Salem Spirits - A Haunting Holiday Retreat with Adam Berry

December 11–14, 2026 | Salem, Massachusetts

What happens when the magic of the holiday season meets the darkest corners of the paranormal? Join Adam Berry from Kindred Spirits and Ghost Hunters for an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind weekend in Salem, Massachusetts, where haunted history, holiday enchantment, and things that make Salem magickal comes to life.

This isn’t your typical holiday getaway. We are raising a glass at the famously haunted Hawthorne Hotel, exploring Salem’s witchy Christmas traditions, stepping inside unique historic attractions, and investigating some of the most fascinating locations (and objects) in the paranormal world; including the legendary Annabelle doll and a never-before-investigated pirate museum filled with 300-year-old artifacts and buried secrets.

From exclusive paranormal investigations and eerie after-dark adventures to private tours, fascinating lectures, and a little holiday shopping with a Salem twist, I am opening the door to some of my favorite places and experiences for an intimate, curated weekend unlike anything else.

Experience Salem at one of the most magical times of the year, when the streets glow with holiday lights, the crowds thin out, and the Witch City reveals a different kind of enchantment. Whether you’re a seasoned paranormal enthusiast, a lover of haunted history, or simply looking for an unforgettable holiday adventure, this is your chance to experience Salem beyond the ordinary.

Come for the holiday magic. Stay for the hauntings. Leave with stories you’ll be telling for years.

Space is limited, especially for the VIP experience. Join us for Salem Spirits: A Haunting Holiday Retreat because the spirits are alive during the holidays.

"Salem is one of my favorite places to visit, year-round. I cannot think of a better time to host wonderful people and show them my favorite things to do around Salem while we bask in the holiday glow of witchy Christmas trees and tons of great activities. The witch city will be less crowded, have shorter lines, holiday discounts and still have all the magick. After all, Salem is historic and wonderful no matter the time of year. I hope you join me for a curated weekend and my 'taste of Salem'. Space is limited for the investigation of the Real Pirates Museum so grab your tickets today!" - Adam Berry

Please note: The schedule below is coming together quite nicely. As some have already secured their hotel for the weekend we have released tickets early. The schedule will be updated ASAP and all attendees will be notified.

HOTEL ROOMS FOR THE WEEKEND ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF THE TICKET FOR THE WEEKEND.

WE DO CURRENTLY HAVE A BLOCK OF ROOMS AT THE HAWTHORNE HOTEL. PLEASE CALL THEM AT and mention “Adam Berry’s Paranormal Event” TO GRAB A ROOM. SPACE IS LIMITED. Here are some suggested hotels in the area as well: Salem Waterfront Hotel, Hampton Inn Salem, Marriott Peabody, and Extended Stay Peabody.

VIP TICKETS INCLUDE

Cocktail Party (first-hour open bar) with meet and greet

Salem Witch Board Museum Investigation

Real Pirates Museum Paranormal Investigation

Haunted Warren Museum Paranormal Investigation with The Real Annabelle Doll – VIP tickets will get an extra hour or so alone in the museum.

The Twisted Christmas Salem Tour

House of Seven Gables Christmas Tour - Among the first group to tour

Lectures and Talks – with Adam Berry & Kathy Kelly Seating in first two rows if applicable

Wassail Weekend Shopping and Discounts

Private VIP Hangout with Adam at a local place

Special Weekend Badge

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS INCLUDE

Cocktail Party (first-hour open bar) with meet and greet

Salem Witch Board Museum Investigation

Real Pirates Museum Paranormal Investigation

Haunted Warren Museum Paranormal Investigation with The Real Annabelle Doll

The Twisted Christmas Salem Tour

House of Seven Gables Christmas Tour

Lectures and Talks – with Adam Berry & Kathy Kelly,

Wassail Weekend Shopping and Discounts

Weekend Badge

THE FOLLOWING ARE STILL BEING TIMED OUT FOR THE WEEKEND. UPDATED ITINERARY COMING SOON. AN EXAMPLE SCHEDULE IS INCLUDED BELOW

- House of Seven Gables Private Christmas Tour

- Real Pirates Museum Investigation

- Witch Board Museum Investigation

- Warren Museum and Annabelle Investigation

- Peabody Essex Museum

SCHEDULE (this schedule will adjust in timing as we get closer)

4 pm - 6 pm – Spirits of the Hawthorne Hotel - (All Tickets) Join Adam and all of your fellow attendees for a welcome reception with a meet and greet at the world-famous, and haunted, Hawthorne Hotel. The first hour is OPEN BAR! We will gather in the downstairs haunted Library Bar to kick off this exciting weekend. Event merchandise, photo opportunities, and a mini-lecture will all be included during the party.

6pm – 7:30pm – DINNER ON YOUR OWN

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm – The Twisted Christmas Salem Tour - The Salem Night Tour invites you to uncover the city’s darker side of the holidays with The Twisted Christmas Tour– a spine-tingling walk through tales of Yuletide mischief, ghostly legends, and Victorian fright. This special seasonal tour runs Friday and Saturday nights in December, blending Salem history, eerie storytelling, and just the right dose of holiday spirit. Bundle up, grab a hot chocolate, and prepare for a night of chilling Christmas tales that bring the past to life in unforgettable fashion.

11:00am – 1:00pm – Peabody Essex Museum – Explore one of the best treasures in Salem, MA. We support this museum year round with a membership and it is truly one of our favorite things. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States, founded in 1799 by local sea captains who traveled beyond the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. Today, it stands as a world-class cultural institution housing over 1.3 million works of art and historical objects, with particular strengths in maritime art, Asian export art, and Native American collections. Its most famous permanent attraction is Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old, 16-bedroom Chinese merchant house that was completely dismantled in China and painstakingly reassembled on the museum campus. Visitors can explore a striking modern atrium designed by Safdie Architects and view fascinating artifacts connected to local history and the Salem Witch Trials.

2:00pm – 4:30pm – House of Seven Gables Christmas Tour - The Christmas tour invites visitors to step inside the historic 1668 Turner-Ingersoll Mansion decorated for the holidays while exploring how festive traditions evolved across New England history. Guided tours examine why the Puritans originally banned Christmas, when local residents began adopting Christmas trees, how the holiday eventually became a federal celebration, and what unique customs were practiced by Polish and French-Canadian immigrants in the 1800s. The decorations are carefully researched by the museum's collections team to match different historical eras

5pm – 8pm – Dinner on your own.

7pm – 8pm – PRIVATE VIP HANGOUT – At one of Adam’s favorite places in Salem.

8pm – 11pm – Salem Witch Board Museum Investigation – Two Groups - This museum is the world’s only public museum dedicated entirely to the history, mystery, and cultural impact of the talking board. Located at 127 Essex Street in Salem, Massachusetts, this unique attraction is operated by curator John Kozik, a founding member of the Talking Board Historical Society. Hidden like a speakeasy in the back of the "Remember Salem" gift shop, the compact two-room venue showcases one of the largest public collections of Ouija boards. The museum takes visitors on a chronological, self-guided or guided journey from the late 19th-century Spiritualist movement to modern pop culture. Its diverse collection includes rare, antique boards dating as far back as 1890, World War II-era boards, pop-culture memorabilia, and movie props. A highlight of the museum is a Victorian-style séance room, alongside a section of "haunted" boards that were donated by people who claimed to have experienced negative or spooky encounters with them.

10:00AM – 1:00PM - It’s Wassail Weekend in Salem! - Salem Main Streets describes Wassail Weekend as a citywide holiday shopping and entertainment weekend, with participating shops, restaurants, breweries, galleries and attractions offering special events, promotions and tastings.

Some of the 2026 programming currently listed includes:

• Salem Flea Holiday Market — 11 AM–5 PM at Hotel Salem; 30+ vendors - Salem's witchy/occult/oddities retail scene is very active during Wassail Weekend.
• Notch German Holiday Market — German food, beer and makers
• Ghost Ship Yule Market — Old Town Hall
• Holiday shopping throughout downtown
• Special activities at HausWitch
• Holiday activities at Witch City Wicks
• Sea Wych holiday workshop
• Special promotions at dozens of Salem stores
• Holiday food/drink specials

1:00pm – 3:00pm ­– Lectures and Talks with Adam and Kathy Kelly

5:00pm – 8pm Private paranormal investigation of the Real Pirates Museum – NEVER BEFORE INVESTIGATED – This museum houses the world's only fully authenticated pirate treasure collection from the 1717 shipwreck of the Whydah Galley. Originally built as a slave ship before being captured by the legendary captain "Black Sam" Bellamy—recognized as history's highest-earning pirate—the vessel went down in a violent Nor'easter off the coast of Cape Cod. The museum showcases thousands of real recovered artifacts, including cannons, weapons, jewelry, and 300-year-old silver coins that visitors can actually touch. Alongside the maritime treasure, the exhibits tell the true 18th-century story of Bellamy, his egalitarian pirate crew, and his beloved Maria Hallett, the local figure known as the "Witch of Wellfleet".

10:00pm – 12:00am – (VIP – EXTRA HOUR 12am – 1am) Private paranormal investigation of the Haunted Warren Museum bringing the famous paranormal collection of Ed and Lorraine Warren out of public hiatus after their original Monroe, Connecticut basement museum closed. Running as a temporary exhibition, the attraction houses over 1,000 haunted, cursed, and occult artifacts collected over five decades of paranormal investigations, including the real Annabelle doll that inspired The Conjuring film franchise. VIP ATTENDEES GET THE LAST HOUR TO EXPLORE ON THEIR OWN.

Saturday/Sunday is still being timed out but as I know many have already secured rooms for the weekend I wanted to get the tickets out and on sale. As we add events for Saturday we will post them here in the event. Once the schedule is complete we will send out emails with the full schedule so everyone is aware

There are no refunds or exchanges. This event will happen rain, snow or shine.

ABOUT THE ANNABELLE DOLL

Unlike the terrifying, cracked porcelain figurine seen in The Conjuring franchise, the real Annabelle doll is a classic, ordinary-looking Raggedy Ann doll with red yarn hair and a calico dress.

The Origins of the Haunting

The doll's history began in 1970 when a mother purchased it used and gave it to her 28-year-old nursing student daughter, Donna, in Hartford, Connecticut AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT. Donna and her roommate, Angie, soon noticed the doll appearing to move on its own, changing positions and eventually teleporting to different rooms. They also claimed to find mysterious parchment notes scattered around their apartment scrawled with childlike phrases like "Help us". After finding what looked like drops of blood on the doll's hands, the roommates contacted a psychic medium.

During a séance, the medium claimed that the doll was inhabited by the spirit of a seven-year-old girl named Annabelle Higgins, who had died on the property years prior. Feeling compassion because they were nurses, Donna and Angie gave the spirit permission to inhabit the doll. However, the paranormal activity escalated. A close friend named Lou, who was skeptical of the doll, woke up from a nightmare feeling paralyzed, only to discover deep, unexplained claw marks scratched across his chest.

The Warrens' Investigation

Terrified, the roommates contacted demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Warrens concluded that human spirits cannot possess inanimate objects in this manner. Instead, they asserted that a malevolent, inhuman demonic entity was manipulating the doll, feigning the innocence of a young girl to gain the roommates' trust and ultimately target a human soul for possession.

The Warrens took custody of the doll, reporting that their car's brakes and steering failed repeatedly on the drive home until Ed sprinkled the doll with holy water. They eventually secured Annabelle inside a specially constructed wooden and glass case—surrounded by crucifixes, holy oil, and a famous warning sign reading "WARNING: Positively Do Not Touch"—to contain its malevolent energy.

Event venue & nearby stays

Hawthorne Hotel, 18 Washington Square West, Salem, United States

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