In-person event
Haunted Histories: Fatal Graces
Tickets still available. Click View Other Dates to see available dates and times. Two nights, three sessions per night.
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: 128 Essex St., Salem
$49 members and Salem residents (with valid ID); $59 nonmembers
Tickets are nonrefundable.
This performance includes sudden flashes and fire effects.
These historic properties are not wheelchair accessible and will require visitors to ascend several steps to enter. Once inside, floors may be uneven and the space will be tight. Guests will need to stand while in some houses.
This program includes low lighting in the houses and courtyard. Actors will not be using microphones.
No restrooms are available on PEM property.
The storytelling experience lasts about 70 minutes. Please note, these stories are intended for mature audiences and contain themes (murder, violence, infant death, hanging and suicide) that some may find disturbing. Discretion is advised.
Guests must arrive 15 minutes prior to their ticketed time.
Tickets are single-entry; guests are not permitted to leave and return except to seek out restroom facilities. Rain or shine, we’ll see you there!
Learn more about all our events happening this fall at pem.org/halloween.
Our popular Haunted Histories program returns! Hear chilling tales of murder and mystery based on real events, told by costumed storytellers inside PEM’s historic houses. This year’s immersive experience blends New England's sinister past with chilling horror and explores true stories of injustice and revenge.
Visitors to Haunted Histories: Fatal Graces will encounter the restless spirits of New England's dark history, from pirates to murderers, and listen as they share their stories of eerie encounters and haunting revelations. Meet the Magician, whose amateur tricks unleashed their wrath, and Vengeance, the embodiment of unbridled fury, struggling to contain these malevolent spirits.
Houses featured in this program include the John Ward House (1684), the Quaker Meeting House (about 1688) and the Derby–Beebe Summer House (1799).
This event is produced in collaboration with Creative Collective.
About our Collaborator
Arielle Kaplan is the playwright and artistic director behind PEM’s Haunted Histories. This year, she also plays the role of Vengeance. A proud graduate of Brandeis University, she has been acting and designing violence professionally for over 15 years and is an award-winning costume designer. An avid historian, Kaplan has brought historical figures to life through first-person interpretations, including Bridget Bishop in Salem's Cry Innocent, Elizabeth Oliver with the Freedom Trail Foundation and Dolly Quincy with History At Play in Boston. She is currently a cast member of T: An MBTA Musical at the Rockwell and recently completed filming her arc as the Moriarty-like Elizabeth Frost in the Mrs. Hawking play cycle. You can also find her on TikTok as "The Spite Lady" in her educational history series, “Spite! (and History).” This is Kaplan's third year writing and directing Haunted Histories.
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