Halloween in Salem

Witches, ghosts, vampires, and dungeons

Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts is a month-long spree of haunted happenings, séances, ghouls, ghost stories, witches, pirates, vampires, and the macabre.

Halloween in Salem got its start back in 1692, when two local girls started accusing their neighbors of being witches. By the time the resulting hysteria died down, 20 people and 2 dogs (believed to possess "the evil eye") were dead and hundreds more imprisoned as a result of the Salem witchcraft trials.

Salem Witch Museum, located in an old gothic church

Although the persecution of witches died out within a year and came to be regarded as shameful, within 200 years Salem started promoting itself as "Witch City." Today Salem is home to a Wiccan community - and the center of a festival throughout October celebrating its haunted past.

Salem MA is easy to reach from Boston for a day trip or weekend adventure - so if you're visiting during October, check out Halloween in Salem for (as we say in Boston) a wicked good time. If you decide to stay over, you'll find plenty of attractive Salem hotels - mostly guaranteed to be ghost-free.

Tours, witch museums, special events such as parades and séances, and plenty of costumes make Halloween in Salem a memorable experience.

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Salem Halloween parades and events

Haunted Happenings Grand Parade

The annual Haunted Happenings Grand Parade kicks off the festivities for Halloween in Salem in early October with music, pageantry, and costumed students from Salem schools marching from Shetland Park to Salem Common. This event usually takes place on the first Thursday of the month - but check the Boston Event Calendar for October for the exact date and time.

Haunted Salem Witch Trials Tours

Spend the day soaking up witch trial history on this 7-hour Witch Trial tour to Salem from Boston, which also includes a stop in coastal Marblehead. You can visit the Salem Witch Museum (or one of the other museums) and learn about witchcraft and the historical reasons behind the witch trials in Salem, Boston, and other areas. You'll also get to see Nathaniel's House of the Seven Gables, stop for lunch at Pickering Wharf, and explore more of Salem. This seasonal tour takes place from June to October, and provides an easy, fascinating way to visit Salem.

Book your Haunted Salem Witch Trial Tour now

Other Halloween events in Salem

Throughout the month, numerous events such as pumpkin decorating, haunted tours, and even a pet costume contest take place. Many of these events are free while others charge admission fees.

Some events for Halloween in Salem are expertly done, while others are so cheesy that you'll cringe - but hey, it's all in good fun!

The best place to figure out what's going on in Salem during October is the Salem Chamber of Commerce's Haunted Happenings website - click on the Events button.

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Salem witch museums celebrate Halloween

Witch museums abound in Salem. Once October arrives, most of these museums celebrate Halloween in Salem with extra decorations, special effects, and events.

With at least a dozen different witch and related museums, haunted houses, and ghostly attractions in Salem to choose from, you may wonder where to begin your own Salem witch hunt.

Here's a quick guide to some of the top Salem witch and ghost attractions, and what you'll experience when you visit. Some are open year-round, while others are seasonal. You'll quickly discover that many focus more on entertainment, chills, and thrills than imparting historical facts - so go expecting to learn a couple of things but mostly just have fun.

Salem Witch Museum

Located in an authentic old gothic church worthy of any horror movie, the Salem Witch Museum is the oldest of the witch museums and claims to be the most visited. You'll see animated mannequins reenact the drama leading up to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and the resulting executions. A new exhibit, "Witches: Evolving Perceptions," focuses on present-day ideas about witchcraft.

If you have a GoBoston Card, you'll get free admission to the Salem Witch Museum, along with several other Salem tours and attractions.

Location: 19 1/2 Washington Square North; 978-744-1692; website

Salem Witch Village

Get ready for a guided tour of witchcraft through the centuries as you make your way through a "maze" of sets complete with mannequins, painted backdrops, and lights.

The tour guides' narrative focuses on what's a witch, and what isn't, with lots of detail about present-day wiccans. You'll also learn a bit about about Salem in 1692. Aside from the rather creepy fake spiders dangling in corners, Salem Witch Village normally focuses on delivering information rather than fright.

But on October weekends, the emphasis shifts to Halloween as Salem Witch Village becomes Haunted Witch Village where ghouls and goblins do their best to scare the visitors.

Location: 282 Derby Street; 978-740-2929; website

Salem's 13 Ghosts

A combo ghost and haunted house tour, made memorable by 3-D glasses and actors representing visitors from "the other side." As you wander through the haunted house wearing your 3D glasses, ghosts from Salem's past appear; even worse, you feel like you're about to be burned alive, walk the plank, or come to some other grisly end. During the ghost tour, you'll hear about the wrongful accusations of witchcraft in 1692 by spirits who claim to haunt the streets of Salem today.

Location: 131 Essex Street; www.salems13ghosts.com

Witch Dungeon Museum

Located in a former church, actors in colonial dress reenact the events of 1692 when two girls accused their neighbors of being witches and a couple of dogs of giving them "the evil eye." Then, as you are led down to a "dungeon" (aka the basement covered with papier-mâché) filled with exhibits of jailed mannequins, you'll see "witches" hanging from trees, and even more gruesome sights. Tip: Don't come here unless you want to feel scared!

Location: 16 Lynde Street; 978-741-3570; www.witchdungeon.com

The Witches Cottage at the Griffen Theatre

Billed as Salem's "best live witchcraft & ghost show," The Witches Cottage is a stage production for Halloween in Salem "Haunted Happenings," complete with witches, monsters, disembodied hands, a bubbling cauldron, quivering specters, and discontent spirits. Entertainment, shock, and the macabre take center stage - get ready for fog bursts, ghostly orbs, and lots of bubbles. Highlight: you get to watch a Puritan make a pact with the Devil.

Location: 7 Lynde Street; 978-825-0222; www.witchescottagesalem.com

Salem Wax Museum and Frankenstein's Laboratory

If you're a fan of wax museums, you'll probably enjoy the London-made figures in the Salem Wax Museum depicting local history from Salem's founding in 1626 through the witch hysteria of 1692. As a bonus, the museum also features other locals - Scarlet Letter author Nathaniel Hawthorne, bands of pirates, and more.

Down in the dungeon - that is, the basement - you'll visit Frankenstein's Laboratory . . . if you can make your way through a maze, past grave robbers, and avoid the bats.

Location: 288 Derby Street; 978-740-2929; www.salemwaxmuseum.com

Witch History Museum

This museum also features a presentation by costumed actors as well as life-sized scenes depicting the historical events surrounding the Salem witch trials of 1692. You'll also hear information about the witch hysteria that swept surrounding Essex County, the larger area where Salem is located.

Location: 197 Essex Street; 978-741-7770; www.witchhistorymuseum.com

Essentials: Halloween in Salem

When: October. Biggest revelry is on Halloween - October 31.
Where: Historic Downtown Salem
Tickets to witch museums: Most charge $10 or less. If you are a AAA or CAA member, show your card and ask if a discount is available.
Hotels: Check out Salem MA hotels
Important tip: As soon as you know your dates, make reservations as hotels in Salem book up very early for the month of October.
Getting here: You have several good options: From North Station in Boston, take the MBTA Commuter Rail (Newburyport/Rockport Line) to Salem, about a 30 minute trip. Walk about 10-15 minutes to the museums. Or, save a few dollars by taking the #450 bus to Salem from Boston's Haymarket subway station. You can also take the Boston-Salem ferry. The easiest option is to join a Salem Tour from Boston, and arrive in style on a comfortable tour bus. Finally, you can drive, which usually takes longer than the other options and may mean a longer walk, as parking is very limited.
More information: Stop by the Regional Visitor's Center at 2 New Liberty Street, Salem; 978-740-1660.

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Halloween costumes in Salem

Halloween costumes in Salem are hard to avoid. Everywhere you look, you'll see people wearing them and shops selling them - along with crystal balls, broomsticks, silhouettes of black cats, fake ghosts, and much, much more.

If you need a Halloween costume, Salem is the perfect place to shop, partly because it is home to a community of practicing wiccan, mystics, and clairvoyants who also shop here for their professional-quality witchcraft accessories.

Look for costume shops in the Essex Street pedestrian mall between the Peabody Essex Museum and Washington Street. You'll also find interesting choices along Washington Street and Derby Street, at Pickering Wharf, and in the East India Mall Shopping Center on Charter Street.

Don't forget, Boston also has excellent sources for Halloween costumes and accessories.

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Also check out:

Halloween in Boston - Check out the best ghoulish events
Boston Event Calendar October - Find the date for this year's Haunted Happenings Grand Parade
Salem MA Hotels - Where to stay in and near Salem
Tours to Salem from Boston - Let someone else do the driving!