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There seem to be two distinct categories of museum/tourist sites for Salem and the trials. There are those which have been created for witch or wax museums in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, and those which have been created to give tours or provide actual documentation of the events themselves, most of which are located in Danvers, Massachusetts.
The sites for those museums that are located in the tourism heart of Salem Town are all professionally done, and often claim to have an educational motive to their design and the function of their respective museums. However, looking at the images provided of the museums, (Gothic-looking church facades and "haunted-house" exteriors) as well as the accounts they give of the trials themselves: "the Devil had come to Salem", one cannot help but feel that there is an ulterior motive to the purely academic interest these sites seem to expouse with regards to the events of 1692. There seem to be three principle museums in Salem proper: The Witch Dungeon Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, and the Salem Wax Museum. Just enough information is given to intrigue one about the topic, but not satisfy the viewer's curiosity. A great many questions are left unanswered, and the allusions to men being crushed to death and dogs hanged and spirits dwelling the streets inevitably draws the reader to look into that "accomodations" link and arrange their ticket to see the infamous "Witch City".
On the other hand, there is a small cache of museums and their related museum/tourist sites, mostly located next to Salem in Danvers, Massachusetts (the original location of Salem Village where the accusations started), that paint a much less biased and academically sound picture of the trials. Of note is the Peabody Essex Museum where the original court documents, outlining the true drama of the Salem witch trials, can be found. In addition, the Peabody Institute Library and the Rebecca Nurse homestead also provide an opportunity for the viewer to learn about and arrange to see the real physical implements of the trials, in a primarily unsensationalized manner. Like the Salem museum sites, the sites accompanying these museum sites do not provide a lot of detailed information about the witch trials. However, they do manage to communicate pertinent information and provide useful links to the academic with interest in the Salem outbreak of 1692.
