Around Salem 2025

 

Salem celebrates Halloween all month long starting with the annual Haunted Happenings parade and there are all sorts of events for the rest of the month which you can peruse here. Every weekend there is a street fair downtown with dozens of vendors selling all sorts of art, jewelry, clothing, and more. It's so much fun just walking around and taking it all in...even if it is a bit crowded.

 

 So crowded that some of the downtown area streets have to be closed to traffic! If you look down to the right of the street signs, you can see the TV Land statue of Samantha from Bewitched. This line of people going across the street are waiting to get a photo with her. Most of the shops and restaurants have lines to get in this time of year because so many come to visit.

 

 This is a shot from the Essex St. pedestrian mall. This area is super crowded every weekend with all kinds of shops along both sides. If you venture away to explore the city, the crowds are much more do-able. 

 

I didn't even notice when I took the photo but I captured a local celebrity! On the left, you'll see Landon in a white hoodie who's holding Lucipurr the black cat. It's not uncommon to run into them around town.

  

 Along the pedestrian mall, there are a variety of buskers in costume ranging from pop culture icons to original characters. They take tips in exchange for photos. This is J. Lantern, the Dapper Pumpkin. Not only does he look snazzy, but the head is designed to pull off the stem and he has a little stash of candy in their for the kids!

 

 This guy sits patiently until someone approaches.

 

I don't know if there's anywhere else where you might find an evil clown playing violin to Abba's Dancing Queen! 

 

 The Salem Dunkin' got a spooky makeover to promote their spider donut. The inside has more decoration but the line was out the door and across the parking lot! When photos started showing up in Salem Facebook groups, a lot of people thought it was just AI generated which I totally see. It looks weird even in person.

 

I've got a lot more pics but I feel like this post is going long already so if you want to take a virtual walk around town, flip through the album below or visit it on Flickr. I think it's worth mentioning, this is just the downtown area where most of the tourist action is. There's a lot more to Salem!

  

 

 Click below to see the full list of Countdown to Halloween blogs!