in this hidden object puzzle thriller, American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne has supposedly died during a freak snow storm. was he murdered? since you are a detective with a particular affinity for ghosts and time travel, Hawthorne's ghost is asking you for help to unearth the cause of his death and to expose the secrets of Salem?s witches. graphics: wonderful. beautifully detailed. splendiferous blend of hidden objects scenes and puzzles, combined with a mystery thriller storyline. hidden object scenes are refreshingly neat -- almost no junk piles here! some of the hidden objects must be assembled before they can be crossed off the search list or before they can be added to your object inventory. some of your inventory items languish for quite some time before they are used. there is no click penalty. puzzles are varied and some are challenging since the instructions for what to do are minimal. music and sound effects: there is no music that i recall but the developers did make good use of ambient sounds (wind and calling crows, for example), there are special sound effects that accompany ravens and clovers and there is the sound of a quietly ticking watch in the background too. storyline: fantastical tale but the basic facts are well-researched. for example, it's true that Hawthorne really did live in Salem (and his family were active in the witch "trials"), Hawthorne and US president Franklin Pierce were friends, it's also true that they met whilst attending Bowdoin College, and Hawthorne really did die in the month of May whilst traveling with Pierce. the developers' alternative idea about the cause of Hawthorne?s death is tightly plotted and includes enough historical detail to make their story truly captivating -- and it made me dig a bit to better learn about Hawthorne?s life and the actual facts known about these events. a really engaging way to get people interested in history. also includes time travel, which i usually find tedious, but the developers use it well in this game

Good game with good HOG. Moves you around to find clues and makes you pay attention to be able to solve the area so you can go to the next area.

Overall this was a very good game with challenging puzzles and a decent story line. The only thing that threw me was the time-line of the story which just seemed to jump all over the place with no notice. Sometimes it was difficult to follow the sequence of events in the story. Good graphics.

This game is one of my favorites. The graphics are great and the soundtrack fits the game wonderfully. I love how you are taken back in time during the 1800s and also in a couple of Hawthorne's novels. Not only are you trying to find out what happened to Hawthorne, but you pick up mysteries along the way and eventually save a life. Another interesting factor is that in this game, Nathaniel Hawthorne is a friend of former President Franklin Pierce and the time period is during the Lincoln administration. It would be interesting to know if Hawthorne's and Pierce's friendship in the game has some historical fact to it or if it was just a fictional pairing for the story. All in all, this is a great game with repeat playability due to the awards that can be won throughout the game. It's also interesting that there is a bonus HO game that can be played after collecting 50 clovers during the regular game play. For that reason, I'm playing the game for a third time. Each time, the HO scenes are a little different. The puzzles aren't that difficult, but they aren't easy either. While you can pretty much play the game without a walkthrough, it does become helpful when trying to find all the clovers.

This was a great game!! Way more adventure than just hidden objects which is what I like best. Also, the puzzles were challenging but not to hard. Highly recommend this game.

This is still one of my favorite HO games. The story is complex and engaging, moving back and forth in time, and the puzzles are challenging but not too hard. I also liked the additional challenge of being able to combine objects in the inventory to make things. Definitely recommended!

Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials is a hidden object adventure game. You play an author/detective who has an affinity with ghosts. This time, it's Nathaniel Hawthorne who comes to ask your help for his case. It's a fun game, where you travel back in time and talk to ghosts to solve the case. The graphics are dark, and just beautiful in this game, especially the cut scenes. The gameplay is straightforward. There is a special place in your inventory where you can combine two objects to make a new object. There are achievements in the game for completing certain objectives. An unlimited hidden object mode is opened if you collect enough clovers. (I haven't tried that mode yet.) I liked the puzzles in this game. The game took me over three hours to complete. Definitely worth taking a look at.

I love all the Midnight Mystery games and this is no exception. I love collecting the clovers just for the fun of it. The graphics are great, the story engaging. I love the fact that you can combine two inventory items to make a whole thing, for example two halves of a map or two parts of a tool. My only complaint I have with this game, like with all the others in this series, is the way the hint system works. The raven doesn't actually tell you what to do next if you get stuck. Instead you need to place one of your inventory items on the raven and he'll tell you where to use it. Not always very helpful, especially if you have to use it at a location you haven't been to yet. Because of this, I've had to resort to the walk through a couple of times, which I don't like to do. The puzzles are not too hard, which is just as well, because there are next to no instructions on what to do. There are no penalties for overclicking either, which is good. Some items in HO scenes are hidden, so you have to keep a close eye on your cursor to watch it change when there is a box or drawer to open etc. Because of the limited hint system, this is a fairly long game and suited to people who like to work things out for themselves.

I really enjoyed both of the Midnight Mysteries that are available, and even bought one for my iPad so I could enjoy it on the go. Great graphics, a storyline that isn't boring, and you don't drown in HO scenes (sorry but I like games that offer an array of puzzles and searching for items). Wish we could get the Edgar Allen Poe version for the Mac, that would be perfect!!!

Hands down, this is my favorite Midnight Mysteries game. The first one (Edgar Allen Poe Conspiracy) was great, but this game is really when the series found its footing. I've played this one twice and will definitely go back for more in the future (I want to get all of the awards!). Gameplay is smooth, transitioning is natural. Definitely well-written, like the graphics, and hope that there are more in the future!