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Monday 10am - 5pm Tuesday 10am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 10am - 5pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

Salem Witch Museum

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Salem, MA
Salem Witch Museum

Telling the story of the innocent victims of the Salem witch trials of 1692 since 1972.

06/01/2026

Happy Pride Month from all of us here at the Salem Witch Museum! We look forward to celebrating love and our LGBTQ+ community!

05/31/2026

This image held in the Library of Congress collection shows a sketch of the witch's costume for a 1934 theatrical adaptation of Sleeping Beauty.

It is always interesting to see how witches are depicted in visual culture over the years. This image is particularly striking given its obvious reference to a Puritan-style of dress!

Do you think Disney's interpretation for its 1959 film was an improvement?

05/30/2026

Les Secrets Mervelleux De La Magie Naturelle Du Petit Albert is a famous grimoire (a book of magic). ✨🔮

Produced during a time when the cheap and simple format known as the Bibliotheque bleue was on the rise in France, these books were viewed with fascination by all levels of society. Though laws were eventually enacted to restrict their sale, tens of thousands are known to have circulated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

This particular grimoire included chapters on physiognomy (the art of judging a character/intelligence from facial characteristics), palmistry, and the manufacture of talismans. It also included magical and medicinal instructions, ranging from practical needs, like fortifying wine, making vinegar, advice for bad stomachs, methods of curing urinary problems, fever, and bad breath, to charms which could stop a woman from speaking “lewdly,” ensure success in fishing, and determine if a woman was chaste.

This beautifully illustrated 1868 edition of this famed book of magic is currently on display in our exhibit Witches: Evolving Perceptions.

05/29/2026

Our Red Window Patches are back in stock!

This SWM Red Window Patch depicts the iconic front windows of the Salem Witch Museum. These exclusive patches can be sewn or ironed.

These and many other unique items are available in-store or online! https://salemwitchmuseum.com/product/swm-window-patch/

05/28/2026

On this day in 1797, the Friendship launched from Salem’s waterfront.

It made 15 trips around the world, bringing back goods and merchandise like pepper, silk, and cheese. The ship was captured by the British in the War of 1812 and sold in Britain. The Friendship shows Salem’s part in the growing global trade of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Today, a replica of the ship is docked at Derby Wharf in Salem and a model of the original ship can be seen at the Peabody Essex Museum.

05/27/2026

Views from the Salem Willows, c. 1865–1914, taken by photographer Frank Cousins.

Have you ever visited the Salem Willows on a trip to Salem? ☀⛱

Images Courtesy of Phillips Library, Peabody Essex Museum, Rowley, MA.

05/26/2026

If you were alive during the European witch hunts and found yourself suspected of being a witch, what could you do to defend yourself?

In some cases, extralegal folk tests were used. One such test involved weighing a suspected witch, for some believed that a witch would be abnormally light.

In Oudewater, Netherlands, a weighing house was available for those who wished to prove their weight was natural. For a fee, a suspected witch could acquire a certificate which stated this fact. This document could theoretically protect against slanderous gossip.

05/25/2026

Though many of those targeted during the Salem witch trials were poor widows, argumentative women, or individuals with scandal in their past, respected, upper-class citizens were not safe from the accusers’ pointing fingers in 1692.

Elizabeth Cary was married to a wealthy Captain from Charlestown, Massachusetts. When rumors reached Nathaniel Cary that his wife was among those suspected of practicing witchcraft, he believed he could easily clear this obvious misunderstanding.

But much to the couple’s disbelief, when the afflicted witnesses laid eyes on Elizabeth Cary, they appeared to become overwhelmed by invisible, tormenting forces. Like many other suspects, Mistress Cary was soon forced to undergo several folk tests. Though the magistrates had been warned against such controversial practices, they were used on numerous occasions as the witch panic wore on.

Mistress Cary was instructed to stand with her arms outstretched, forbidden to touch her husband or lean on him for support. The trembling woman was forced to look upon the afflicted to see if her gaze would increase their suffering. Her interrogators next brought her hand to touch a convulsing witness to see if physical contact would stop their pain. As she began to sob, she asked her husband to wipe away her sweat and tears. Though they had come to Salem Village to clear her name, Elizabeth Cary was soon placed under arrest.

On this day, in the year 1692, Mistress Cary reportedly suffered an extreme reaction to the brutal, unexpected treatment as she languished in Cambridge prison. According to her husband, she was overtaken by shivering convulsions that were so severe, he believed she may soon die.

By late July, Captain Cary appears to have given up waiting for justice. He quietly arranged for his wife to escape from prison. Though she was not the only fortunate soul who was able to flee to safety during the Salem witch hunt, this option was generally possible only for those with wealth and connections.

05/24/2026

These striking t-shirts are back in stock! On the front is our logo in yellow, with a gorgeous rendering of our museum’s iconic building on the back.

They are available both in-store and online!

ww.wsalemwitchmuseum.com/product/swm-building-t-shirt

05/23/2026

Visiting Salem this Memorial Day weekend? We will be open for our regular hours of operation Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!

www.salemwitchmuseum.com

Address

19 1/2 Washington Square N
Salem, MA
01970

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 5pm
Tuesday	10am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	10am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 5pm

Telephone

(978) 744-1692

Website

http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com/

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