Every fall, Salem transforms from a sleepy city on the North Shore to a bustling tourist destination faster than the leaves can change color. People come from all around the globe to soak in the spooky atmosphere and learn about the city’s ties to the Salem Witch Trials. Small businesses line the streets, selling everything from $80 palm readings to hand-made witch hats.
GALLERY Salem and the Halloween IndustryA man strolls through the streets of Salem with his black cat, Luci-purr.A person and their dog dressed in matching dinosaur costumes walk down Derby Street.Crowds of people pack Essex Street in Salem.Dan Lavoie, a busker also known as the Salem Satan, gives out free hugs for people in Derby Square.A tour guide for Witch City Walking Tours shows a group the Old Town Hall in Derby Square.Crowds of people browse vendors in Derby Square.Bridget Scott-Shupe picks out candies at Ye Olde Pepper Companie, a locally owned candy store in Salem.A couple dressed as Sally and Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas put their dog, dressed as Zero, into a carrier.Isaac Bidwell, an artist at Pickled Punks Plush, hands a customer a graphic t-shirt he designed.Joshua Grutzik, a salesperson at Pickled Punks, blows into a “Sadsquatch” whistle to demonstrate to a customer how the animal would sound.Melissa Cote, a tourist in Salem, takes a photo of a grave at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial.A person dressed as a Plague Doctor tries to spook passing tourists out of an upper floor window in a house on Essex Street.A horde of tourists exit the crowded Salem MBTA station.
