Pictured Above: The Pickman House is located on Charter Street in Salem, Massachusetts (taken while ghost hunting in Salem), behind the Peabody Essex Museum. This is where Caleb Pickman lived when he tortured and killed his wife and daughter. Paranormal entities lurk near this house circa 1664. They are looming around this structure which remains from the Salem Witch Trial Days.
Take a look at some of the images of The Burying Point and scroll down for the searing story. You won’t believe what happens while Ghost Hunting in Salem, Mass! Check the photos for ghostly activity.
Images above show a plethora of paranormal activity along the Salem Night Tour Ghost Walk. Buy Ghost Walk tickets at their website.
We reveled in the festivities and encountered a myriad of otherworldly beings. The air was alive with their energy, pulsing and shimmering around us like a veil of magic. Each encounter was more enchanting than the last, leaving us breathless and eager for more. As we danced among the spirits, it felt like we were floating on a cloud of pure joy and wonder and at the same time—somewhat scared.
115 Derby Street, Salem, MA
Constructed in 1668 for Captain John Turner, the House of Seven Gables is an impressive colonial estate in Salem, Massachusetts. The Turner family owned and resided in the house for three generations before it became famous as the setting for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel bearing the same name. Originally called the Turner House, it was eventually renamed to reflect its literary significance.
Charter Street, Salem, MA
The old burying point is the location of our article’s story above. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in The United States. The final burial place for those executed, according to some people. (You can see some of our pictures with the ghostly activity in our article.) Despite common belief, some say the graveyard does not contain any of the convicted Salem witches. As it was not permitted for convicted witches to have a Christian burial, their bodies were likely taken by their families and buried on private land. Though there is no concrete evidence, some family legends suggest this to be true. READ OUR STORY OF THE APPARITIONS BELOW
310 1/2 Essex St. (978) 744-8815
The old walls of Salem still echoed with the haunting cries of those accused during the terrifying Witchcraft Trials of 1692—Judge Jonathan Corwin, notorious for sentencing nineteen people to death by hanging.
Judge Corwin resided here. Despite its name, Salem’s Witch House was never inhabited by anyone accused of witchcraft. Its infamous connection to the trials stems from its previous owner, Jonathan Corwin, who served as a judge during the notorious Salem Witch Trials. Under his jurisdiction, 19 individuals were wrongly sentenced to death by hanging.
7 Lynde Street, Salem, MA
Some believe this is the site of the witch hangings. There have been reports of skeletal remains found on this site. The debate arises whether these bones belong to the victims of the notorious 1692 witch trials. According to the Peabody Essex Museum, bone fragments have indeed been discovered. However, it is impossible to determine exactly what they are from.
Tales of spirits and otherworldly happenings remain a prominent part of Salem’s fascination with the supernatural. Tim Maguire, proprietor of the Salem Night Tour, disclosed to author Sam Baltrusis that Gallows Hill holds a dark past beyond its connection to the infamous witch trials. According to Maguire, there have been reports of multiple suicides and unexplainable incidents at this location.
DSLR Camera: We like DSLR cameras best, but ghost hunting can be done with non-DSLR cameras. Cameras that allow you to change all the settings listed are best. Cameras cannot see in the absolute darkness. You must bring a light source of some kind for focusing.
DSLR Camera Lens: The ideal lens to use while Ghost Hunting is a wide-angle lens. It is also best to use a lens with an aperture such as 2.8 or below so more light goes into the camera since we will be in dark locations most of the time. High-quality images with high-end cameras are better, but lower-end lenses and cameras can also be used. We are here to document paranormal activity, so prioritizing quality may not be the priority when ghost hunting.
Gear: Bring your tripod with your infrared illuminating light and your shutter release. Bring your driver’s license if the police question you. Be prepared for that. Be sure there aren’t any NO TRESPASSING signs where you are—trespass at your own risk.
When to Go: Any time is okay, but traditionally, the best results for ghost hunting Salem, Mass have been documented after 9 p.m.
Best Time of Year: Halloween season!!
Take at least a full day to experience all Salem has to photograph and spend at least one full night ghost hunting Salem, Mass., if not two.
Full Spectrum Digital Camera: – This camera takes quality full-spectrum photos and videos. They have been professionally modified to accept deeper Ultraviolet (UV) and Infrared (IR) light to allow pictures deep into the usually unseen spectrum of light. It features an easy-to-use interface that makes your job easier and effectively captures evidence.
As with all cameras, this is best used with an external light source such as a UV light, IR light, or Full Spectrum (white) light.
Infrared (IR) Digital Camera: – Takes quality IR photos and video with the convenience and ease of a compact digital camera
DSLR camera, tripod wide angle lens.
EMF Meters: Measure fluctuations in electromagnet fields (or EM fields). These fields directly result from electrical appliances in a home, cell phones, power lines outside, and even solar activity and weather fluctuations. Beyond that, a primary theory in the paranormal world is that entities can manipulate these fields to manifest themselves or interact with our world. When your meter goes off, do a long exposure on your tripod.
From the North:
Take I-95 South (Maine) or I-93 South (New Hampshire) to Route 128-North. Take exit 40A and follow Route 114-East into Salem. Once in Salem, follow signs to the Salem Visitor Center, Museum & Historic Sites and Downtown Parking. So that you know, Interstate 95 North and Route 128 North share the same road for the loop around Boston. When the roads divide, stay on Route 128-North.
From the South:
Take Route 93 North to the Mass. Pike (I-90 East) via the Ted Williams Tunnel (Exit 134B) East to Route 1A North. Take Route 1A from North to Salem.
From other areas and airports link.
The area is a prominent tourist attraction and gets busy during our suggested Halloween time. You can try midweek to reduce the crowds.
The Salem Night Tour rocks! We’ve included for you below all of the ghostly activity we documented during the tour. Read the details below.
WHERE TO EAT?
Our absolute all time favorite restaurant that we have EVER been to is Life Alive in Salem Massachusettes!
Life Alive is the holy grail of healthiness and delightulness, satisfying even the most die-hard health fanatic – like Pamela Goodyer. She would eat here seven days a week if it wasn’t for her navigational woes; she doesn’t even know how to pronounce “kitchen”, let alone find it!
Salem, Massachusetts, is one of the most blood-curdling locations for Ghost Hunt in the USA. Apparitions are looming at every corner, waiting to vaporize you and send you into the depths of hell, never to return. Just kidding, but this is an insane location for a colossal amount of paranormal activity.
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Rare photo of Pamela Goodyer ghost hunting in Salem.
The story behind the area certainly sets the mood as you quietly walk through graveyards and around buildings known to have entities lurking in the night. While Ghost Hunting in Salem Mass., your head will be in a tail-spin with all of the activity you capture.
The images below were taken during our Ghost Walk with Salem Night Tours. Paranormal Pam highly recommends you attend this 75-minute captivating, spine-chilling ghost walk, which takes you through Salem, Massachusetts, to meet all its ethereal beings.
We traveled to Salem, Mass., for a little bit of Ghost Hunting on our way back from shooting Milky Way photography along the coast of Maine. We enjoyed the change of pace along our ten-day journey. One of our first stops in Salem was the Burying Point. The Burying Point is the oldest burying ground in Salem, Mass. Justice John Hathorne, an ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne and one of the Witchcraft Court judges, haunts these grounds.
When we arrived at the location in the middle of the day, we were drawn to the rear of the cemetery. Carol was lingering around this big old tree for quite some time, so we trapesed over to see what she was up to. We sensed something immediately lurking around the tree.
Carol said she heard a young girl or a baby crying. Stopping to be still for a moment, Paranormal Pam also felt the presence of a man. A very nasty man of sorts in a highly abusive way. The presence of a woman crying quickly became apparent, and Carol was speaking to her out loud.
We stayed at this location for quite a few minutes, communicating with her. We knew that something had happened to her baby/child, and she seemed to be stuck in this purgatory of a dimension, in pain and looking for answers and devastated about something happening to her child. Carol did know it was a young girl, but she was not sure how old she was.
Paranormal Pam sensed the nasty man very quickly and focused on him in great detail. (Possibly because if there is a bad man out there, she will find him.) Was it because this man was indeed a man of evil terror who emitted a toxic soul so intensely it could not go unnoticed? She kept focusing on how abusive he was to a woman.
So we wandered around Salem, Mass, all day long. There was an invasion of paranormal activity at almost every turn. After an exhausting travel and exploration expedition, we mustered up the energy to go on The Salem Night Tour, and we were so glad we did. It was a great group with a very competent guide. He knew his Salem history, and we became engrossed as he told the haunting, riveting stories along the walk. This is a great tour to do Salem Mass Ghost Hunting Photography.
We arrived at the Burying Point at night time. Remember, we had already spent quite some time there earlier in the day. We wandered away a bit, but suddenly, Carol’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “Did you hear what he just said?” she yelled so nearly everyone could hear her. We could not believe our ears as we quickly got closer to listening to the horrific tale. He was telling a story about The Tree! We were flabbergasted! He had said something about a woman, a man, and a baby. With our eyes popping out of our heads and our complete attention on every word out of his mouth, we stood there with our jaws dropped.
The Horror Story and The Ghost Hunt
He told the story of a husband, wife, and a 7-year-old daughter. Demons had overcome Caleb Pickman, the husband who had gone insane, as he chained his daughter up in the attic. The compelling story continues as he describes how he had tortured, starved, and tied his wife up to Carol’s tree and killed her. Sadly he goes on to say that the young girl also died!
We took photos of the house, and Pam was still sensing the evil man she felt earlier when she knew nothing of the story. The ghost of the seven-year-old girl is sometimes seen looking out the attic window. We found an enormous orb floating in the area, and we were all sensing apparitions and a deep sense of staggering pain in the air. We had communicated on a very intense level that night. You can see the images of the Pickman house at the very top of the page and in our galleries.
We Set Her Soul Free – Ghosts in Limbo
The same woman followed us around for several days while in Salem. We commanded that the evil man Pickman did not follow us, and thankfully, he did not even try. At the end of our travels, after leaving Salem, Mass. and being almost back at our home base, we suddenly heard, “NO! You cannot come with us! You must go back to where you belong!” We all thought maybe Pam had yet another stalker, but no, Carol was yelling at the woman. We then explained that there was a better place waiting for her. We told her that her daughter was there to entice her to leave the area between two worlds and move on. We suddenly felt a sense of peace as if she understood, and she realized there was another side and went there to look for her daughter. We assured her she would be safe there, and her daughter patiently awaited her arrival. We all felt relief and knew we had helped her to be free.
Lessons in Photography or Ghost Hunting
Hire Paranormal Pam to bring on the apparitions or join her on a Ghost Hunting Photography Tour.
Use a Tripod – You must be on a tripod. Turn off vibration reduction whenever using a tripod.
Manual – Set your camera to manual.
Lighting – You cannot shoot a DSLR in total darkness. You will need some light sources such as a flashlight, church lights or a full moon.
Focus – Use live view. To focus in the dark, use your camera’s live view and focus on a bright spot. You can also use the infinity setting on your lens. You can also shine a flashlight, focus the shot then, without touching anything else, change the lens to manual focus; if it is so dark, there is nothing to focus on. Each time you move the camera to refocus, you would have to do this. This may disturb the apparitions, though. You can also use infrared light to help your camera see.
ISO – Start with ISO 1600. This is just a common starting point, and you will adjust from here. The higher the ISO, the more grain, but these are ghost pictures, not milky images. See ISO Settings for more info.
Aperture – The depth of field isn’t significant in these shots, but letting the light into the camera is; therefore, you shoot wide open. We like 2.8 or (The lowest aperture your camera will allow). Aperture Details.
Shutter Speed – after setting the aperture, roll the shutter speed, so the exposure level indicator goes to ‘0’ on the exposure scale on the bottom of the screen.
White Balance – In live view mode, you can change your white balance settings and see which looks best for you on each shot.
Salem Night Tour
We highly recommend going on this tour!
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Don’t forget that you can use a rain sleeve on your camera if it is raining. If it is bright and sunny, use a low ISO, such as 100.
If you are doing photography along with your ghost hunting on cloudy days, you can do running water or waterfall photography to avoid the glaring sun. You can also use an ND filter to get a long exposure for dramatic effects, even in the sunshine. If you ghost hunt indoors in abandoned places, be careful!
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