You’re wandering through the jagged, salt-crusted ruins of Salem. The sky in this part of the Commonwealth always seems a bit grayer, doesn't it? Then you see it. The Fallout 4 Museum of Witchcraft. It’s a massive, looming silhouette of gothic revival architecture that looks like it drifted straight out of a nightmare and planted itself in the middle of a post-nuclear wasteland. Most players stumble upon this place while chasing a radio signal or just exploring the coastline, but honestly, if you haven’t been there yet, you should probably check your ammo count first.
It’s one of the few places in Bethesda’s 2015 RPG that actually manages to nail a horror vibe. It isn't just about jump scares. It’s about the sound of something heavy—really heavy—scraping across the floorboards directly above your head while you’re stuck in a cramped basement.
Why the Fallout 4 Museum of Witchcraft sticks in your head
Most locations in the Commonwealth are just shooting galleries. You walk in, you see a Raider, you headshot the Raider. Rinse and repeat. But Salem is different. The quest "The Devil's Due" starts before you even set foot inside the building. You find the bodies of Private Hart and her squad outside, and the holotapes they leave behind are genuinely unsettling. They weren't killed by a stray bullet. They were hunted.
The museum itself is based on the real-world Salem Witch Museum, though the in-game version is much more imposing. Inside, the atmosphere shifts. The lighting is dim, filtered through dust and decay. You’ll hear these guttural, low-frequency growls. That’s the genius of the level design here; it forces you to look up. In most games, we focus on what's right in front of us. In the Museum of Witchcraft, the threat is vertical.
The build-up is better than the fight
Let’s be real: once you actually see the Deathclaw, the mystery is gone. It’s a Savage Deathclaw (or higher, depending on your level), and while it’s a tough fight in such an enclosed space, the anticipation is what makes the location legendary.
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As you move through the basement, you see mannequins. Lots of them. They’re dressed in colonial garb, reenacting the witch trials, and in the flickering light of your Pip-Boy, it’s easy to mistake a plastic limb for a moving enemy. Bethesda’s designers clearly had a blast leaning into the "haunted house" trope. You see the ceiling shaking. Dust falls. You find a mercenary's note about "The Beast of Salem." It’s classic environmental storytelling that actually respects the player's intelligence.
Making the big choice at the end of The Devil's Due
So, you kill the beast. Or maybe you sneak around it if you’re playing a high-stealth build (though that’s incredibly stressful given the tight corners). You find what the Gunners were after: Deathclaw eggs.
Specifically, you find one pristine egg. This is where the game gives you a moral fork in the road. You can take the egg back to the Diamond City market and sell it to Wellingham, the snooty robot cook, for some quick caps. Or, you can take it back to the nest.
- Selling to Wellingham: You get about 200 to 500 caps depending on your Charisma and Barter skills. You also get a recipe for Deathclaw Wellingham, which gives you a decent stat boost. It’s the "greedy" path.
- Returning the egg: You travel to a nest north of Lynn Pier. You’ll encounter a mother Deathclaw. If you don't shoot, she won't attack. You place the egg, she nudges it, and you walk away with the Deathclaw Gauntlet.
Most veteran players will tell you to go for the gauntlet. Caps are easy to find in the Commonwealth—you can literally make a fortune selling purified water or jet. A unique melee weapon and a peaceful interaction with a Deathclaw? That’s much rarer. Plus, seeing a Deathclaw act maternal for five seconds is a weirdly touching moment in a world that’s usually trying to eat you.
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Survival tips for the Museum of Witchcraft
If you’re playing on Survival Mode, this place is a death trap. One swipe from that Deathclaw will send you back to your last bed, which might have been twenty minutes ago. Don't go in guns blazing unless you have a death wish.
- Bring the boom. A missile launcher or a Fat Man is overkill, but a combat shotgun with the "Explosive" or "Wounding" legendary effect will shred the beast's legs. If it can't walk, it can't kill you.
- Use the environment. There are narrow doorframes in the museum that the Deathclaw is simply too big to fit through. If things get hairy, retreat into a side room. You can cheese the fight by peeking out, taking a shot, and ducking back in. It’s a bit cowardly, but hey, it’s the apocalypse.
- Psycho-Jet is your friend. If you see the beast charging, pop some Jet. Slowing down time gives you those precious seconds to aim for the belly—the Deathclaw’s weakest point.
The lore you might have missed
A lot of people think the Museum of Witchcraft is just a random monster nest, but it ties into the broader theme of the Gunners' incompetence. The Gunners are supposed to be this high-tier mercenary group, right? Well, they got absolutely wiped out by a single mother looking for her stolen eggs. It shows that even with pre-war tech and military training, the "New World" monsters of the Commonwealth are the real apex predators.
The museum also serves as a nice nod to the real history of Salem. While the game focuses on the radioactive horror, the setting reflects the actual tensions of the 1692 trials—fear, paranoia, and the feeling of being hunted by something you don't fully understand. It’s just that in 2287, the "witch" is a ten-foot-tall lizard with knives for fingers.
How to get the most out of your visit
If you want the full experience, don't just rush to the objective marker. Read the terminals. There’s a lot of flavor text about the museum’s pre-war history and how they were trying to capitalize on the "spooky" reputation of Salem to drive tourism. It’s a bit of dark irony; they wanted people to be scared for fun, and now the place is legitimately one of the most dangerous spots on the map.
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Also, check the bathroom on the upper floor. There’s usually some decent loot tucked away in the stalls, and the environmental storytelling there (skeletons in compromising or tragic positions) is peak Bethesda.
Essential Next Steps for Players:
Check your map for the Salem icon on the far northeast coast. If you haven't triggered the quest, look for a dead Gunner named Private Hart near the museum entrance; looting her body will start "The Devil's Due" automatically. Before entering, ensure you have at least three stimpaks and a weapon capable of high burst damage, as the tight quarters make long-range sniping nearly impossible once the fight begins. If you're looking for the best reward, follow the quest markers to the nest after the fight rather than taking the caps from Wellingham—the Deathclaw Gauntlet you receive is a top-tier melee weapon that scales incredibly well with the Iron Fist perk.