Controversy in Salem: The Warren Museum

Liz Ramos, under the supervision of Burgie the cat, discusses Salem’s newest attraction and the discussion surrounding it, the Warren Pop-Up Museum.

Greetings witches! If you have been following any social media pages focused on Salem, you may already be aware of the newest attraction on Essex Street: The Warren Museum. Owned by comedian Matt Rife and YouTube paranormal investigator Elton Castee, this attraction is located next to Blackcraft Coffee, where their famous Blackcraft Haunt used to be.

What is The Warren Museum? This attraction is a selection of various haunted items from the curated collection of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a controversial pair of paranormal investigators/self-proclaimed demonologists with a laundry list of allegations against them (sexual assault/grooming of minors, fraud, exploitation, fabrication of evidence, domestic abuse, and financial extortion) from Connecticut. Their more famous cases include the Perron Family Haunting (The Conjuring is based off this case), Enfield (where they inserted themselves and are in actuality a minor blip and not really involved, despite what the film The Conjuring 2 suggests), and Annabelle the Doll. The estate of Ed and Lorraine sold the Warren’s Connecticut home and existing Occult Museum to Rife and Estee in 2025, and an arrangement to have them as caretakers of the museum artifacts for five years was agreed upon. Rife and Estee have said that they plan to use the home and existing Warren Occult Museum on the property as an attraction space.

So why move some of the artifacts to Salem if there is already an existing museum set up in Connecticut? Simply put, it’s a great money grab and way to exploit the area during tourist season. The Warren Museum in Salem is supposed to be a temporary pop-up attraction, which recently opened in the last few weeks. Tourist season is already beginning to ramp up despite the Haunted Happenings tourism campaign not underway yet (starting at the end of September). Rife and Estee have several well-known artifacts with them in the Salem pop up, including the famed Annabelle doll. Many Salem  residents and practicing witches/occultists around the world are not in support of the attraction. As a location steeped in history and known for the Salem Witch Trials, heralding the name The Witch City and proudly accepting those who claim the title of Witch, this attraction is seen as a slap in the face. Ed and Lorraine Warren were devout Roman Catholics, and often negatively spoke of witchcraft and witches, claiming they were demonic, which furthered hateful and hurtful stereotypes. The community is also not in support of Matt Rife, who has come under fire for jokes involving domestic abuse or special needs, bullying children on the internet, and most recently telling a paranormal investigator to “remove themselves from the planet”. For many, this is not the kind of person they want representing their city.

Where do I stand with all of this? Now listen, despite how shitty I feel the Warrens are as people, I do see the appeal of the museum. I am also a sucker for dark/paranormal tourism, and although I would not visit the Warren Home, I believe a B&B/Museum attraction at the house with the existing occult museum intact could have been a great addition to the Connecticut state tourism board – just like the Lizzie Borden House is in Massachusetts. It would have made sense to use the existing property. I am not a fan of someone like Rife owning the collection of what I personally consider to be majority fake “haunted” items, and would prefer someone who truly would care for the collection to have been made in charge of them. I would have loved to see Jason Hawes from TAPS purchase it and preserve the history of the location. If you have seen his ongoing battle for The Conjuring House and the preservation of that site, you will understand why he would be the best fit for the space. I would even have been ok with Zak Bagans owning it, and that says a lot considering the drama that surrounds him as well.

I will not be visiting this location and do not advocate for it. I feel it is a fleeting attraction and shameless money grab that takes away the true beauty, history, and magic of what Salem truly is. Of all the places to choose from – this was not it. Blackcraft – if you see this, please bring the Haunt back and make it bigger and better than ever. Or, host some coffee-based workshops in that building! I would LOVE to make coffee-based products in a class, purchase some coffee-infused beauty products, or even have a witchcraft space where I can make my own coffee-based spells. You already have a spell on this Central New York witch, and this would grow that love for your store exponentially!

Let me know how you feel about this attraction coming to Salem. As always, happy haunting witches!

Elizabeth Ramos is a magic practitioner who specializes in nature focused, healing, protective, and ancestral magics. She is a Reiki Master-Teacher and lives with her husband and their several Feline Leukemia Positive kitties in Upstate New York.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.