SALEM -- Two weeks before Halloween and Salem is already swamped. So much so, that on Saturday Mayor Kim Driscoll’s office sent out a press release just before 1 P.M. that indicated no parking spots were left in the Witch City. It urged visitors to only come to Salem on the MBTA Commuter Rail’s Newburyport line.
Sunday, perfect autumn weather drew more huge crowds to Salem. Some, like Julia Wolf, had driven quite a distance for their Salem fix.
“We love Hocus Pocus since I was a kid,” said Wolf, who came with two friends from Clay, West Virginia. “So we just wanted to visit Alison’s house and experience Halloween in Salem.”
That experience started with a $30 parking charge for a space in a lot several blocks from the action.
“I figured it would be crowded, but I didn’t think it would be this bad,” Wolf said.
Actually, Wolf could have fared worse. One lot a bit closer to the action was selling parking spots for $50. By noon, it appeared most of its spots were taken.
Perfect weather and pent-up demand are partly to blame for the resurgence in Halloween visitors to Salem -- and local businesses are benefiting.
“It’s a good thing because the last two years of Covid they really struggled and this increase is just big time for these businesses,” said Tom, a Salem resident who whipped up a quick cottage business to serve the huge crowds. He was selling water and snacks for a buck each.
How does he cope with the massive influx in visitors?
“If you’ve lived here for a while you just know what streets to avoid, what back roads to take,” he said. “Either that or you just stay in the house.”
Ian Staber got out of the house Sunday. He was pushing his children in a stroller.
“Coming in here and seeing all the horror and Halloween stuff, it’s hard to imagine that people do live here,” Staber said. “As long as everybody’s respectful then we’re good.
In fact, Salem is home to nearly 45,000 residents. And then comes October.
“I know that population has, like, tripled -- and we’re already double from what we had last year,” Staber said. “You just got to plan for an extra 10 or 15 minutes on your commute to daycare and school. But it’s fun getting out there and people-watching.”
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