Salem’s busiest time of year has rolled around, and the city is bustling with people attracted to the haunting history, sinister attractions, and wicked good food.
Good Eats
The 99 Restaurant and Pub
The first place we went on our family vacation was a place called the 99 Restaurant and Pub. The first amazing thing about this place was the parking lot, with limited parking and crowded streets in Salem, it’s hard to find a place to park. Everything on the menu sounded appetizing, and I ended up getting a BLT wrap which was absolutely amazing. There was great service, shoutout to our server Zach who was amazing at his job and made the experience the best.
Causeway Restaurant
Only a mile away from our Vrbo house in Gloucester, Massachusetts, was a hole-in-the-wall Causeway restaurant. With Gloucester being such a small town and the restaurant being packed, we knew it was going to be good. They served Italian and seafood dishes and had huge portion sizes. I ordered chicken and broccoli with penne pasta and a white wine garlic sauce.
The Bagel Dudes
Located right on railroad tracks, The Bagel Dudes is a bagel sandwich shop with a wide variety of coffee and sandwich options. The food was amazing with fresh veggies, quality meat, and the best bagels I’ve ever had. The customer service was amazing, and as they were about to close, the man working there gave us a whole bag of free bagels, so they wouldn’t go to waste. We got to try so many different kinds of bagels including french toast, egg, cinnamon raisin, blueberry, and asiago.
Historical places
The Witch House
The Witch House is the historical home of Judge Jonathon Corwin, who sentenced women and men to death on the accusation that they were witches. This is the only structure in Salem with direct ties to the witch trials. The house is now a museum for people to view.
Salem Witch Memorial
Located right next to Charter Street Cemetery, the Salem Witch Memorial has the names of everyone killed in the Witch Trials. Giant plaques of stone with 20 names, dates of death, and causes of death, create a circle where people can walk, view, and pay their respects to those who were killed. Fresh flowers and coins are placed on the plaques as people visit.
Proctor’s Ledge
Another memorial located in the less busy parts of Salem is Proctor’s Ledge. This memorial is located where the accused witches were hung and executed. However, this memorial only has 19 names, as Giles Corey was not hung but instead pressed to death.
This somber memorial is not often busy, so you can really take your time. Here, people leave flowers next to the memorial.
John Proctor’s house
The house of John Proctor still stands in Massachusetts. It exists in the neighboring town of Peabody, which in 1629 was still Salem. The house is not open to the public and sits on private property. Although you can’t take a look inside, the outside of the house still reflects the 1600s.
Filming Locations
The Ropes Mansion
This historical mansion was owned by the Ropes sisters in the 1700s and is now a museum. It was featured in Disney’s Hocus Pocus as Allison’s house. At the time we were there, the house wasn’t open for tours, but the gardens were open for viewing.
Max and Dani’s House
Located right on the water in Salem is Max and Dani’s house from Hocus Pocus. This house is not open to the public and is private property. However, you can still take a picture with it from across the street.
Pioneer Village
Pioneer Village is a model village of Salem back in the 1630s. This is also where they filmed Thackery Binks’s house in Hocus Pocus. You can walk in and out of the houses and read all about life in Salem when things were just starting.
Life in Salem
Salem Haunted Happenings Marketplace on Essex St.
On a large walking path, all the way down Essex St. in Salem are dozens of stores filled with gift items, magic trinkets, and plenty of witch memorabilia. People are dressed up in crazy costumes and street performers play Halloween music as people pass by.
Witch City Mall
Also located on Essex St. is the Witch City Mall. Even with more stores to look at, the mall was not the most pleasant. Salem is not the place to find a plethora of bathrooms and the Witch City mall was not excluded from the list. Along with only one bathroom and a line going down the hall, Witch City Mall had absolutely no seating. People were sitting on display shelves to rest their feet.
Samantha Statue
The Statue of Samantha from the 1960s sitcom Bewitched sits in the center of Essex St. where most of the tourism takes place. Here people can take their picture with Samantha.
