Downtown Salem is filled with markets, street performances, spooky decor, and bright autumn leaves, as people capture the Halloween spirit, taking photos of one another’s costumes and visiting their favorite haunted museums and shops.
Here is what the streets of Salem look like this year.
6:45 p.m.
Three women, dressed as the Sanderson sisters from “Hocus Pocus” pose for cameras on Essex Street. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comPeople wait in line to get into Rockafellas Restaurant, decorated with a lit-up skeleton on top of the entrance. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comTrick-or-treaters stop to get candy from local houses on Oliver Street, across from the Salem Common. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comOrange string lights hang over the Salem Common as tourists in costume eat from food trucks, shop, and celebrate Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comPeople in costumes flood Essex Street on Halloween night. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comBewitched in Salem, a metaphysical gift shop on Essex Street, continues to be crowded on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comA couple covered in skulls walks outside the Salem Witch Museum. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comA house across from the Salem Common is covered in decorative spider webs for Halloween 2025. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comA Witches’ Circle was held on the Salem Common on Halloween night. – Kelly Chan/Boston.com
3:45 p.m.
Anthony Murphy, dressed as the Joker, pets a dog in a Scooby Doo costume in Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comVisitors explore the Haunted Happenings Marketplace in the Salem Common on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.com
Two children in costumes dance with performers in the streets of Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comVisitors roam the historic Charters Cemetery in Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comA woman poses for a photo with a man dressed as Kraxamess Sqwagmatic. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comGraves at The Burying Point in Salem. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comDowntown Salem is packed with tourists on Halloween, lining up for photos with statues and people in costume. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comTwo women in witch’s hats on Essex Street in Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comTourists place flowers, money, and bracelets on graves in the Salem Witch Trials Memorial. Bridget Bishop was the first to be tried and executed in the trials. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comRandy Boback is dressed as Fester Addams from the Addams Family in Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comAdrienne Brewer, dressed as the Lorax, traveled from Ohio to visit Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comA man jumpscares Salem tourists with a fake masked man in his car on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comJeanne Archibald, Rocky Morrison, and Emmanuel Difo dressed as Ghostbusters in Salem on Halloween. – Kelly Chan/Boston.comThe Salem commuter rail was packed coming from North Station on Halloween 2025. – Kelly Chan/Boston.com
Kelly Chan is a content producer at Boston.com. She designs multimedia content on site and across social media platforms, and experiments with new ways to engage readers.
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