Salem Ghost Walk From Pickering Wharf to the Burying Point
A guide leads this 60- to 75-minute evening loop from Stardust on Wharf Street past the old jail, Town Hall and the Joshua Ward House, telling tales of murder and mayhem at the stops.
Salem's Spooky Spectres is an evening ghost walk through downtown Salem, run by Tours for Touring Tourists. A local guide tells tales of murder and mayhem at stops including the Old Salem Gaol and the Old Burying Point, then loops back to the start.
The listing sells two departures a night, at 7:00 and 8:30 PM, and puts the walk at 60 to 75 minutes with a guide included.
Salem's Spooky Spectres Walking Ghost TourTours for Touring Tourists · Meets outside Stardust, 70 Wharf Street · 60 to 75 minuteswww.viator.comThe Stops on the Route
The listing names ten sites on the route, from the Old Salem Gaol and the Old Burying Point to Town Hall, the Joshua Ward House, the Pickman House and the Lyceum. It says the sites visited include these, so treat the list as the outline of the night. The Old Burying Point closes at 5:00 PM, so on a 7:00 or 8:30 PM walk you see it from outside.
The Joshua Ward House, shown above in two archival photos, one taken in 1937, is a boutique hotel called The Merchant today. The Salem Witch Museum notes that the ragged stones along its foundation are all that remain of the home of Sheriff George Corwin, the high sheriff during the 1692 witch trials.
Expect stories more than frights. The operator's own booking page calls the walk spooky and family-friendly, and its homepage promises a laugh or two between the tales. A guest who came with family in October 2023 wrote, "It wasn't as scary as I was expecting."
October Crowds and Halloween Night
If hearing every story matters, pick a night away from mid and late October. Every complaint about crowd size in the reviews comes from October nights in 2021 and 2022, when guests wrote about groups too big to hear the guide, and about walks that ended well short of an hour. "Could not hear the tour guide, got lost in a crowd following the guide," one wrote in October 2022.
Reviews from quieter weeks describe much smaller groups. A guest writing in November 2025 said, "It ended up being just me and my husband, so it felt like walking with a friend," and a review posted in early October 2026 describes a couple with the guide to themselves. The reviews don't show whether peak October groups are still that large.
Halloween night is the hardest to book. As of October 23, 2026, the regular 7:00 and 8:30 PM walks on Saturday, October 31 show as sold out on the listing, which still sells one 6:00 PM departure under a separate option labeled Halloween/Samhain. The operator's homepage says it adds a 6:00 PM walk in October, but its own booking calendar shows no Spooky Spectres departure that night. Because sales are final, ask the operator what the 6:00 PM option covers before you book.
No Refunds and No Weather Clause
All sales on this listing are final, with no refund for cancellations. The listing also has no clause for calling the walk off in bad weather, and guests have written about doing it in the rain. Check the forecast before you book and dress for it.
The operator's booking notes ask for walking shoes, water and weather-appropriate gear, plus a photo or printout of your ticket confirmation. The only inclusion on the listing is a certified guide. There is no transport: you walk the loop and finish back where you started.
Kids, Strollers and Wheelchair Access
The listing has a single ticket type for every age, and the operator's booking page labels the walk all ages. Families turn up in the reviews: a 2021 guest thanked a guide who patiently answered an eight-year-old's questions, and a 2024 guest wrote that a 14-year-old grandson enjoyed it. Another wrote that it wasn't too strenuous.
On access, the listing marks the tour as wheelchair accessible, stroller-friendly and suitable for all fitness levels. The operator's own pages say nothing about access, so those marks are the listing's word alone. Sales are final, so a group that includes a wheelchair user should ask the operator about the route before booking.
📍 The group meets at 70 Wharf Street on Pickering Wharf, outside the shop Stardust and next to Longboards. The listing's meeting instructions and the operator's booking system both give this address.
The tour description on the listing and on the operator's homepage still says the walk starts at the Pequot House on Congress Street. That was Stardust's old home before the shop moved to Pickering Wharf in fall 2026, so go to Wharf Street, not Congress Street.
Arrive 15 minutes early; departures leave exactly on time. The loop brings you back to the harbor at the end of the night.