History, Hauntings & Hocus Pocus Tours of Salem, MA Witch Trials
Fall is the spooky, busy season in Salem, MA. While this season brings the crowds, it also brings all things Hocus Pocus and witchy in the form of tours to Salem. Several spooky, magical and scary tours are recommended below for those visiting Salem in September - early November. The tours and offerings below showcase the best-rated tours into two essential lists: haunts for the whole family, and a few just for the adults to enjoy later into the night.
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Family-Friendly Tours & Guides
Salem: Slightly Spooky Tour for Kids
This is the most highly recommended tour for kids because the content is specifically designed to be engaging and completely age-appropriate. Designed by local educators, the guides excel at mixing real, accessible history with light, classic ghost stories that avoid any intense or graphic details. The route navigates around the busy main street congestion, which helps keep things more low-key for the whole family. You get a solid historical overview without the fear factor that could spoil the rest of the trip.
Hocus Pocus Film and Tour - See the Movie & Walk the Magic
If your family loves the Hocus Pocus films, then this tour is a must. You’re signing up for two hours of walking the actual filming locations, giving your family a direct link to the movie they love. You’ll hit key spots like the Old Town Hall and the Ropes Mansion, making the city instantly recognizable and exciting. This package also includes a private screening at Cinema Salem of the film! It provides a fantastic anchor point that ties the entire Salem experience together nicely.
This is a daytime walking tour that covers the non-fictional 400 years of Salem history in an easily digestible format. The guides keep the facts straight and the tone accessible for all ages, focusing on the broader context of Salem beyond just the trials. This tour is generally praised for its organization and ability to keep the group moving efficiently through historical points of interest. Make sure to grab the required photo with the Samantha Stevens statue from the show Bewitched as your tour wraps up!
This is your entry-level spooky tour, perfect for satisfying the curiosity of ghost stories without pushing anyone's limits. The focus is strictly on local legends and classic haunted tales, delivered in a theatrical and fun way without diving into any graphic or mature content. It’s a short-duration tour—typically around 90 minutes—which is smart for managing time and ensuring the energy levels stay high for the rest of the day's activities. It’s an easy, low-commitment way to get some paranormal history into the schedule for those with older kids in their group.
This is considered an educational tour because it deliberately moves the conversation past the famous 1692 tragedy and into the present day. The guides cover modern witchcraft, folklore, and the city's current spiritual community, which provides a much wider, more informed perspective of Salem's full history. This tour is often less crowded than the standard Witch Trials walks, offering a more thoughtful and unique family experience. It helps kids understand why Salem remains the "Witch City" today, which is a great talking point for older kids and teens.
Serving as an introduction to the city’s history, this tour expertly balances a breakdown of the major historical landmarks and facts with the addition of mild haunting stories to keep the overall topic lively and engaging for all ages. You are guaranteed licensed guides who deliver on the essential facts you need to know about the Witch Trials and the maritime past. It’s an efficient way to cover significant ground and satisfy both the history buffs and the ghost story fans in your group.
This is entirely about maintaining control of the schedule as the tour is a go-at-your-own-pace option. Using your personal phone as an audio guide, you get to dictate the pace and the order of the stops without pressure from a group tour. If the family needs a sudden stop for a bathroom break, a quick meal, or just a breather, you pause the tour instantly. It's the most flexible and affordable way to cover all the historical essentials exactly on your own terms.
More Intense Tours for the Adults
Salem Booze and Brews Haunted Pub Crawl by US Ghost Adventures
You've had a long day of touring, you earned a drink and a night out. This is a 21+ tour that skillfully combines visits to a few local pubs and taverns with genuine ghost stories delivered by the guide between stops. It's a structured, social night out that allows you and your partner to enjoy a few craft drinks while diving into some chilling, bar-friendly tales. It’s a perfect, low-effort way to cap off a night without having to plan the logistics yourself.
This is the adult ticket you should book immediately. It purposefully skips the famous 1692 trials and focuses entirely on the city's more modern, dark crime, and grizzly history. Guides detail notorious murders and sinister events, delivering the raw, unedited, and highly graphic content you're looking for once the kids are asleep. This is your chance to engage with the kind of intense, mature true crime stories that make Salem genuinely unnerving after dark.
This is a serious, late-night ghost experience that is strictly adults-only for a reason. Guides go deep into the most haunted sites and connect the dots between the mature, disturbing historical themes of the past and the paranormal activity reported today. Book this when you want the real scares, the intense history, and the mature storytelling that only happens after the sun goes down and the crowds thin out. It's an atmospheric and unforgettable experience.
Have you tried any of these tours? If so - leave a comment and let us know what you thought!