As I write this I’m sitting here watching a show on the travel channel about what went down in the 1600s in Salem. It’s still so hard to understand that a whole town went crazy over a bunch of kids trying to get out of doing housechores and this crazy puritanical cult life they found themselves in.

But last October we took a ride up to Salem to check out the scene and we had a great time. We went to the witch museum and learned more about the story. Did you know if you coveted your neighbor’s property and would like to see it up for auction so you can take a shot at it, all you have to do is accuse them of being a witch. What a crazy time.

But how ironic is it that the place is now an awesome place to rock out Halloween. Here’s some of the details:

Places to Go for Family Fun: Salem Massachusetts

Salem Massachusetts is one of the oldest seaports in America, and infamous for what happened to twenty innocent people back in 1692. These people, puritans, became victims of mass hysteria known as the Salem Witch Trials and it’s been chronicled in the famous book by Arthur Miller, The Crucible.

 

Salem During Halloween

One of the best times to visit Salem is during the month of October, during it’s Haunted Happenings season.

Over 250,000 people come to visit and be a part of the grand parade, fireworks, masquerade balls, live music, haunted houses and chilling theater.

Check out the fun show at the Gallows Hill Theater

Even spookier is the Psychic Fair and Festival of the Dead. 

The future with a psychic reading at Salem’s longest-running psychic fair! Hosted by Christian Day, Brian Cain, and the Witches of Salem, The Annual Psychic Fair and Witchcraft Expo features the Witch City’s most gifted Psychics, each one officially licensed by the city of Salem! Wander an emporium of magical gifts, meet real practicing Witches, and make an appointment with one of Salem’s talented psychic readers as you delve into your destiny!

Besides all the witchy stuff, Salem is also a great place to learn about colonial seaport life.

Salem’s History

Salem also played a major role in American History. Located at the mouth of the Naumkeag river at the site of an ancient Native American village and trading center, Salem was first settled by Europeans in 1626, when a company of fishermen^[16] from Cape Ann led by Roger Conant arrived.

During the Revolution, the town became a center for privateering. Although the documentation is incomplete, about 1,700 Letters of Marque, issued on a per-voyage basis, were granted during the American Revolution. Nearly 800 vessels were commissioned as privateers and are credited with capturing or destroying about 600 British ships.^[34] During the War of 1812, privateering resumed.

Now, tourism is the backbone of Salem’s economy. Tourism based on the 1692 witch trials dates back to at least the first half of the 20th century, when dry goods merchant Daniel Low sold souvenir spoons with witch images. Such tourism expanded significantly in the 1970s, when the television situation comedy Bewitched filmed several episodes in the city.^[134] Witch-related tourism expanded significantly in the 1990s