Witch History Museum

Salem, Massachusetts

There are many museums and wax history exhibits in the touristy section of Salem -- and we had time to pick just one. The Witch History Museum, as it turns out, does a good job of telling little known stories of the region with a combination of live narration, selected wax figure animation, and lighting effects. The witch hysteria of 1692-93 is chronicled with an interesting mix of insightful historic commentary and lurid thrills in a series of dark dioramas in the basement. In one scene, Satan-possessed Puritan girls deleriously dance in the woods. The end of the audio narration notes that this scene never occurred in real life.

Other bits are more faithful to the facts, and there was enough grave desecration and skullduggery to satisfy us. They offer a combo ticket with the Pirate Museum and one of our old faves, the Witch Dungeon Museum.