Spellbound Tours
Spellbound Tours
5
Ghost & Vampire ToursHistorical & Heritage ToursWalking ToursNight Tours
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Spellbound Tours is one of the oldest and most reputable tours in Salem. Their nightly tours cover the history of the most haunted places in Salem and their own experiences investigating them. Spellbound is the the only tour company in Salem that has actually done paranormal investigation in all the sites they visit. Take a trip through the dark side of Salem’s sinister past, to the actual locations of the infamous witch trials! Expect to be amazed by the large amount of documented Paranormal Activity! Visit real haunted locations, including what may be the most haunted cemetery in the country! Hear tales of vampirism- historic and today! Do real, live Vampires still lurk in the shadows of the this seaport town?! Discover the mysterious secrets of voodoo, the startling root of the Salem Witch Hysteria!
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
2,128 reviews
Excellent
1,917
Very good
134
Average
46
Poor
18
Terrible
13
Libby P
2 contributions
Nov 2022 • Friends
Dr. Vitka was great! You can tell he loves what he does and takes his craft seriously, And that is exactly who you want to be giving you a ghost/paranormal tour of Salem. He was kind enough to hang around at the end to answer our many questions. We loved getting his take on the darker side of Salem’s history and present day and had great insider suggestions of other things we should do during our stay. Highly recommend!
Written November 14, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mitchell m
2 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
I would highly recommend this tour for anyone interested in learning more about the history of Salem and the witch trials of 1692. Mike was a wonderful guide with extensive knowledge of the area as well as the facts surrounding the Salem witch trials. He was enthusiastic and engaging with a very nice way about himself. He took the time to explain many interesting facts and welcomed questions from the group.
Written April 12, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bkei
Bloomfield, CT31 contributions
Sept 2020 • Friends
I have been on this tour at least a few times. Dr. Vitka does a phenomenal job giving a great history of Salem and the ghostly occupants of Salem. He is knowledgeable and entertaining.
Especially during these crazy times this is an excellent, safe activity and you get to support a local small business.
When you have the time - definitely take a Spellbound Tour!
Especially during these crazy times this is an excellent, safe activity and you get to support a local small business.
When you have the time - definitely take a Spellbound Tour!
Written September 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jessica F
3 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
Michael is an excellent guy. He has this voice that encapsulates you into the whole experience. Very informative. I especially liked the Houdini story. Would definitely go again. Even though the city is crowded, that’s to be expected, he was patient with waiting to let the others catch up.
Written October 22, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kayla M
6 contributions
Jun 2022 • Friends
Enthusiastic and humorous tour guide. Interesting/relevant talking points. Run ins with other tour groups were awkward, but that’s gotta be practically impossible to avoid. Very enjoyable- thanks for the experience!
Written June 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eileen H
Chestertown, MD33 contributions
Sept 2020 • Family
Tour was informative, fund interesting and we really enjoyed it. The tour guide had a lot of stories to tell about Salem and it’s rich history of witches. I wish we could have gone in the cemetery but you cannot fox a city’s decision to redo it. The guide knew his stuff, kept it interesting and worked to make sure everyone was included in the group.
Written August 31, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chasexthexsunset
Buffalo10 contributions
I have been to Salem a couple times and have been on every ghost tour offered and I can honestly say this is the best one i've ever been on.
The majority of the "ghost tours" are just historical facts. This is a TRUE ghost tour where i found myself spooked a few times.
We first took the evening "Vampire & Ghost tour". The first thing that impressed me was the detail the tour guide took to learn where everyone was from and a little bit about why they came to Salem, added a little personality to the tour. While it wasn't Mollie that lead us on my tour she did leave us in the capable hands of another guide who was very knowledgeable. He took us to a lot of different sites that all the other tours had just walked us by. I got many interesting pictures (Which i will upload) and was very satisfied with this experience.
The next day we went back to the office and booked ourselves on the graveyard tour.
Taken on a rainy day in July we were lucky enough to be the only two on the tour. This was the most informative graveyard tour i had ever seen. We look a close look at the inscriptions on the stones, learned about the 'lightning tree' and the interesting man burred underneath it.
Don't waste your time on the other "ghost tours" unless your just looking for a history lesson. This is the REAL DEAL!
The majority of the "ghost tours" are just historical facts. This is a TRUE ghost tour where i found myself spooked a few times.
We first took the evening "Vampire & Ghost tour". The first thing that impressed me was the detail the tour guide took to learn where everyone was from and a little bit about why they came to Salem, added a little personality to the tour. While it wasn't Mollie that lead us on my tour she did leave us in the capable hands of another guide who was very knowledgeable. He took us to a lot of different sites that all the other tours had just walked us by. I got many interesting pictures (Which i will upload) and was very satisfied with this experience.
The next day we went back to the office and booked ourselves on the graveyard tour.
Taken on a rainy day in July we were lucky enough to be the only two on the tour. This was the most informative graveyard tour i had ever seen. We look a close look at the inscriptions on the stones, learned about the 'lightning tree' and the interesting man burred underneath it.
Don't waste your time on the other "ghost tours" unless your just looking for a history lesson. This is the REAL DEAL!
Written October 9, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
sshady00
New Hampton, NY28 contributions
Aug 2020
The tour guides are great, don't get me wrong, I have nothing bad to say about them, but these companies totally take advantage of you with the tours that they offer. Especially the way they advertise them, they are soooo misleading. This was my first time visiting Salem and I had relied a great deal on the reviews that were given when I was looking to book things to do during my stay and I am really disappointed how nobody spoke the truth. So I am going to speak the truth for any future visitor looking for honest feedback.
You don't SEE anything at all on this "tour", all you do is LISTEN and walk in a group for an hour and a half. The tour guide will point our where things "used" to be, but now they are something else, so you essentially see a modern structure in place of something that stood 300 years ago. You view a cemetery from behind a fence, and can't see anything because it is dark. You are not allowed into the cemetery, another misleading activity that the company wants you to think that you are doing while on this "tour". There is nothing scary on this tour and their are certainly no ghosts, it is simply a history lesson for an hour and a half walking around in the dark looking at where things "used" to be. I suggest you sightsee on your own, you see more.
Please do not fall prey to the words "Voodoo, Vampires and Ghosts", the only thing accurate in the title of this tour are the words "Walking". I can't even call it an actual "Tour". A tour is where you would actually view something.
You don't SEE anything at all on this "tour", all you do is LISTEN and walk in a group for an hour and a half. The tour guide will point our where things "used" to be, but now they are something else, so you essentially see a modern structure in place of something that stood 300 years ago. You view a cemetery from behind a fence, and can't see anything because it is dark. You are not allowed into the cemetery, another misleading activity that the company wants you to think that you are doing while on this "tour". There is nothing scary on this tour and their are certainly no ghosts, it is simply a history lesson for an hour and a half walking around in the dark looking at where things "used" to be. I suggest you sightsee on your own, you see more.
Please do not fall prey to the words "Voodoo, Vampires and Ghosts", the only thing accurate in the title of this tour are the words "Walking". I can't even call it an actual "Tour". A tour is where you would actually view something.
Written August 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SueMPA
PA332 contributions
Sept 2016 • Couples
We signed up for this tour after getting a great personal recommendation from Jeff after our Bewitched tour and we were looking forward to creepy, spooky paranormal tales about Salem. We gathered at the meeting point with Dr. Vitka and then to our surprise, he left and a young woman lead the tour instead. Her language was a little foul and at one point she said "if someone doesn't believe you, just fart in their face and walk away." None of the stories were creepy or gory at all and when she was talking about events that happened in buildings she would vaguely wave in a direction so we had no idea where the building was or had been standing if torn down. This is probably the worst ghost tour I have ever been on and I've been on many in the United States and Europe. Based on the other glowing reviews I would say that if you book the tour make sure you ask who is actually doing it otherwise you are wasting your time and money. It was just bad and I am still mad over a month later that I wasted my money on something so amateurish.
Written November 2, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
llara l
NYC12 contributions
Oct 2011 • Couples
Mollie showed up 15 minutes late. She had no idea what itme it was and clearly had been under the influence of something, perhaps alcohol. She rushed along and spent more time calling local residents and tourists idiots than she did on the history of Salem. She insulted other tour guides and reprimanded anyone who dared make noise while she spoke. She minced her words, couldn't keep much of a thought in her head and was clearly distracted. Salem is an energetic and spiritual town, and if I had to imagine her as a representative of Salem, I would clearly never want to visit again. Luckily, the wonderful town itself made up for her lack of enthusiam and respect. If I were mayor of Salem, I'd take away her tour license.
Written October 8, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do you offer the tour in French?
Written August 10, 2019
You will have to call them to determine if it is offered that night. When we went, he stated they do the tours rain or shine, so my hunch is that it will be.
Written October 24, 2018
It isn't scary, it could be a little creepy being it is at night and the stories they tell. it was a good tour interesting information with a great guide
Written April 19, 2018
Is this the tour that gives you recorders and eco devices ?
Written August 17, 2017
No, he just gives you tips on how to capture images on your camera. I wish I had heard about the other one though!
Written August 18, 2017
My wife and I took this tour three years ago with a woman who was originally from New Orleans I can't remember her name but the tour was excellent. We are going to Salem again in a few months we were just wondering what sets this tour apart from the others? Is this the best tour in your opinion ?
Written August 29, 2015
This is the tour! The woman in question is Mollie Stewart and she has since retired, but Spellbound Tours is still the best paranormal experience you can have in Salem. We delve into the true history of the Witch Trials, separating the facts from myth and legend. We discuss modern paranormal investigation and even teach you how to use your own camera to possibly capture supernatural energy on film and show you examples of what it looks like. We are the only tour in Salem to discuss the modern day vampire phenomenon. Spellbound is authentic, as well as frightening and entertaining. Most nights I lead the tour personally and all our guides are experts on the subject matter and fully licensed by the city of Salem to be giving tours. hope that helps, and we look forward to your visit,
Dr. Vitka
Written August 29, 2015
Visiting Salem from India, 05/09. Any hotel suggestions near your tour starting point?
Written April 21, 2015
The Stepping Stone Inn, and the Salem Inn are nice places to try, and there is always the Hawthorne Hotel. I hear good things about the Waterfront Hotel too.
Written April 27, 2015
Is historical Salem (information about how the community was settled and such) as well as the root of the Salem Witch Trials (and information about the accusers and victims) covered on this tour, or is strictly a ghost/supernatural tour?
Written April 7, 2015
Hello Melissa! Good question! Spellbound Tours does talk about history, but specifically history that relates to the Witch Trials and other spooky/gruesome/supernatural events. We are a supernatural themed tour, but weave in history in a way that connects to the ghost stories. We have a strong focus on the Witch Trials and "ghost hunting". We are proud of our historical accuracy, but with Spellbound Tours the main event is the ghost stories!
Written April 7, 2015
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*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.