Witch City Mall — Attraction in Salem

A Public Health Hazard: This is NOT the First Impression Salem Deserves

Words cannot adequately describe the utter and complete disgrace this establishment has become. It's totally unbelievable that a place that serves for many like myself as the first impression of Salem, that it has been allowed to become a festering blight—a public health hazard that should be remedied immediately.

Let's start with the restrooms, which are less a facility and more a biohazard. On my last two visits, the scene was one of pure, unmitigated filth: toilets overflowing with feces, a urinal spewing urine onto the floor, and no soap or paper towels in sight. Some "creative" soul had even managed a poo-based finger painting on the walls. I cannot fathom how this pit of disease is allowed to operate under the nose of city officials.

The rest of the building is hardly better. The common areas are not just "poorly kept"; they are actively neglected and grimy. The main doors have been cracked and left in disrepair since at least May, a grim testament to the utter apathy of the management.

Frankly, I wouldn't trust the elevators to the parking garage. If this place can't even maintain a bathroom with basic hygiene, what are the odds they've given a second thought to the routine maintenance of a critical piece of machinery?

This isn't just a poor business; it's a monumental embarrassment that gives visitors a sickening first impression of an otherwise beautiful city. Avoid this places restrooms...

The Witch City Mall in Salem, MA continues to be one of the most baffling, disjointed, and frankly depressing indoor shopping experiences I've encountered. The moment you walk in, you're greeted not by charm or atmosphere, but by an overwhelming and unpleasant odor of stale incense that permeates the entire space like a fog of bad decisions.

This place is a hodgepodge of awkwardly placed shops with little cohesion—half of which seem like they’re either barely hanging on or actively closing. The entire layout feels like it’s been frozen in time since the late 80s, and not in a nostalgic way. With the exception of the comic book store (which remains the sole redeeming anchor of this otherwise joyless pit), the rest of the tenant mix ranges from the inexplicable to the completely forgettable.

The facilities? Absolutely abysmal. The bathrooms are not just dirty—they're terrifying. Filthy floors, broken stalls, and dim lighting make them feel more like the set of a low-budget horror film than a public amenity in a downtown shopping center. They are, without exaggeration, among the worst I've ever seen in a commercial property.

This mall is not just outdated—it’s neglected, unloved, and in urgent need of a full-scale rehab or, at the very least, a thoughtful redesign. Salem deserves better than this sad, decaying eyesore in the heart of such a historic town.

Avoid unless absolutely necessary—and even then,...

Disgusting and something to avoid. Heads up- there are no public restrooms readily available own Salem. It is not tourist friendly. The mall had a few restaurants and more of the same tourist shops selling, which type items but most notable to me was how rundown the entire mall is in particularly how disgusting the bathrooms were.

The city doesn't seem to have any public restrooms and everywhere I asked they referred me to the mall and when I went in the floor was flooded and I had to tromp through flood water to use the restroom (in desperation at this point) and there was no toilet paper. No soap, no papertowel, toilets were not clean, vulgar graffiti on the walls. This is by far one of the most disgusting restrooms I've been in even compared to a porta potty in a public place.

If Salem wants people to visit, they need to level up and make it visitor friendly. I had traveled seven hours to be in Salem that evening for a tour and arrived and couldn't find a suitable place to use the restroom. Shame on Salem. If the homeless population problem is so bad that they can't maintain any restrooms for tourists that I know I don't...