The Witch House at Salem

Have been to the "Witch House" three times. Its connection to the Salem witch trials is tenuous - the owner of the house, Judge Corwin, was one of 12 or so judges who were called to serve, but only half of those did, and we don't know if Corwin was one or not. The house - filled with charm, takes you back 300 years. According to a staffer, the house was used as a home until the 1960's, after which it was restored. Added drop ceilings, walls, etc. were removed to reveal the earlier interior. The fireplaces are magnificent.

Some things stuck out negatively. Window curtains are store bought and one of them still had the manufacturer's tag on it. Someone couldn't make simple linen curtains for the house, or at least remove the tags?

Furniture wasn't thoughtfully placed. A carved chest was in a corner, catty corner, a most non-17th century waste of space. A row of chairs were pushed up against a wall, with a long table pushed up against them, with brochures on the table. One room boasted a large weaving loom and a bed, but it was also full of furniture items that looked jumbled, not arranged to make the room look lived in.

Staff was nice, but we did have one bad experience. We were having a pleasant conversation with an older staff person about the history of the house, when I unconsciously put my hand on the back of a chair that I was standing behind. She had every right to remind me of the museum's very sensible and necessary "no touch" policy, but she did so by snapping loudly at me, like I was a child. It was embarrassing, her tone of voice wasn't necessary, and was in fact rude. I mentioned my faux pas to another staff person in another room later on and she laughed and said, "Don't worry, it happens, even we do it."

I would definitely recommend visiting the Witch House, even though the name seems a bit odd (no accused witch lived there), and even though a few improvements could be made to the way that things are displayed. Beautiful house and furnishings, a nice gift shop, nice staffers and just a short walk from downtown Salem, but make sure to remember not to even slightly touch anything or you may get your head chewed off. I wrote the director of the Witch House by the way to suggest that staffers should ALSO be on good behavior. Never got a reply. Maybe the cranky staffer WAS the director?