Tattoo Shops in Salem, MA: A Guide to Every Studio in Town

Salem has seven tattoo studios inside city limits, plus a dedicated piercing shop — an unusual density for a city of about 44,000 people. Several sit within a few blocks of each other downtown, and a couple are destination studios that clients travel to from out of state.

This is every one of them: who works there, whether they take walk-ins, and what each shop actually does. Every studio links to its page in our full Salem directory for hours, phone, and a map.

Appointment-only studios

These book in advance. Don’t plan on walking in.

• Black Veil Studio — 137 Boston Street. Run by identical twin brothers Ryan and Matthew Murray, who work exclusively in black and grey, drawing on Victorian mourning imagery and Salem history under the tagline “black & grey for the grim hearted.” Private and appointment-only, open Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun 12–5 and closed Tuesday through Thursday; requests go through blackveilstudio.com. The studio has a following well beyond Salem — over 350,000 on Instagram. Attached is the Black Veil Shoppe of Drear & Wonder, a candlelit shop of art, apparel and oddities that’s open to browse. Rated 4.9 from 363 Google reviews. Note it’s about a mile from downtown, so it’s a drive rather than a walk off Essex Street.

• 9th Realm Gallery — 172 Lafayette Street. A custom tattoo studio that doubles as a fine art gallery, with local and visiting artists working in fine line, illustrative and large-scale custom pieces in a private setting. 4.9 from 133 reviews.

• HEMLOCK — 96 Wharf Street, down by the harbor. Five resident artists plus guests, booking by season through their site. 5.0 from 35 reviews.

Walk-ins available

If you want something today.

• Witch City Ink — 186 Essex Street, on the downtown pedestrian walkway. Seven resident artists plus rotating guests, open 12pm–8pm seven days a week. Walk-in tattoos are available daily; custom work goes through an online booking form with a reply inside a week. 18+ with valid photo ID. No piercing services. 4.5 from 424 reviews.

• Salem Ink Tattoo and Art Gallery — 201 Derby Street. Six professional artists working as a custom studio and art gallery, taking walk-ins for small pieces and appointment consultations for larger projects. Shop minimums start at $120–$150. The most-reviewed tattoo shop in the city: 4.8 from 659 Google reviews.

Also on Essex Street

Both of these sit in the historic district, a block apart.

• Merk Ink Tattoo Studio — 266 Essex Street. Owner and lead artist Ronnie Merk works alongside resident artist Ireland and rotating guest artists on personalized custom designs. 4.6 from 144 reviews.

• Tomb Gallery & Tattoo — 274 Essex Street. A custom tattoo studio and art gallery that also runs a related apparel line. 5.0 from 26 reviews.

Piercing, not tattoo

• Thistle Piercing & Fine Jewelry — 17 Canal Street. Piercers with more than three decades of combined experience, specializing in detailed ear styling, pre-piercing consultations, custom-fit jewelry and flat-back earrings. They also correct and improve piercings done elsewhere. 5.0 from 165 reviews. Worth knowing because several of the tattoo studios above don’t pierce at all.

Before you go

A few things that apply across the board:

• You must be 18 with valid photo ID. Massachusetts sets no parental-consent exception for tattoos.
• Shop minimums are real. Expect somewhere around $120–$150 as a floor for even a small piece at a custom studio.
• October is the hardest month to get in. Salem’s visitor numbers peak through Haunted Happenings, and walk-in availability downtown gets thin. If you want a specific artist in October, book well ahead.
• Appointment-only shops book out furthest. The destination studios take custom requests through their own forms rather than by phone, and reply on their own schedule.

Looking for something else in town? Browse the full Salem directory or see what’s on this week.