When it comes to celebrating Halloween, travel experts agree there is no better place than Salem, Massachusetts. Close runners-up are Sleepy Hollow (New York), New Orleans (Louisiana), and Savannah (Georgia).
According to Travel & Leisure, Salem’s over-the-top seasonal festival, Haunted Happenings, is an immersive month-long citywide event with parades, markets, tours, museums, costumed events, street performers, and special spooky programs. It’s the largest Halloween celebration in the world and attracts more than one million visitors each October.
While Salem certainly shines at Halloween, it offers plenty of spooky sights and frights year-round.
As home of the infamous Salem witch trials, the town really embraces its spirited past. In fact, the high school’s mascot is a witch.
Visitors should check out the Peabody Essex Museum, the only museum in Salem displaying original objects connected to the witch trials, and the Witch House, the sole building in the city with direct ties to the 1692 trials that’s open to the public. The article says it was once home to Judge Jonathan Corwin, one of the magistrates who presided over the witchcraft investigations.
There are also plenty of ghost tours and haunted attractions to see, but Salem offers much more, including some not-so-scary options. For instance, visitors can explore Salem’s rich maritime history, unique architecture, and many art museums.
This is the perfect year to plan a trip to Salem as it celebrates its 400th anniversary.
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