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 legit SO much fun! The name Hocus Pocus kinda throws you off because you may be thinking…read moreabout the movie, but this tour really is amazing. Start off with the tour guides, extremely friendly and beyond knowledgeable. They really know their history for Salem. The tour itself was a few hours and you walk to all of the sites in Salem with historical significance. There is so much to learn from Salem. So much history and heartbreak. It really is eye opening to hear the stories oof the witch trials and how the witch trials began and who all was wrongly persecuted. The tour guides were so nice and explained everything with such great details. This tour was definitely the highlight of our trip in Salem. I highly highly recommend Hocus Pocus Tours, I learned so much regarding Salem, the witch trials, the history behind the two, and a little bit of Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. So much fun!

Great tour guide. She controlled the chatty Cathy in our group asking off the wall questions with…read morekindness and d a firm redirect. The tour was a tad long because of this but the guide was knowledgeable and I learned more about Salem than just the witch stuff. It seems like you walk around town all Over but then after the tour I realized we were actually in a pretty small area and everything was actually pretty close together

To be honest, this may have been the best walking tour I've ever done. Our tour guide, Sarah Black,…read morewas extraordinary. - Smart - Funny - Clever - Clear - Answered every question - Very easy to listen to - Really good speaking voice and personality I even liked that she threw a little bit of shade on the terrible tourist traps in the city. Honestly, I thought Sarah must've been an actor or something because she was so engaging. Nope. She's a local historian. Awesome. Overall, very informative and fun. I would absolutely recommend Sarah Black and the Bewitched Tour for anyone looking for a great tour of the city of Salem.

This was an incredible experience, and a huge part of that was our fantastic guide, Vin…read more Vin is a born storyteller. He was incredibly theatrical and had a way of bringing the city's haunted history to life. His performance was captivating, and he kept our whole group on the edge of our seats with every twist and turn of the ghostly tales. He was also great at answering questions and made everyone feel like they were a part of the story, not just listening to it. If you're looking for a tour that is both spooky and entertaining, this is the one. Vin's passion for the supernatural and his flair for the dramatic made for an unforgettable night. Highly recommend!

Vinnie was very knowledgeable and a great story teller. We really enjoyed ourselves.read more

This was my first time in Salem, and I booked this tour with 8 of my coworkers--we had an absolute…read moreblast. From the moment it started, it was spooky, fun, and incredibly entertaining. Our tour guide was great: super knowledgeable, hilarious, and very interactive. They kept everyone engaged while sharing tons of fascinating and spooky history. The Hocus Pocus and Bewitched references were a huge bonus and added such a fun, nostalgic vibe. Seeing the Witch House in person was especially cool and definitely a highlight. For the price, this tour was 100% worth it. $37 for a 2.5-hour tour felt like a steal for how much you see. The only downside was the other group that was paired with ours. They were loud and kept interrupting the guide, which took away from the experience at time but that had nothing to do with how great the tour itself was. Overall, we still had an amazing time and would absolutely recommend this tour, especially for first-time visitors who want a spooky, fun, and memorable Salem experience

Anne's tour was excellent and the perfect way to start our day in Salem! My guest and I aren't huge…read moreon ghosts, so we were looking for a more history-focused tour, and the History and Hauntings of Salem tour was the perfect balance. The two hours truly flew by. Would recommend to anyone visiting! PS - we went the first weekend AFTER Halloween. It was pleasant weather and not crowded at all. Anne showed us a picture of the crowds during peak Halloween season...that was the spookiest part!!! People packed in like sardines, a la Disney world in summer. Consider going in November if that's not your style.

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.

We went on the Ghost Tours as part of a class trip. We all were super excited about it, but…read moreunfortunately it was very disappointing. Our tour guide Bob didn't really talk about the history, but rather about his own past with ghosts. While some of the stories were a little interesting we wanted to know more about the actual hauntings of Salem not his personal experiences. Then when we asked to take a picture with him as is my teachers tradition he told two of the students to put their hands against his neck which was weird and creepy. All of us were uncomfortable with the request. Then at the end instead of talking about Hocus Pocus or hauntings he started talking about death and didn't include any verified information. He also proceeded to yell at us and our teacher throughout the entire tour if we even so much as whispered, stating that he didn't appreciate us talking. We all regret going on the tour and don't believe it was worth the money. We suggest the company has a serious talk with Bob as it seems he is very unpopular in other recent reviews.

My friends and I really enjoyed our tour with Mikayla! She was the absolute best at storytelling…read moreand history. We learned so much and appreciated her enthusiasm on what was a bitter cold, rainy day! Thank you!

I had a great time on my ghost tour with Sam. It was a little awkward as I was the only one on the…read moretour. In a way, I'm thankful they still ran the tour, but on the other hand, I wouldn't have minded if they had re-scheduled. Being the only one on it made it a little awkward. That said, Sam was great and theatric and was a blast, you can tell he really likes what he does. I didn't seem to catch any ghosts in the pictures I took, but overall, I still enjoyed myself and had a better time on this tour than I did on another I took with a different company earlier in the year.

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.

Every time I visit Salem, I always do this tour. The one thing I don't like, which has changed is…read morethe fact that they do not do stops anymore. I understand them not doing this during the fall season but any other time throughout the year that they are open they really need to bring this back for us. I remember when you could pay for the All day pass and basically get dropped off anywhere they had the stops. Please bring this back for us. We really appreciated it then. Other than that, this is a very wonderful scenic guided tour. It goes through downtown Salem and also beside the ocean. I always learn something new throughout all the years I've done this tour, which is amazing. You get to wear in all sorts of things about Salem the movie Hocus Pocus interesting facts about the Navy and other historical buildings. Definitely a lot of fun and I highly recommend it!

I highly recommend a trolley tour, simply because you learn a lot more about Salem than if you just…read morewalk around solo. It's also great if walking the entire town isn't workable for you or members of your party. Our guide was very funny and personal but with that being said, the volume of the audio projection system was not great. He was muffled a lot and the volume was not consistent. Additionally, the trolley bus itself needs attention...The suspension was terrible, so you felt every bit of every impurity of the road while sitting on those wood seats. The lows of the experience stack up comparably against the knowledge and insight gained along the tour.

This well exceeded expectation! The story telling In The beginning, setting the scene made the…read moreattraction even more special. The real life artifacts and pirates treasure were top tier... this is a NON CHEESEY WORTH THE MONEY attraction. My family loved a little something different in Salem and not the same regurgitated witch stories. This did not disappoint. 10/10. Will come back! #worthit

It was a good tour and Michael was great as a guide. it was really historical in nature and not a…read moregimmicky as I feared. We learned a lot. We did the 3 museum package and it was worth it.

You can easily find this house along the salem which self tour. This house has been well preserved…read moreand is a vision with it's large elevation and beautiful trimming.