Spirits of Salem Museum

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Salem, MA
Spirits of Salem Museum

An eerie and enchanting journey through the history of Salem, told by the spirits themselves!

05/22/2025

Time sure does fly! We have been working hard over this past year to get all of our ducks in a row, and we are pleased to announce that a short time ago we received our final approval from the City! We are in the final stages now and plan to be open this summer! Thank you everyone for your patience!

06/25/2024

1692 Salem was extraordinarily generous in donating to us these documents, including a feature from 1970 about the Great Salem Fire on June 25, 1914. In particular, the "Burned District" map highlights just how massive the devastation was. But it is the photos of the people coming together to care for each other that truly shows how resilient this city can be in the face of adversity. Today we commemorate the 110 year anniversary of this event.

04/25/2024

Hello everyone! We've been quiet on social media for a while because we've been hard at work to get up and running for you! We keep finding ways to improve our presentation and add to our collection before opening our doors to the public. We wanted to take this opportunity to share a sneak peek with you however! Amongst the many artifacts on display in our museum will be this beautiful tantalus, or mariner's liquor chest, from the early 1800s. This particular piece came from the Crowninshields, one of the most famous and influential of our shipping families in Salem. The piece is of an English design, though the gilt paint and blown glass style of the bottles is reminiscent of French pieces from the period. We are researching the estate documents so we can get more information on where it came from, and which member of the family may have purchased it! We sincerely hope to be open for you this summer, and can't wait to show it to you in person!

09/24/2023

Hello folks! We know we haven't given an update for a while, but rest assured we are still hard at work to open this season for you! There have been a number of setbacks beyond our control, but we're truly excited to share this love letter to Salem with you very soon! Watch this space for an announcement by the end of the week!

08/04/2023

Sarah Parker Remond was an international activist for human rights and equal suffrage for women and African Americans. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, she spoke in halls across the United States and England, working towards the abolition of slavery. She was a member of the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society, and fought against segregation in Boston. After the Civil War, she solicited funds for the freedmen of the Southern states. Remond graduated from medical school in 1868, becoming one of the first African American women to do so, and practiced medicine for over 20 years in Rome, Italy. We are honored to include her fierce quest for equality in our museum when we open this fall.

06/21/2023

Though Frederick Douglass did not live in Salem, he was a resident of nearby towns Lynn and New Bedford, Massachusetts. From 1864 to 1870, he spoke every year at the Salem Lyceum as a champion of the Abolitionist movement. Hear his powerful words in person when we open our museum!

06/15/2023

A controversial and polarizing figure, Howard Phillips Lovecraft's personal views in no way reflect those of the museum, however it is impossible to have a conversation about the impact of Salem in the field of gothic horror without including his contributions. Hear his thoughts on Salem in a conversation with other famous authors when we open later this summer!

06/04/2023

Meet our spirits! Alexander Graham Bell will describe to you his experience in Salem at the Lyceum Hall (located very near our own museum), where he demonstrated the telephone to the public for the first time when we open later this summer. Please feel free to visit Black Cat Curiosity Shoppe and peruse some of our historical artifacts of Salem's past in the museum lobby while we finish building their permanent displays, including an original newspaper from when Bell made his presentation here!

05/30/2023

On this day in 1431, nineteen year-old Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) was executed as a witch.

Jeanne, who only referred to herself as "Jeanne la Pucelle (Joan the Maid)" was born in Domremy, France, and had religious visions which she said called her to help in the war against England. Despite her astounding successes in battle, she was abandoned by the French king and captured by the English, who put her on trial for witchcraft and heresy. Hers is the most famous witch trial in history, and Jeanne d'Arc is one of thousands of people who were accused of witchcraft long before Salem existed.

This life-size statue of Jeanne d'Arc, called "Jeanne d'Arc a Domremy," (Henri Chapu, 1872) depicts Jeanne when she first received her visions, and is currently on display in our lobby. The statue will be part of our Spirits of Salem Museum to address how witchcraft trials in Europe influenced and differed from Salem in 1692.

05/25/2023

Meet our spirits! Elizabeth (Boardman) Bowditch, wife of Nathaniel, will materialize here to tell you her tragic tale when we open this summer. Please feel free to visit Black Cat Curiosity Shoppe and peruse some of our historical artifacts of Salem's past in the museum lobby while we finish building their permanent displays!

Address

234 Essex Street
Salem, MA
01970

Telephone

+19782399145

Website

http://SpiritsofSalem.com/

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