Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tours & Salem Historical Tours

01/24/2025

Attending the North Of Tourism Summit today. There’s lots of great stuff happening in and the North Shore of . Put us on your list this year. .

01/13/2025

Coming to Salem in February or March? We're offering a BUY ONE GET ONE 50% OFF deal in those months. We are running our Salem 101: General History Tour (about all Salem history) at 11 am, 1692 Witchcraft Walk (deep dive into the events of 1692) and Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour (spooky and paranormal) at 6 p.m. Just go to SalemHistoricalTours.com and click the book now button. Pick your tour and enter the code WINTERSALE to get your discount. Bring your winter coat!

01/03/2025

The new Court of Supreme Judicature began on this day in the courthouse in the middle of Washington Street. This is the second court of the Salem Witchcraft Trials with a different dynamic. William Stoughton is still the chief justice and Wait Still Winthrop, John Richards and Samuel Sewall are still on the court. But Thomas Danforth, who was against the trials, is now a judge. Sewall leans against the trials like Danforth.
And Gov. William Phips has now eliminated spectral evidence. Nevertheless, the court will try 23 people in January and convict three people to hang Feb. 1.
This new court is the humble beginnings of the highest court in the state of Massachusetts – the SJC (Supreme Judicial Court)

01/01/2025

What did the Puritans do to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the 1600s? NOTHING!
It wasn’t New Year’s Eve to them. The new year started March 25 so Dec. 31 was just another day to the Puritans.
It was because England refused to go along with the rest of Europe in adopting the Gregorian calendar. The English year didn’t change until March 25, or Lady Day, when Christians celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin
In 45 B.C., Julius Caesar ordered a new calendar, one with 12 months, 365 days and a start date of January 1 with a leap year every fourth year. By the 16th century it became obvious that the Julian calendar overcompensated with too many leap years. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII approved the New Style, or Gregorian calendar that we use now. Most of Europe went along with the change. England did not.

12/28/2024

On this day in 1713, John Chipman was ordained as the reverend of the new meeting house of Beverly. Previously, the Salem church had decided that the portion of Beverly that did not have a church was to be formed into a new parish called The Precinct of Salem and Beverly. Other parts of Beverly went to Salem, Danvers and Wenham for prayer
But many residents opposed the plan, wanting one church for Beverly. The result was a meeting house that was 50 feet by 40 feet and built on the same grounds where the meeting house in North Beverly is today.
Chipman earned a salary of 60 pounds ($16k today) annually and preached for 60 years until his death. He lived at 634 Cabot Street. His home still stands today.

12/21/2024

12/05/2024

🎄✨ Give the gift of Salem this Christmas! 🎁✨ From unique handcrafted treasures to Salem-inspired keepsakes, our shop has the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Whether you're looking for something magical, historical, or a little bit of both, you'll find it here! Stop by and find your holiday magic today. 🌟

11/27/2024

Rev. Cotton Mather is famously known for his role in the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials. The reverend made several comments about the use of spectral evidence against the accused, condemned Rev. George Burroughs to death when the people demanded he be freed and he wrote Wonders of the Invisible World.
But Rev. Mather is known for a few other kinder acts as well. He used to counsel pirates in their jail cell to confess their sins to God so they would go to heaven. He was involved in trying to create medicines to help the sick. And he was an amateur astronomer, often pointing a telescope toward the night sky in search of signs from God and life on other worlds.
In 1714, he wrote about a UFO incident on November 26, 1668. There was a bright starlike point glistening on the surface of the moon that was witnessed by several New Englanders.
It's not clear whether Mather witnessed this himself (he was 5-years-old at the time), but it spurred his interest in the heavens. He documented a few other potential UFO sightings as well in New Haven, CT

11/11/2024

Adam Berry From Kindred Spirits took our ghost tour this past Saturday night and loved it. You will too. When you come to Salem, look us up and take a ghost tour or one of our daily history tours. SalemHistoricalTours.com.

11/02/2024

Hey everyone! It's Fred here with another message for the living. I want to thank you all for coming to my hometown. I greatly appreciate your enthusiam and zeal for Salem. It's a wonderful little place where people like me can come alive and partake in most things human and not feel out of place. Some of you didn't even notice me when I was standing right next to you. Oh, and my apologies to the blond woman who was carrying around a little chihuahua in a bag. Your dog saw me and started freaking out when I tried to pat it. But it is time for me to rest again so I am here in the Old Burying Point cemetery ready to rest my weary bones. I am going to slide under this rock. I am told it is a bench and people sit on it. Feel free to sit on the bench. It doesn't bother me. But if you hear me yell "ouch!", then get off of it.

11/01/2024

We've made it through the month of October! Thank you to everyone who visited us this month and we can't wait to see you next year, we had a blast! 👻

10/30/2024

Halloween is HERE in Salem! 🕷️👻

Looking to go on a tour before the season ends? Visit our website and book now before they are gone!

10/29/2024

The City of Salem and Destination Salem, the city’s official destination marketing organization, have released a visitor’s guide designed to help visitors and residents have a safe and fun experience on Halloween, Thursday, October 31. This guide will give visitors and residents alike a list of public Halloween events, tips for finding a restroom, road closures, and some guidelines and rules to ensure a safe and fun Halloween visit.

“Visitor trends throughout this month indicate that we are expecting large crowds for Halloween night,” said Mayor Dominick Pangallo. “We encourage visitors to plan ahead, take the train or the ferry, respect our rules and our residents, and enjoy a safe and fun visit.”

HALLOWEEN NIGHT RULES

SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING

Call the Salem Police at (978)744-1212.
PLEASE REMEMBER…

Be safe, considerate, and use common sense.
Be prepared to leave at the end of the evening. The party concludes after the fireworks.
Do not bring weapons, real or fake, to Salem on Halloween.
In addition to the attached Salem Halloween Night Visitors Guide, guests can download the Destination Salem and/or My Salem MA apps for updates in real time, and follow HauntedHappenings.org for further information.

10/28/2024

On this day in 2013, Saturday Night Live did a sketch on the Trials featuring a public defender trying to save his client. Of course, it is not historically accuarte, but is amusing.

Subscribe to SaturdayNightLive: http://j.mp/1bjU39dSEASON 10: http://j.mp/18McbV3Courtroom: http://j.mp/17sbPQBHistorical Parodies: http://j.mp/16bHJpBAccuse...

10/25/2024

Take our Haunted Footsteps Ghost tour. You're guaranteed to see a ghost if our dead tour guide, Fred, is working the ticket desk. His full name is Frederick Kasper Kronenshieldt. He gave tours about the Revolutionary War in the early 1800s because, well, he actually lived through it. He was present at Leslie's Retreat in Salem and also escaped death at the Battle of Bunker Hill as a musket ball narrowly missed him when it passed between his legs.
He then served on the privateer Black Prince alongside his cousin Lt Benjamin Crowninshield. He is a distant relative to the Crowninshield family. After the war, he was an assistant cook on America's first yacht, Cleopatra's Barge, that was owned by George Crowninshield Jr.
Fred died in 1852 when he ate an oyster on a dare at a dinner at Hamilton Hall that was catered by John Remond. He had an allergic reaction and died.

10/24/2024

October 31 is upon us 👻 here's a few words from the city on road closures this weekend 👇

Halloween events will include multiple road closures and heavy traffic impacts for the entire day and night. Note that heavy traffic and likely road closures are also anticipated for the weekend prior to Halloween, October 26 and October 27. Visitors for the weekend and on Halloween are strongly encouraged to take the commuter rail or ferry to get to Salem. Traffic impacts will be significant, including on highways leading to the City. Expect major traffic impacts on Route 114 and Route 1A, as well as likely impacts and delays on Route 128.

Downtown Salem streets will close to all traffic no later than 4:00 p.m. on the 31st. Road closures include: Essex Street at Crombie Street and Barton Square to Union Street, Washington Street from New Derby Street to Bridge Street, Federal Street from St. Peter’s Street to North Street, Washington Square North and West from Essex Street to Brown Street, Hawthorne Boulevard, Derby Street, Route 1A, Congress Street near Pickering Wharf, Charter Street, Central Street, Front Street, and Lafayette Street from New Derby Street to Front Street.

Franklin Street and Bridge Street will also close to all traffic between the westerly overpass ramps and Sgt. James Ayube Memorial Drive from 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for the closing fireworks.

Please note that the MBTA closes the MBTA Salem garage from 6:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on Halloween. Cars will not be permitted to enter or exit the garage between these hours.

10/23/2024

🎉👻 Ready for an unforgettable night? Check out Haunted Speakeasy for the ultimate ghastly Gatsby party experience! Dance in the gorgeous 219-year-old real haunted mansion, Hamilton Hall, with plenty of space to Charleston on its famous springed dance floor! Enjoy century-old cocktails 🍸 and live music featuring vintage and modern songs you know reVamped for that flapper feel by “Tricky” Niki Luparelli and the Grave Diggers ✨ Be captivated by dazzling 1920s burlesque performances and mingle with our roving ghost actors! Celebrate your afterlife in style – grab your tickets now at hauntedspeakeasysalem2024.eventbrite.com! 💀