Halloween in Salem

My boyfriend and I will be in Boston the weekend of Halloween and thought it would be fun to spend time in Salem that night. Figure there must be something exciting as Salem is already completely booked for that night! We already have reservations in Beverly, so now just need to know what%26#39;s actually creepy and fun there to avoid the completely lame money-grabs. Anyone have any suggestions... or warnings?

Halloween in Salem

Hey there. My husband and I went to Salem for Halloween night a couple of years ago. Not sure what you%26#39;re looking for, exactly, but here%26#39;s my two cents: if you%26#39;re looking for streets PACKED, shoulder-to-shoulder with teens and some college kids - a glorified frat party in the streets - by all means, go. If not, DON%26#39;T - t%26#39;s like being a salmon trying to swim against the stream.

If you go at all to Salem, don%26#39;t waste your $ on the Salem Witch Museum. It%26#39;s the cheesiest thing I%26#39;ve ever seen - you could recreate the witch trials in your living room and get more out of it.

Salem is what it is - and there are plenty of great places (the pub in the Hawthorne Hotel is a gem - sit by the fireplace or in one of the comfy booths and enjoy the food and atmosphere) - but you couldn%26#39;t pay me to go back on Halloween. Especially if you take the train - they don%26#39;t run NEARLY enough that night and you may get stranded there. Since you%26#39;ll be in Beverly, I assume that wouldn%26#39;t be an issue - but parking is bad on a good day there....

Not to be a downer. Either way, have a blast. Plenty of fun to be had around here!!

Becca

Halloween in Salem

just to reinforce the prior comments about the witch museum, check out the reviews on this site:

tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60954-d1036鈥?/a>

Hello,

I lived in Salem for a couple years and thought Halloween there was fun! It%26#39;s a little cheesy but I never minded-it%26#39;s a fun time out. Yes you%26#39;ll find groups of young people in their 20%26#39;s partying on down but it%26#39;s never ruined the fun for me (I%26#39;m in my late 30s now and still go every couple of years) For free fun just walk around on Saturday night or on Halloween (Monday) and look at all the crazy people in their costumes! (It%26#39;s also fun to try to figure out who is wearing a costume vs who dresses like that every day.) Also there are lots of events - check out www.salemweb.com or www.hauntedhappeningssalem.com and look at the links for halloween and the calendar. The witch museum is a waste of time, but the terror trail walking tour is fun to do, or the witch trial tour will give you some historical information. I had a $10 tarot reading at the hawthorne hotel once that was eerily accurate too, so maybe you%26#39;ll find that fun.

The In a Pig%26#39;s Eye restaurant is a cute pub a little away from the action, with good food and beer. Salem is right on a harbor too and has pretty views to Marblehead, or go out to Salem Willows for nice views toward Beverly.

There are trains running from Beverly to Salem but watch the times closely. They usually run on time but aren%26#39;t very frequent. See www.mbna.com for schedules. Derby Street, Pickering Wharf, Essex Street, and the Salem Common are all within quick walking distance of the station. Salem is only about 30-40 minutes by train from Boston%26#39;s North Station so you can make it a trip for the evening from Boston, although Beverly is a nice little town. Have fun!

Thanks for all the advice. I figured most features would be pretty cheesy, but sounds like it%26#39;ll be fun just to walk around and take in the sights at least! If anyone thinks of anything else we can take in around the Boston area that weekend, please let me know! Thanks again!