Halloween in Salem, MA

October, Halloween and Salem, MA are synonymous. This is the time when the streets of Salem open up to vendors, costumes, music and fun. The most popular costume seen on the streets is that of a witch and a vast array of large pointed witch hats. The witch phenomena traces back in time to 1692 and Salem’s witch hysteria and the famous Salem Witch Trials. By the time this hysteria ended, nineteen people were hanged on Gallows Hill. Today, the Salem Witch Museum, Witch History Museum and the Witch Dungeon Museum present Salem’s visitors with the history of this era.

Salem has many points of interest and tours available to its visitors as well as trolleys and shuttles. There are guided tours of the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion (The House of the Seven Gables) and then a visit to the Nathaniel Hawthorne House. The House of the Seven Gables is where Hawthorne wrote his best know works: The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851).

Other points of interest are The Burying Ground which is the oldest cemetery in Salem and adjacent to it is the Salem Wax Museum of Witches and Seafarers. There is also the Peabody Museum where you can explore their collection consisting of 200 years of extraordinary art, architecture and culture from New England and the world. Equally inviting are the New England Pirate Museum and Pickering Wharf which was Salem’s gateway to the sea. Now, the Wharf houses a nice collection of shops, boutiques and restaurants.

While on Pickering Wharf, you may enjoy visiting Laurie Cabot’s witch shop, The Cat, The Crow and The Crown. In 1977, Cabot received the title she had long sought and was named ‘the Official Witch of Salem’ by the then Governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis.

End your day of sightseeing in Salem with dinner at the Finz also on Pickering Wharf.  Reservations for this 4-1/2 star restaurant are recommended.

In addition to its October fun, Salem is a city that visitors can enjoy the year-round.