What better place is there to spend Halloween weekend than Salem, Massachusetts? I was over the moon to get to go this year with my friend Jordan. (Get it? Witchy joke?)
If you were ever a middle school student in America, you learned about the 1692 Salem Witch Trials. This historical town is probably spooky on a good day, but it was decorated to the nines when we arrived via Uber from Boston! We arrived in Salem on October 29th and stayed the weekend to experience their famous celebrations on Halloween Night. Keep scrolling to check out my itinerary from our witchy Halloween weekend!
Halloween in Salem Day 1: Saturday, October 29th
We landed in Boston around noon and took an Uber to our hotel (about 30 mins). Our hotel was in Danvers, right outside Salem’s town limits, because accommodations within Salem were already sold out by the time we booked the trip (August). We had tickets for that evening’s “Heaven & Hell Ball” thrown in downtown Salem, so we relaxed, got ready, and Ubered into downtown Salem. Pictures of our costumes are below! For the hotel we stayed at, click here.
Luckily, we had no trouble finding Ubers during this trip; our average wait time was around 8 minutes, and the ride between our hotel/downtown Salem was only 20 minutes each way.
Important note: The mayor of Salem requests that visitors refrain from driving themselves into Salem due to limited parking garages and high traffic. We were encouraged to walk or use Uber/Lyft for local travel.
There are also ferries and trains that shuttle visitors in/out if you stay in Boston! However, I heard they take about 45 mins to an hour and we like to nap in the afternoons, so we stayed closer to town.
Halloween in Salem Day 2: Sunday, October 30th
After staying out late on Saturday night, we were happy to sleep in this morning! We enjoyed lunch in Salem Common, a large tree-filled park home to a dozen food trucks and many pop-up shopping vendors. This area was very family-friendly, and groups of children chased each other in cute costumes! Multiple stands sold fall specialties like this delicious homemade cinnamon donut and hot apple cider I got to taste! We didn’t wait longer than 10 minutes for our food from any location.
We spent the afternoon at “Cry Innocent: The People vs. Bridget Bishop,” a mock 1692 witch trial that visitors participated in as the jury. This interactive play highlighted how easily many of us fell into the same hysteria that caused innocent people to die.
We learned that no witches were burned to death in America (although countless were killed this way in Europe’s witch trials), but a total of 25 people died as accused witches. According to historical records, 19 were hung, five others died in jail, and one man was crushed to death.
This was a time of solemn reflection during our trip and we made plans to visit the victims’ memorial the following day.
After some shopping and a quick nap, we embarked upon a nighttime ghost tour through the streets of Salem! There are MANY tour options on TripAdvisor, with kid-friendly or adult-only options. Our tour guide didn’t wear a microphone or carry a lamp as other tour guides did, which made her harder to follow through the streets, so keep that in mind if you search for a tour! For the tour we took, click here.
We were led through the dark (but busy) Essex St to find the haunted mansion in which the wealthy Captain Joseph White was murdered in 1830. The murder and subsequent trial of four other rich townsmen inspired Edgar Allan Poe to write “The Tell-Tale Heart.” We stopped for stories at multiple cemeteries, churches, and a haunted hotel. Our tour guide also showed us the building that Alexander Graham Bell used for the first public demonstration of the telephone in 1877!
A popular seafood restaurant called Turner’s now occupies the building, and Bridget Bishop’s apple orchard was said to be directly next door to it long ago. (A witch’s coven held a seance in Turner’s once, but they didn’t see Bridget Bishop!) Check out the captioned photo slideshow below!
Halloween in Salem Day 3: Monday, October 31st
The day we’d all been waiting for! We spent the morning relaxing and getting our costumes ready before visiting the popular Salem Witch Museum. Their team did an incredible job making the museum professional and educational while somberly telling the story of the Salem tragedy.
The experience lasted about 45 minutes, and we were given stools in the middle of a cavernous room to sit on to watch the 360-degree show. We were guided through a second room depicting how public perception of witchcraft has evolved over history, which I thought was very informative and unbiased. To protect their hard work, the museum does not allow photography, so you’ll have to visit yourself!
We met our other travel nurse friends for lunch at Gulu-Gulu Cafe, a local restaurant with incredible food options! I had their mac-n-cheese with chicken on top and their version of a Moscow Mule, and it was my favorite meal from the weekend!
We walked to the victims’ memorial in the Charter Street Cemetery in the afternoon and paid our respects. Many visitors brought small tributes such as flowers, pennies, and cards. Each of the 25 people who died during the Salem Witch Trials has a bench inscribed with their name and death date. You will notice that Bridget Bishop, the accused witch that is the main character in “Cry Innocent” from the previous day, has a bench in the memorial.
On Halloween night, we enjoyed fried food with friends, danced to live street concerts, and got professional photos done at WitchPix!
We booked about 30 days prior, and they still had a handful of time slots available for the weekend. We got around 30 incredible photos sent to my email less than 15 mins after our session. Our photographer, Bruce, went through the pictures with us at the end to ensure we were happy and knew how to access the email link. To see more of our photos and learn more about WitchPix, click here!
Spending Halloween in Salem was a bucket list item for me and Jordan! I highly recommend visiting any time during October but especially on the night of Halloween.
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