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Halloween in Salem: 2024 Haunted Happening events
Heading to Salem for Halloween fun? Choose from tours, haunted houses, costume balls, and more.
The historic city of Salem welcomes 1 million tourists during October for its month-long Haunted Happenings festival, billed as the largest celebration of Halloween in the world. That’s a month full of spooky activities.
With multiple events happening each day and hundreds happening over the course of the month, it can be hard keeping it all straight. For parking information, best restaurants, and more, check out our 2024 guide detailing Halloween season in Salem.
Ahead, check out some highlights of this year’s Haunted Happenings festival.
Start Halloween season with a haunted tour of Salem.
Salem has dozens of daily walking tours that educate visitors about the famous 1692 Salem Witch Trials and more. For those who’d rather ride, there are trolley tours.
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There are a variety of daily walking tours in Salem. For example, there’s a Candlelit Ghostly Walking Tour where guests learn Salem’s history while lighting their own path with a lantern; The Salem Witch Walk where visitors follow a true Salem witch and participate in a Witches’ Magic Circle; and the History & Hauntings of Salem Guided Walking Tour where folks learn about the Salem Witch Trials and the city’s architecture. The latter ranked No. 1 in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world earlier this year for best cultural and historical tours.
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For those who would rather tour Salem on wheels, trolley rides include the Ghosts & Legends Trolley tour, which rides past the House of the Seven Gables, the old cemetery, Winter Island, and more, and the Tales & Tombstones tour, which explores Salem at night.
Dive into the history of the Salem Witch Trials
There are many ways for visitors to up their Salem Witch Trial knowledge in the seaside city. The famous Salem Witch Museum, located inside a renovated historic church building, offers two presentations about the trials: 13 life-size stage sets depicting the Salem witch hunt and the exhibit “Witches: Evolving Perceptions” where guests learn about the European witch trials and the background of the Salem witch trials, as well as the meaning behind the word “witch.”
Visitors hungry for even more information about the trials can tour The Witch House, the former home of Jonathan Corwin, who was a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. The Witch Dungeon Museum offers a live reenactment of one of the trials and a tour of a replica dungeon. And the Witch History Museum has a live presentation and guided tour featuring 15 life-size scenes.
Choose your favorite Festival of the Dead event
The Festival of the Dead is an annual event series that explores death’s macabre customs and rituals. This year’s schedule is as follows:
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— The Salem Psychic Fair and Witches’ Market happens daily at Witch City Mall.
— Messages from the Spirit World: An Authentic Salem Seance is scheduled nightly at Omen, a Psychic Parlor & Witchcraft Emporium on Essex Street.
— The Official Salem Halloween Witches Ball will take place at the Hawthorne Hotel on Oct. 25.
— Graveyard Magic with Witchdoctor UTU will take place at Omen on Oct. 26.
— The Dumb Supper: Dinner with the Dead is happening at the Hawthorne Hotel on Oct. 27.
— The Mourning Tea will take place at the Hawthorne Hotel on Oct. 27.
— The Salem Witches’ Magic Circle is happening on the Salem Common on Oct. 31.
Attend a haunted house, magic show, or masquerade ball
Live entertainment abounds in Salem in October.
For magic lovers, “Hysteria: Mentalismo!” runs through Nov. 2 at Emerson Hall Theater. It is billed as Salem’s only live haunted magic show. Those who enjoy dressing up can check out Samhain Celebration, a masquerade ball at the historic Hawthorne Hotel on Oct. 11.
Fans of “Hocus Pocus” won’t want to miss a screening and cast meet-and-greet on Oct. 13.
The Shadows of Salem Horror & Paranormal Con returns for its third year Oct. 18-20, bringing live entertainment, special guests, authors, lectures, paranormal investigators, and more. This year, some of the original cast and crew of the 1974 horror film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” will be in attendance.
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If scares are what you’re after, there are plenty of haunted houses in Salem, including Frankenstein’s Castle, the Chambers of Terror, and the Witch Mansion. Or perhaps you are looking for a psychic or seance? Salem has plenty of those, too.
Shop the Haunted Happenings Marketplace
The Haunted Happenings Marketplace, billed as “the biggest Halloween market around,” is brimming with seasonal fun at Salem Common and Derby Square. Every weekend in October, the marketplace features more than 200 artisans and makers. Visitors can shop original artwork, jewelry, and more. There is also special programming and live music on Salem Common.
Bring the kids to these Halloween events in Salem
Salem’s Halloween season kicks off with the nighttime Salem Chamber of Commerce Haunted Happenings Grand Parade on Oct. 3. If you miss the parade, bring the kids to the Salem ZombieWalk, taking place Oct. 5 on Salem Common.
At Professor Spindlewink’s World of Wizardry, a new attraction that debuted last year, kids can “journey to magic realms and discover an enchanted forest, a crystal cave, a room of fantastic beasts, and even an ice dragon.”
Kids can enjoy rides, slides, games, and more spooky fun at Kids’ Fun Fest, an annual event taking place Oct. 19 on the Salem Common.
For pirate-loving kids, the New England Pirate Museum features a guided tour where visitors learn about New England’s sea-robbers at a re-created dockside village and pirate ship.
Parents looking for family-friendly classes and activities can check out events by The Good Witch of Salem, an educator who this year is hosting a magical children’s tea party, potion-making, broom and hat decorating, a character breakfast, and a costume ball.
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Finally, don’t forget to catch the fireworks over the North River on Oct. 31, celebrating the finale of another Haunted Happenings season.
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