“We ain’t afraid of no ghosts” is a now iconic line from the 1984 cult classic “Ghostbusters,” but most modern-day Americans have been taught otherwise - to not just fear the realm of spirit, but also any individual who dares to connect with it outside the walls of a Church. Between Salem’s now-infamous 1600s witch trials and today’s cultural renaissance of The Witch lies The Spiritualist Movement of the Victorian Era (mid-1800s) a long-erased period where ordinary people (mostly women) started channeling The Dead, first in their homes, and then on the public stage in what became a nationwide phenomenon with direct correlations to the major social-political movements of the time. This walking tour is for those looking to explore outside the usual storylines told about Witch City, as we uncover truths about our collective history with the “occult,” as well as our own personal connection to the Spirit realm.

Includes:

• Your own local guide, Melissa Nierman, with years of experience sharing tours as a DIY scholar of occult history, queer witch, and professional clairvoyant/ Tarot practitioner

• An intimate private group with the space for questions and exploration

• A chance to journey deep into the beautiful and less-visited historic McIntire District with its 1800s mansions, secret gardens, and Salem’s second oldest burying ground 

• Popular sites with a unique lens, including a Lyceum Hall where Spiritualist mediums gave political lectures in trance, the former theater where Houdini performed, and the home where Alexander Graham Bell lived while inventing the magical telephone

• Lesser-known sites, like Salem’s still operational First Spiritualist Church, a Quaker cemetery, a pair of 400 year old soaring twin trees, and a former church based on the writings of 17th-century medium Emmanuel Swedenborg

• Spiritualism’s connection to the Women’s Rights and Abolitionist Movements

• Exploration of different types of spirit communication, including trance mediumship