Tourism in Salem: Haunted Happenings

Journal SEVEN 

    Salem, Massachusetts has become a major tourist destination, especially around October when the town leans into its haunted legacy. While the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 brought devastation to many families, modern-day Salem has found a way to commercialize on its witchy roots in a festive, though sometimes controversial, way. 

Salem, Massachusetts

    Salem is the place to be for Halloween. In a month-long celebration of history, haunts, and a bit of magic, Salem’s “Haunted Happenings Festival” begins October 1st and ends on Halloween day. “Events include a Grand Parade, the Haunted Biz Baz Street Fair, Family Film Nights, costume balls, ghost tours, haunted houses, live music, and chilling theatrical presentations.” 

Salem Haunted Happenings Logo

    Additionally, there are witchcraft exhibits, reenactments of the trials, and historic guided tours focused on the town's real ties to the 1692 hangings that were the result of the Witch Trials of 1692. Salem's Haunted Happenings is the largest celebration of Halloween in the world and has welcomed more than a half-million visitors each year! (https://www.hauntedhappenings.org/)

    Furthermore, each fall, the city's “Essex Street Pedestrian Mall” is transformed into a carnival of the occult. Stores selling witchcraft items such as wands, spell books, and potions line the streets, and psychics and fortune tellers set up street stands to read palms and tarot cards. Although most visitors are costumed crowds, actual practicing witches and pagans partake in the market as well. (https://www.travelandleisure.com/salem-massachusetts-halloween-season-7871591)

    Some view Salem's witchy tourism as disrespectful, given the gravity of what occurred there centuries ago. But most seem to take it in good spirits as the city's way of embracing its unique identity. Locals often dress up and decorate their homes, and businesses look to capitalize on the influx of visitors pouring in from across the world each autumn. (https://www.boston.com/travel/travel/2023/09/21/tourist-trap-in-salem-according-to-usa-today/)