Parking – Salem Happenings

Halloween in the Witch City

Controlled chaos is probably the best term to describe Salem on a Saturday Halloween. In fact, I’m pretty sure there’s got to be a dictionary somewhere that has a picture of downtown Salem next to the term because on an average Saturday Halloween, you can expect there to be in excess of 150,000 people in the Witch City. Now, to put this into prospective, 150,000 people is over three times the number of people that actually live in the city on a regular basis. That’s a lot of people, and that number can be even higher when the weather is really nice. This means that if you live in Salem or you’re planning a trip to Salem on Halloween night, you need to be prepared to embrace the madness.

However, in order to truly embrace the madness, there are a few things that you need to remember:

1. Choose Your Costume Carefully

There’s never a shortage of people in costume in Salem during October, and Halloween is, without a doubt, the peak of the costume season. However, most people just go with the first idea that pops into their head, and they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about what they’re wearing. Unfortunately, the temperature in Salem on Halloween night can range anywhere from 35 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit depending on the year, so it’s always a good idea to have a costume with some layers (especially if you can easily remove some of those layers and throw them in your bag or your car when you realize it’s warmer than you thought it was.)

As a result, if you decide to dress-up like an Arabian princess, a Chippendale dancer, a gladiator, a mermaid, a naughty nurse, or some other similarly scantily-clad individual, you may find that it can be pretty cold on a chilly fall night. It’s also important to consider what emergency personnel may think of your costume if the unthinkable happens and you need medical attention because, trust me, the nurses at the local hospitals are not going to find your naughty nurse costume as entertaining as you do. In addition to considering the warmth and emergency implications of your costume, it is also important to make sure that you wear comfortable shoes (you’ll be doing a lot of walking), make sure that you do not have any weapons of any kind (real or fake because the city prohibits both costume and real weapons), and avoid long trailing items like capes or gowns (because they may get caught on things and trip you, trip other people, and/or just get torn to shreds.)

2. Take Public Transportation If You Can

As page 5 of the Haunted Happenings Guide states: “Traffic in October can be scary!” This is certainly true for Halloween and is especially true for a Halloween on a Saturday because, weather permitting, there will be somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people trying to get into Salem tomorrow. This means that trying to drive into the city and find somewhere to park may be worse than and, quite possibly, more expensive than your worst nightmare. As a result, taking the Commuter Rail or the Salem Ferry can be a much easier way to enjoy Salem’s All Hallows Eve festivities because these services will allow you to avoid the traffic and the enormous parking fees.

If you feel like you have to drive into the city because public transportation just isn’t going to work for you though, try to come in early. The earlier in the day you come, the less traffic there will be.

3. If There’s Something You Really Want to Do In Salem, Book It Now!

The one thing that is absolutely, positively guaranteed on Halloween night, regardless of whether it is a Saturday or not, is that everything in Salem will be packed (unless the weather is horrible.) This means that if there is something that you really want to get into on Halloween night, try to see if you can get tickets for it now. Some places in Salem will not take reservations for Halloween night because they are guaranteed to fill up their seats from foot traffic alone. However, some places will take reservations and/or sell advance tickets, so it is always a good idea to see if you can book what you want to do now because it will give you a much better chance of getting into the restaurant or show that you want to check out.

Photo Credits

Hippie Girl Photo Credit: jramspott / Foter / CC BY
Broom Photo Credit: nanaow2006 / Foter / CC BY
Necronomicon Photo credit: liftarn / Foter / CC BY-SA

Halloween in Salem

Today marks the end of the Halloween countdown, as All Hallows Eve is finally upon us. In fact, if you’re a resident of Salem, today is the day when you have to decide whether you will batten down the hatches and hide in your house to avoid being overrun by tourists or accept the fact that if you can’t beat them, join them. However, if you’re not a resident or you’re a resident who has already accepted his or her fate, you may be trying to figure out exactly what you’re going to do while you’re in the city and/or how you’re going to get into the celebration in the first place. Fortunately, if this is indeed the case, it is important to remember that Halloween in Salem is only as scary as you want it to be, and there are a few things that you can do to make the day more enjoyable:

1. Prepare Yourself for the Mob Scene

Halloween is the biggest celebration of the year in Salem, and with All Hallows Eve on a Friday this year, you should expect there to be in excess of 100,000 people in the downtown area of the city (weather permitting.) To put this into perspective, the population of the city of Salem is approximately 42,500, which means that there will be over twice as many people in the city (if not three times as many people) as there are actually living here. In fact, that figure of 100,000 people doesn’t necessarily include all the people that have chosen to hide in their homes, so if you don’t like crowds, you may want to stay home or find somewhere else to go tonight. However, if you are still brave enough to make your way into the madness, you should expect a significant wait for anything that you want to do. This is because the big, slightly unruly mob that I keep mentioning will want to get into the same attractions, restaurants, and other things that you’re trying to get into as well.

2. Avoid the Traffic and Parking Nightmare

Getting over 100,000 people into a city that typically has 42,500, as you might guess, creates a lot of traffic. In fact, if you’re driving into the city after 4:00 P.M., you should expect to sit in traffic for 1 – 2 hours from the time you reach the highway exit for Salem. This means that you’re going to have a lot of trouble getting into the city, finding a parking space, and getting out of the city again. However, there are a couple of ways that you can avoid these problems.

First, come in early. The traffic in Salem usually escalates around the time that the city closes the roads downtown, which is at 4:00 P.M. this year. As a result, you may be able to avoid a significant amount of traffic, find a parking spot that’s a little further away but cheaper (which is a big deal when a parking spot could cost you $20 to $30), and get out of the city a little faster (from your parking spot closer to the city’s edge) if you’re in the city before 4:00 P.M. Secondly, you could avoid driving into the city altogether. The Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail train or the Salem Ferry will take you right into downtown Salem from Boston and the neighboring communities.

3. Enjoy the Frighteningly Free Activities

In addition to all of the vendors, carnival attractions, haunted houses, museums, and restaurants that Salem typically has to offer during this time of year, there are also a number of events on Halloween that are absolutely free. As a result, you may be able to have a great night without completely emptying your wallet by seeing Samhain rituals performed by actual witches, watching live bands performing in the streets, and topping it all off with some fireworks before you go. For more information on all of the events going on in Salem, please visit the Salem Haunted Happenings website.

Photo Credits

Angry Mob Photo Credit: hans s / Foter / CC BY-ND
Traffic Jam Now Fully Operational Photo Credit: psd / Foter / CC BY
Music by the TOKYO TRAMPS Photo Credit: }{enry / Foter / CC BY

Friday Fun: A Local’s Guide to Salem

Last week, I talked about some of the ways that you could enjoy the Halloween season in Salem. In fact, I specifically discussed events that were relatively inexpensive (unless you bought your kids everything they wanted at the Bazaar) because there are a lot of people operating on an extremely tight budget at the moment. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s something that’s going to change anytime soon, as the government is still shutdown, a ludicrous number of employees are still out of work, and a debt crisis of epic proportions still looms on the horizon. However, even though money is still tight for a lot of people and there’s nothing that we can do about the staggering ineptitude of our so-called “leaders”, there are still a number of things that we can do to keep ourselves from focusing too much on the financial issues that we cannot change.

One of the ways that we can prevent ourselves from focusing too much on the problems that are beyond our control, and hopefully retain some of our sanity, is to focus on something else. What should you focus on, you might ask? Well, it is the Halloween season, so why not focus on all of the stuff going on in Salem, and if you’re thinking about making your first trip or another trip to the Witch City, here are some things about the city that you should keep in mind:

1. Parking is Never Easy (or Cheap.)

Salem is a tourist city, and the Halloween season is definitely the city’s biggest draw. As a result, finding a parking spot gets harder as it gets closer to Halloween, and the harder it is to find a spot, the more it costs. In fact, most of the parking that is available in the downtown area of Salem costs somewhere in the range of $20 to $25 during the month of October. However, you can avoid these parking issues all together or, at the very least, significantly reduce them by parking further away from the downtown area and walking, taking the Newburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail train, or taking the Salem Ferry.

2. It’s Called the Witch City for a Reason (Two in Fact.)

Salem, MA is known as the Witch City for two distinct reasons. First, the City of Salem is one of the most famous (or depending on how you look at it, infamous) sites to actually try, convict, and execute people for the crime of witchcraft. In fact, 19 innocent people were hung and one person, Giles Corey, was actually pressed to death for their “supposed crimes” even though none of the people convicted were actually practicing witches or had actually done anything wrong. Secondly, in a rather amusing twist, the City of Salem now hosts one of the largest populations of actual witches in the world. These witches, which practice the Wiccan faith, are not like the witches you may have seen in The Wizard of Oz or on the TV show Bewitched, but are instead typical people with typical jobs trying to practice their religious beliefs in peace (well, as much peace as you can have in a tourist city focused on witches.) As a result, if you’re planning to come to the city in October, you should be prepared for a lot of witches, both real and imagined.

3. Expect the Unexpected

Salem is not your typical city, so it’s usually a good idea to expect the unexpected. In fact, on a normal weekend in October, you can expect to see the downtown area filled with vampires, monsters, witches (both real and imagined as stated above), living statues, people in colonial garb, and a whole lot more. The only thing to remember, however, is that if there is something that you want to see, you should check it out now. Things in Salem change pretty regularly, and there’s no guarantee that everything that you want to see will be there next year or even next week.

4. Not All Tours Are Created Equal

There are over half a dozen tours in downtown Salem alone, and each of these tours covers a different aspect of the city. As a result, even though some tours may have similar-sounding names, it is important to have an idea of what you want to know and what you want to see before you go looking for a tour. This means, for example, if you’re looking for information on the history of Salem, your best bet may be the Trolley Tour. If, on the other hand, you want to hear about some of the most frightening places in Salem, I highly recommend the Salem Night Tour.

5. Eat Like a Local

Finding something to eat in Salem is never a challenge but deciding what to eat is a whole another story. This is because Salem is filled with almost as many restaurants and food vendors as it is attractions, and you will be able to find American, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Mediterranean, Mexican, Polish, and Thai cuisine without leaving the Downtown area. However, if you’re looking for a good place to eat without emptying your wallet, you may want to steer away from some of the larger chain restaurants and head to the smaller family-operated restaurants where all the locals eat. For example, if you’re looking for some pizza or a sub, the Engine House on Lafayette Street right next to the Fire Station has some of the best pizza, subs, and wraps around. If you’re looking for some Mexican food, the Howling Wolf on Lafayette Street across from the Fire Station is one of the best (and cheapest) Mexican places you’re going to find. Other restaurants that are definitely worth checking out include:

Cafe Kushco (Frozen Yogurt, Sandwiches, and Wraps)Fresh Taste of Asia (Chinese and Japanese)AndThe Lobster Shanty (Pub Fareand Seafood)

Photo CreditsWitch House Photo Credit: openroads.com / Foter / CC BY
Witch Trial Memorial Photo Credit: Smart Destinations / Foter / CC BY-SA
Living Witch Statue Photo Credit: bunnygoth / Foter / CC BY-ND
Lobster Shanty Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC / Foter / CC BY-ND