The Best Ghost Tours in Salem: An Honest Guide to the Witch City

Salem ghost tours compared

Prices and ratings in this table were checked on Viator on July 30, 2026, apart from the Haunted Footsteps and self-guided smartphone rows, rechecked August 3, 2026 and unchanged, and the ghost hunt and pub crawl rows, which stand at our July 28, 2026 check.

Book the best overall ghost tour in Salem

The Salem stories to know before you book

The trials the guides describe are not legend; the paperwork survives, and you can read it. The Salem Witchcraft Papers, kept in the University of Virginia's documentary archive, file the court records case by case: Bridget Bishop, executed June 10, 1692, and Rebecca Nurse, executed July 19, 1692, both sit in the same alphabetical index. Nurse was examined on March 24, 1692, and the transcript reads like a script the tours still follow.

"I can say before my Eternal father I am innocent, & God will clear my innocency," Rebecca Nurse told the court at that March 24, 1692 examination, as recorded in her case file in the Salem Witchcraft Papers. She was hanged that July. The better guides let lines like that one do the work.

The Witch House, the only building still standing in Salem with direct ties to the trials. Old Burying Point, one of the oldest cemeteries in the country, where trial judge John Hathorne rests. The site of the old county jail, where the accused waited in irons. The Ropes Mansion, which movie fans will recognize. Each guide tells these sites differently, and the best stories are the ones we will not spoil here; the longer files on every address live in our guide to haunted Salem.

Which Salem ghost tour is right for your group?

The classic walk, day or night

A classic walk gives you the whole record in one pass: 400 years of the city told street by street, with architecture that dates back centuries doing the set dressing. Our pick is the History and Hauntings of Salem Guided Walking Tour, the best overall tour on this page at 4.9 stars across 15,335 reviews, two hours from $36, with daytime departures and a nighttime option led by lantern light. Its listing welcomes wheelchairs and strollers with an honest caveat we quote in the practical notes below, and dogs can come.

• Choose it if this is your first ghost tour in Salem and you want the definitive version.
• Choose it if plans wobble; cancellation is free up to 24 hours out.
• Skip it if two hours on brick sidewalks is a problem; the one-hour walk and the self-guided route below run shorter.

Verdict: the default pick, and the one we would book first.

Book the classic Salem ghost walk, day or night

The daytime witch trials walk

Daylight is when the history-first version works best, before the costumes come out. The pick is the Best Salem Witch Trials Historical Walking Tour, 90 minutes from $30, covering key sites such as the witch trials memorial and the marker for the 1692 courtroom, with the documented record out front. Per its listing, 'Tours depart at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm', guests should arrive 15 minutes early, and it operates in all weather.

• Choose it if you want the trials treated as history first and ghost lore second.
• Choose it if your evening is spoken for; even the 4 pm departure hands the night back.
• Skip it if anyone needs wheelchair access; the listing does not offer it, though strollers are fine.

Verdict: the history pick, and the natural first half of a two-tour day.

Book the daytime witch trials walk in Salem

The ghost hunt

A ghost hunt trades passive listening for participation, with equipment in the mix per the listing. The pick is A Ghost Hunting Tour Specters and Apparitions in Salem, 90 minutes at night from $36, run by the same operator family as our top overall walk. It is new enough that the review book is still short, 4.8 stars across 36 reviews, and its listing is blunt about the forecast: 'Our Tours run rain or shine, we do not cancel for weather.'

• Choose it if you want to work the sites yourself instead of only hearing about them.
• Choose it if access matters; the listing welcomes wheelchairs and strollers, and dogs can come.
• Skip it if a deep review record is what you book on; 36 reviews is a young book next to the 15,335 on its sibling walk.

Verdict: the hands-on pick, with the operator pedigree standing in for the short review history.

Book the Salem ghost hunt

The pub crawl

A pub crawl trades some story time for bar time. The pick, and the only one of its format on our table, is the Salem Booze and Brews Haunted Pub Crawl, 90 minutes in the evening from $36, 4.6 stars across 488 reviews. What your ticket covers is spelled out in the listing's own inclusions, so read that line before you budget the night, and note that bookings are confirmed within 48 hours.

• Choose it if your group measures a story by the round.
• Choose it if access matters; the listing welcomes wheelchairs and strollers.
• Skip it if you need instant confirmation for a tight itinerary; this one can take up to 48 hours.

Verdict: the social pick for a crowd that wants the stories and the taverns in one loop.

Book the Salem haunted pub crawl

The self-guided budget route

Self-guided trades the live guide for full control of the clock. The pick is the Self-Guided Smartphone Ghost Walking Tour in Salem, about 50 minutes from $7.75 at our August 3, 2026 check, with a recorded narrator covering haunted locales like the Ropes Mansion, the Salem Witch House, and Old Burying Point Cemetery, resting place of trials magistrate John Hathorne.

• Choose it if you are watching the budget; $7.75 is the lowest price on our table, more than $15 under the cheapest guided walk.
• Choose it if October crowds worry you; you set the start time and the pace.
• Skip it if the guide is the point; a recording cannot answer questions or hold a pause.

Verdict: the budget pick, and a good second lap after a guided walk.

Practical notes on accessibility: seven of the twelve compared tours list wheelchair access on Viator, including the top overall pick, the voodoo walk, the Bewitched walk, the Black Cat night tour, the Salem Uncovered walk, the ghost hunt, and the pub crawl. The most-reviewed listing pairs its access note with a caveat worth reading as ground truth for the whole town: 'Salem has brick sidewalks, uneven surfaces and narrow areas.' Four walks do not list wheelchair access, Salem's Best Ghost Tour, the daytime witch trials walk, the Haunted Footsteps walk, and the Witches and Wicked Whispers walk, and the self-guided smartphone route's own listing flags it not wheelchair accessible. Strollers are welcome on most of the compared walks, per the listings.

Haunted hotels in Salem

Salem's inns lean into the town's reputation, and one carries the best known file: the Salem Inn, three historical homes in America's oldest seaport, rumored to be haunted, with rooms named for Salem's long past, themed rooms nodding to the witch trials, and a ghost tour hosted by the hotel itself. The Merchant answers with gothic flair, a spooky cocktail menu, and a hidden speakeasy, for travelers who want the atmosphere without the ghost stories. The Hawthorne Hotel is the grand Victorian landmark of the group, steps from the Salem Witch Museum and Salem Common. All three carry booking cards in the list above.

The full rundown, waterfront rooms and the boutique tier included, lives in our guide to where to stay in Salem.

Planning your Salem ghost tour night

Two tracks work. The daylight track books the 10 am or 1 pm witch trials walk, fills the afternoon from our guide to things to do in Salem, and hands the evening to a lantern walk. The night track books dinner downtown and one of the evening departures. Meeting points sit on each listing, and two are worth writing down: check-in for Salem's Best Ghost Tour begins 30 minutes before tour time at Remember Salem, 127 Essex Street, per its listing, and the witch trials walk asks guests to arrive 15 minutes early, a habit worth applying to every tour on this page.

October is its own project. 'Salem in October is magical but busy,' the Salem's Best Ghost Tour listing warns its own guests, and the city plans around the crush: per the City of Salem's October parking and transportation page, free shuttles run on a continuous loop between satellite parking lots and downtown on October weekends, and rates at city garages, lots, and meters are subject to change on October weekends and holidays. Park at the satellites, ride in, and keep your evening for the walk.

Book Salem's Best Ghost Tour for the night track

Questions people ask

Do Salem ghost tours run year-round?

Yes. Most operators run nightly tours in every season, though October books out weeks ahead and some routes add extra departures for Halloween. The lantern walks arguably land better without the Halloween crowds.

What time do Salem ghost tours start?

Mostly in the evening and at night. The clearest published clock belongs to the daytime history option: 'Tours depart at 10 am, 1 pm and 4 pm,' per the Best Salem Witch Trials Historical Walking Tour listing. The ghost hunt and the Black Cat walk run at night, most of the rest depart in the evening, and the self-guided smartphone route starts whenever you press play. For exact clock times on your date, the booking page is the authority.

When should you book a Salem ghost tour?

Earlier than feels necessary, and for October, weeks ahead. The operator of Salem's Best Ghost Tour tells its own guests on the listing: 'Salem in October is magical but busy. Check in begins 30 minutes before your tour time at Remember Salem, 127 Essex Street'. The good news: booking early carries almost no risk here, because all twelve compared tours offered free cancellation up to 24 hours before start time at our July 28, 2026 check.

Are Salem ghost tours okay for kids?

Many are. The daytime history walks are the easy fit, and several night walks state plainly that children are welcome with an adult; the voodoo walk, the Haunted Footsteps walk, and the Witches and Wicked Whispers walk all ask that children be accompanied. Strollers are welcome on most compared routes, including the top overall pick. The line to respect is the Mysteries and Murders night walk, which its operator pitches at young adults and up, not small children.

How much do Salem ghost tours cost?

Plan on $23 to $36 per person for a guided walk, or $7.75 for the self-guided smartphone route. As of the July 30, 2026 check on Viator, the shortest guided walk starts at $23, the night storytelling pick at $24, and the top overall pick at $36. For party math: a family of four on the daytime witch trials walk runs $120 before fees at its $30 from-price, and two adults on the pub crawl come to $72, with the bar spend governed by what the listing's inclusions say. And if you want the crowd's verdict on the whole field, the twelve compared tours carry more than 26,900 reviews between them.

Do Salem ghost tours run in the rain?

The ones that answer on their listings say yes. The ghost hunt is the bluntest: 'Our Tours run rain or shine, we do not cancel for weather.' The daytime witch trials walk and the Haunted Footsteps walk both operate in all weather per their listings. For the rest, check the listing for your date; with all twelve compared tours free to cancel up to 24 hours out at our check, a bad forecast costs you nothing but the reshuffle.

Do the tours only cover the witch trials?

No. Guides also cover pirate history, murder cases, reported hauntings at local taverns and inns, and the real Salem stories that shaped writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne.

How should visitors approach the witch trial sites?

With some care. The trials were a real injustice with real victims; the court records preserved in the University of Virginia's documentary archive hold Rebecca Nurse insisting on her innocence at her examination, and she was hanged that July. The better guides treat the trials as history first and ghost lore second, and understanding what happened in 1692 makes the rest of the tour land harder.

Keep planning your Salem trip

For deeper picks, read our ranked list of the best ghost tours in Salem. Then browse our guides to haunted Salem, things to do in Salem, and where to stay in Salem, or zoom out to every city we cover in Massachusetts.