Uncover must-read Salem Witch Trials books for adults, including The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, The Witches, and The Heretic’s Daughter. We’ve included closely related books set in Salem, too, like The House of the Seven Gables.
As part-time Bostonians who grew up in CT, Tom and I love heading to Salem, MA for haunted Bed & Breakfasts, craft beer, good food, and all that history. Along with America’s oldest candy company, Salem is full of tragic and inspiring stories featuring pirates, ghosts, and witches (or strong women in history and the men who support them).
Sparked by public hysteria in 1692 Colonial Massachusetts, the Salem Witch Trials encompass a series of hearings, prosecutions, and hangings of those accused of witchcraft. With the help of Salem and dark tourism expert Crystal of Wandering Crystal, we recommend these books to teach you more about the Salem Witch Trials.
P.S. If you champion magical witches, be sure to head over to our wickedly witchy fiction reading list. We also have more books set in Massachusetts to celebrate the Bay State. 🖤 Christine of The Uncorked Librarian
Fictional Books About The Salem Witch Trials
If you are visiting Salem, take a Witch Trials Walking Tour. I also cannot wait to pick up Alice Hoffman’s newest, The Witches of Cambridge—so stay tuned for updates.
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Plot: Step back in time and experience life during the Salem Witch Trials with The Heretic’s Daughter. This story transports you into the hysteria that consumed the city through the eyes of the Carrier family.
Why Crystal & Christine Recommend It: See what it is like to be the daughter of an accused witch. Witness the strong bonds of a mother and daughter as they stand together in this merciless Salem world. This historical fiction novel is about the author’s great-grandmother (times nine), who the Puritans convicted and hanged as a witch in 1692.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Plot: Connie Goodwin discovers a book of spells in her Grandmother’s old, abandoned house in Salem. What secrets will she uncover about Deliverance Dane? How deep is her family’s involvement in the sordid witch trials in Salem?
Why Crystal & Christine Recommend It: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane transports readers into a devastating and captivating mystery. The novel provides social commentary on the treatment of women, including by other women, that is still relevant today.
‘Tis forever women leaping to condemn each other, she reflected. She wondered why that was. Women posed dangers to one another that they somehow did not pose to men.
Howe’s familial connection to Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor inspires the spellbinding plot. The trials convicted both as witches, one executed and the other convicted but later saved.
👻 You might also like these spooky haunted house books.
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé | Translated by Richard Philcox
Plot: For translated books about the Salem Witch Trials, read I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem. This short but powerful novel tells the story of Tituba, an enslaved woman from the West Indies accused of witchcraft and thrown into jail.
Why We Recommend It: Condé breathes new, powerful life into Tituba’s story but in a haunting and biting manner. With more nonfiction books about Tituba, her story had been largely missing from historical fiction accounts until now. Discover more behind the Salem Witch Trials, including a more in-depth look into sexism and racism.
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Plot: One of the most well-known books set in Salem, The House of the Seven Gables takes place about 150 years after the Salem Witch Trials. However, the trials are what spark the initial curse on the land where the house is built when Colonel Pyncheon accuses Matthew Maule of witchcraft. Who can break the Pyncheon family curse in this story about guilt, greed, penance, and family secrets?
Why We Recommend It: Similar to the novel, Hawthorne felt the need to reconcile his hereditary guilt, as he was the great-great-grandson of Judge John Hathorne, who never recanted his role in the trials.
Going so far as to change the spelling of his name, Hawthorne uses this fictionalized story as penance for his family’s wrongs—and a potential curse that led to his family’s social and financial decline. He also wanted to distance himself from the shame.
For Salem Witch Trials books, The House of the Seven Gables truly demonstrates how history impacts future generations.
Visit The House of the Seven Gables in Salem, MA
The House of the Seven Gables isn’t just a cautionary tale. Visit this Salem mansion in person. Along with a house tour, walk the gorgeous gardens and see Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace, which was relocated to the property. Plan your visit with the museum’s website.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Plot: Miller’s The Crucible is one of the first plays about the Salem Witch Trials we read in high school. The story follows the life of Abigail Williams, a Puritan girl who lives in Salem in 1692.
Why We Recommend It: Perfect for understanding how utterly hysterical Salem was during the witch trials, this screenplay pulls you in and makes you feel like you could be Judge Corwin, who once lived in The Witch House, sitting in the courtroom as accusations fly.
Nonfiction Books About The Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege by Marilynne Roach
What This Book Is About: For a comprehensive history of the Salem Witch Trials, Roach’s nonfiction book offers a day-by-day recollection of the Salem townsfolk as they spiral into madness and panic.
Why Crystal & Christine Recommend It: At 750+ pages, it’s no surprise that The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege contains the most retrospection. In what can only be described as a compendium of facts and lesser-known details, this book is well-suited to history buffs and scholars who truly want to understand how the Salem Witch Trials unfolded step by step. Astonishingly (and impressively), this one is based on 27 years of archival research.
The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff
What The Witches Is About: Schiff closely examines the mass hysteria and public anxiety through impressive scholarly research. Alongside daily Puritan life, she weaves politics and folklore into an empathetic, clear, robust, and unforgettable history lesson.
Why We Recommend It: Schiff is a brilliant Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian. For readers who enjoy riveting narrative nonfiction, The Witches offers a fresh perspective on the Salem Witch Trials, reinforcing that we cannot let history repeat itself.
How To Spend A Day In Salem, MA
🎟️ Visit the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM)
🛍️ Shop in Downtown Salem – From America’s oldest candy shop (Ye Old Pepper Companie 🍭 ) to gourmet stores, stroll downtown, stopping for a photo at the Bewitched Statue
🥪 Fuel up with lunch and coffee at the Gulu-Gulu Café
🪦 Respectfully visit the Charter Street Cemetery (Old Burying Point) and Salem Witch Trials Memorial 🧙🏻
🍻 Grab a Czech-style brew at Notch and sit outside
🎨 Walk through the free Punto Urban Art Museum (75 large-scale murals covering 4 blocks)
⚓️ Smell the salty air along Derby Wharf Light Station
📚 Tour The House of the Seven Gables
🎃 More to do not seen here: Visit the Hocus Pocus Movie House, take a nighttime ghost tour, visit The Witch House
Before You Go: What To Read Next
🧙🏻 Best Witchy Comics & Graphic Novels To Read
👻 Adult Books With Ghosts
🧛🏼♀️ Vampire Books To Sink Your Teeth Into
🧙🏻♀️ Have you read any of these books? What Salem Witch Trial books did you read in high school? Which ones do you recommend? Let us know in the comments. 🖤 Christine of The Uncorked Librarian
You know, it’s funny, but I both read and performed in The Crucible in HS and just kind of decided that was it for me in terms of Salem reading. I don’t know why, I certainly didn’t think it was the end all be all of facts. I think while I find witchcraft and the witch trails fascinating, if not heartbreaking, I got a bit annoyed with the childish, whiny antics of the girls in The Crucible. Yeah, let’s definitely get someone killed because we just don’t like them today. Ugh!
My point is, I love this list! There’s still some of that cattiness in here, for people who don’t mind it as much (no one LIKES it, though, right?!). But there are some totally different selections, as well. Like Wicked Appetite! Cupcakes and witches, but of course! I also think The Heretics Daughter might be up my alley!
It’s embarrassing, but I never realised Nathaniel Hawthorne was from Salem until I read Crystal’s posts. And I definitely didn’t know The House of the Seven Gables was set in Salem!
I am so glad that Crystal wrote about Wicked Appetite. I love Evanovich for a light read, and her Stephanie Plum series (albeit predictable and chick lit-y) is one of my favs. I haven’t read the rest in the Wicked Appetite series, but I remember it being fun; I think I read two of them. Don’t think those would be your thing.
I toured The House of Seven Gables years and years ago. It’s location and Hawthrone are some of those facts that are easy to overlook or forget unless you are from New England, for sure.
I love Conversion because it is so much like Mean Girls drama related to the Witch Trials but more relevant for modern day. I’m due for a The Crucible reread.
PLEASE ADD THE FOLLOWING BOOKS TO YOUR LIST:
Death in Salem: The Private Lives Behind the 1692 Witch Hunt by Diane E. Foulds Globe Pequot Press, 2010 (non-fiction)
The Salem Witch Trials Reader by Frances Hill Da Capo Press, 2000. (non-fiction)
A Delusion of Satan by Frances Hill. (Fiction)
Witch-Hunt: Mysteries of the Salem Witch Trials by Marc Aronson. Simon & Schuster, 2003. (non-fiction)
Abigail Accused: A Story of the Salem Witch Hunt by Juliet Haines Mofford (Touch Point Press, 2018) (fiction & Audible)
Thank you for the book recommendations. I will check them out.
I am definitely not one to read spooky books, but some of these sound interesting. I’ll be passing the suggestions on to another friend of mine who loves creepy stories. I’m sure she’ll love it. Great post, Christine!
Hey Avhlee, thanks so much! Thanks for sharing with your friend too. Hope you are having a nice weekend. Xxx
Aww such a wonderful post from my two favorite bloggers!! I’m going to MA this September for a wedding and I’m hoping I can sneak away to Salem – so fingers crossed I’ll *finally* get to check it out! I’ve been to Boston at least 3 times and never made it. Great book suggestions (obvi) 🙂 xx
Aw, thanks so much!
I hope you make it to Salem! Where in MA is the wedding? I am dying to get back to Boston as well as Northampton (where I went for undergrad). I bet you’ll have a blast and get to see the leaves change!
I hope so!! The wedding is actually on an island in Boston Harbor, so it should be pretty cool! I’ll post far too many pictures, I’m sure!!
AHHH!! That’s so cool! Please take pictures with your booze in front of the harbor. And have a drink for me…
This list is great and perfect with fall on the way! You know, I’m not much for the fall season, but the history of Salem does intrigue me. I think I’d read any book with magical cupcakes.
Girl, you are ON it!! I haven’t gotten to Spain yet…lol!!!
Janet Evanovich is actually one of my all-time favorite junk food authors. I love the Stephanie Plum series, and I started the Lizzy and Diesel ones years ago (but I don’t think I read them all). I knew you’d love cupcakes ; )
Girl, I am so ready for some spooky reading paired with apple cider, falling leaves, and a cool breeze. I will definitely add some of these books to my TBR list for this Fall! I fully trust any recommendation by you or Crystal!
Yasssss, now that we live in Asheville: BRING IT ON!!!!!!! I have seen pictures of what the leaves look like here, and I am SOOOO ready. Plus, unlike Florida, I can apple pick once again. Be still, my heart. [Yuppie] Pumpkin everything, here I come!!!!!
I was stoked that Crystal offered to write up a guest post for me. Which…if you ever have a destination…you are more than welcome to do so too! Hint, hint…
Thank you! Have a great weekend!
I loved teaming up with you with this post! I totally consider the book Conversion with Katherine Howe as a true Salem Witch Trials book since the modern-day Danvers was originally a part of Salem! It was the site where the first confessions happened. I really need to visit Danvers on my next trip to Massachusetts.
I also really loved your additions and know what books I need to add to my next reading list!
Yay! Thank you so much for helping me with this Salem book list. The second that I saw you were there and writing up all of this great Salem travel content, I knew you’d be perfect! Plus, you are my go-to for all things spooky and love history just as much as I do.
Conversion is definitely in it ALL (meaning the heat of the Salem Witch Trials) to me too. I also love how most of the weird stuff always seems to happen at private schools…is it a popular setting for intimate and odd experiences…usually magical ones…?! I also love adding YA to book lists since it’s my fav.
I have to pick up more nonfiction, though. Thanks, again!