questions, and was diligent about taking any he couldn't answer down so he could find the answer and email us later. He was so thoughtful and knowledgeable!

Didn't get to take the tour, it seemed a little expensive to me... but I felt like it did offer…read moremuch more bang for your buck then some other near by attractions. And honestly I would have paid it but we were almost out of our fun money for the trip. I will probably do it next time, or honestly staying here would be really cool!

Great day for a visit! Worth the drive Spent the day in…read moreSalem. Very comforting! conveniently located.