Just a Little Hocus Pocus in Salem, Massachusetts

October Festivities in Salem

On our list of fun, fall activities was to experience a little Hocus Pocus in Salem, Massachusetts. Did the spooky town of witchcraft live up to the hype? Honestly, not really. I met two other fellow fulltime RVers who also took the haunted trip to Salem and they had similar things to say. The best term I can use to describe Salem, Massachusetts, at least in the month of October – Tourist Trap.

Parking alone was horrendous. To park your car within a two-mile radius of the main attractions it would cost you between $40 – $50 for the day. I had read that taking a ferry from Boston to Salem was an option to avoid the insanity of parking in Salem. However, you would have to pay $20 for parking in Boston, plus the $50 per person round trip ferry costs. What did we do? We parked in a free lot 2 miles away and walked.

Essex Street

To avoid the crowds, we went to Salem on a Monday. I say this loosely because the place was still packed. We couldn’t even get into the Witch Museum because it was already sold out for the day. We mostly just wandered around the streets. The stores have a 15-person at time rule, so there were lines of people outside most of the stores waiting to get in. A number of street performers were dressed up in scary costumes, which the kids got a kick out of. We found most of the main attractions, the Witch Trials Memorial, the Bewitched Statue, but what caught the attention of our kids was the vast number of haunted houses. After a lot of pleading, we finally agreed to take them into one of the haunted houses.

Gallows Hill

The haunted museum and theater seemed like the best option for Lylah. She is a brave girl, but still, she is only 7 years old. They had two options available, a haunted house with jump scares, or a live theater. Lylah initially wanted to do the scarier option, the haunted house, but while standing in line she psyched herself out so bad that her and I made the last-minute decision to go to the theater option instead. At this point, Lylah was so in her own head that she couldn’t handle it at all. We ended up having to leave halfway through. The staff at the museum though were PHENOMENAL! I came out of the theater with a crying Lylah and they sat and talked to her, she met the actresses, they showed her some of the props and they gave us a refund. If I were to recommend anything in Salem, it’s Gallows Hill. Since poor Lylah had a rough time at the haunted house, we switched gears and went to Professor Spindlewink’s World of Wizardry. More magical than scary.

Final Thoughts

Salem, Massachusetts was an interesting town. I think I was hoping for a little more Hocus Pocus. We did see the Sanderson Sisters make an appearance walking down one of the streets. That was the highlight for me. Otherwise, I didn’t find it very exciting. Maybe the Witches Museum is the highlight of Salem? I wouldn’t know because it was sold out. Will I go back? Meh. It was pretty lackluster and overpriced for my taste.