Rebecca Engel
Salem goes all out for Halloween, and it doesn’t wait for the 31st. Every October the whole town turns into a month long festival called Haunted Happenings, with a parade, ghost tours, costumes everywhere you look and more than a million visitors wandering its old streets.
Under all the fun is a real and sobering history, since this is where the witch trials of 1692 took place. The best things to do in Salem Massachusetts in October mix both sides, from the home of a witch trials judge to a night ghost tour and Halloween night itself. Here are thirteen of them, plus what to know about tickets and crowds before you go.
1. Get Timed Tickets For The Salem Witch Museum
The Salem Witch Museum is a good place to start. Inside a former church facing Salem Common, a staged presentation with life size scenes and dramatic lighting walks you through the witch trials of 1692, from the first accusations to the executions.
A guided exhibit comes next. It looks at how people have pictured witches over the centuries and how the same kind of fear has shown up again and again since Salem.
October is the one month you can’t just walk in. Tickets are timed, sold online only and released the night before, so check the release time and book the moment they go live.
2. Step Inside The Witch House
The Witch House is the only building still standing in Salem with a direct tie to the witch trials. It was the home of Jonathan Corwin, one of the judges on the court that tried the accused in 1692.
The dark wooden house looks every bit like the 17th century home it is. The rooms inside are furnished to show how a well off family lived back then, and the visit is short enough to fit in between bigger stops.
In October, tickets are sold online for that same day only, so book on the morning you want to go.
3. Pay Your Respects At The Witch Trials Memorial And Charter Street Cemetery
The Salem Witch Trials Memorial is a quiet space lined with stone benches, one for each of the 20 people executed in 1692. Each bench is carved with a name, the date that person died and how they were killed.
The memorial is free and open from dawn to dusk, and it’s worth a few slow minutes even on a busy day.
Right next door is the Charter Street Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Point. It dates back to 1637, and John Hathorne, the magistrate who questioned many of the accused in 1692, is buried there.
So many people want to walk through in October that entry works on free timed reservations for the same day. Grab a slot early, then spend the wait at the memorial.
4. Tour The House Of The Seven Gables
The House of the Seven Gables is a dark, rambling mansion right on Salem Harbor. It was built in 1668 and made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel of the same name.
Hawthorne was born in Salem and descended from John Hathorne, the magistrate who questioned many of the accused. The story goes that he added the W to his last name to put some distance between himself and that history.
The guided tour takes about 45 minutes and includes a narrow secret staircase tucked beside the chimney. Hawthorne’s birthplace was moved onto the grounds too, and the seaside gardens are worth a wander after the tour.
October tours are timed and released weeks ahead, so book this one before anything else on the list.
5. Sit On The Jury At Cry Innocent In Old Town Hall
Cry Innocent puts you inside the 1692 trial of Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the witch trials. The show takes place in Old Town Hall, and the audience plays the jury.
Actors stay in character as witnesses take the stand, and at the end the audience votes on whether she’s guilty. The verdict depends on the room, so no two shows end quite the same way.
Old Town Hall might look familiar, too. Its outside stands in for the town Halloween party in Hocus Pocus.
The show runs through the fall, and tickets are sold online.
6. Find The Hocus Pocus House At Ropes Mansion
If you’ve seen Hocus Pocus, you’ll know the Ropes Mansion on sight. The big white house on Essex Street played Allison’s house in the movie, and October brings a steady stream of fans lining up for a photo out front.
The formal garden behind the house is free and open every day from dawn to dusk. The inside is run by the Peabody Essex Museum and closes for the season in mid October, so plan a tour for earlier in the month.
From there, walk over to Salem Common. The old Phillips School on the edge of the Common played the school in the movie, and it’s condos now, so it’s a look from the sidewalk only.
7. Walk The Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour
Salem after dark feels like a different town, and a ghost tour is the best way to see it. Haunted Footsteps from Salem Historical Tours has been running since 1997, and its 90 minute walk pairs local ghost stories with the history behind them.
Tours start at 8 Central Street, and online sales close an hour before each one. Walk ins are welcome when there’s room, but booking ahead is the safer bet on an October night.
Spellbound Tours and Bewitched Historical Tours are two other popular choices. Bewitched asks people to book in advance, since its tours often sell out.
8. Visit Proctor’s Ledge Where The Executions Happened
For more than 300 years, nobody knew exactly where the people convicted in 1692 were hanged. In 2016 a team of researchers confirmed it was Proctor’s Ledge, a rocky slope below Gallows Hill in what’s now a quiet neighborhood.
A simple memorial was dedicated there in 2017 with the names of the 19 people hanged at the site. It’s small and very quiet, and it can hit harder than anything downtown.
It’s at 7 Pope Street, and there’s no parking on site. Park at Gallows Hill Park and walk over, and keep your voice down, since people live right next door.
9. Spend A Rainy Afternoon At The Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum is a big, bright art museum in the middle of downtown. It traces its roots back to 1799, which makes it one of the oldest museums in the country.
Its collection runs from ship models and Asian art to fashion and modern design. The biggest surprise is Yin Yu Tang, a house from China that’s around 200 years old and was taken apart and rebuilt here piece by piece.
It’s the best way to fill a rainy afternoon and a welcome break from the crowds on Essex Street. It’s closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and preservation work means Yin Yu Tang can close now and then, so check before you go if it’s the main draw.
10. Walk Out Derby Wharf At Salem Maritime
Salem made its fortune at sea long before it was known for witches, and Salem Maritime National Historical Park tells that side of the story. The heart of it is Derby Wharf, a long strip of land stretching out into Salem Harbor with a little lighthouse at the tip.
The wharf is free, open around the clock, and nearly half a mile long, so the walk out and back is an easy way to clear your head. Across the street is the Custom House, where Nathaniel Hawthorne once worked.
The park’s visitor center downtown has maps and more on Salem’s trading days. Come near sunset, when the water is calm and the light turns soft over the harbor.
11. Escape The Crowds At Salem Willows And Winter Island
When downtown gets to be too much, head out to the water on the edge of town. Salem Willows is an old seaside park with big shade trees, harbor views and a classic arcade, and it feels a world away from downtown.
The arcade is seasonal and usually closes for the year in early or mid October, so check ahead if it’s part of the plan.
Next door, Winter Island Park has a small beach, what’s left of Fort Pickering and a little lighthouse. It’s a good spot for a walk, a picnic or a quiet sunset, and it feels a long way from the Halloween crowds.
12. Catch The Haunted Happenings Grand Parade
Haunted Happenings kicks off every year with the Grand Parade in the first week of October. Local groups, bands and costumed characters wind through downtown and finish on Salem Common, and each year has its own theme.
It’s free and great for families, and it feels like it belongs to the town as much as to the visitors. If your dates line up, it’s one of the best free things to do in Salem Massachusetts in October.
Get there early to claim a spot along the route, and check the Haunted Happenings website for this year’s date and start time.
13. Spend Halloween Night On Essex Street
Halloween night in Salem is loud, packed and like nothing else. Downtown closes to cars, there’s live music, and Essex Street fills with costumes from early in the day until late at night.
The Psychic Fair and Witches’ Market on Essex Street is open all month, and it’s a fun place to duck into between everything else.
The night wraps up with a big finale over the water, and the city swapped the fireworks for a drone show in 2025. The streets are cleared soon after it ends, so have your ride or your train sorted out before it starts.
If crowds aren’t your thing, pick a weekday earlier in the month instead. You’ll still get the decorations and the costumes, with a lot more room to move.
How To Plan A Trip To Salem Massachusetts In October
Salem has welcomed more than a million visitors every October for years now, and weekends are the busiest. If you can, come on a weekday. If you can’t, start early and do the ticketed places first.
Several of the big sights change how tickets work in October. The Salem Witch Museum sells timed tickets online only, released at 10 p.m. the night before. The Witch House releases same day tickets online at 8 a.m., and the Charter Street Cemetery uses free same day reservations.
The House of the Seven Gables releases its October tours weeks in advance, so that’s the one to book first. These rules can shift from year to year, so check each site before your trip.
The easiest way in is the train. The MBTA Newburyport/Rockport Line runs from North Station in Boston to Salem in about 30 minutes, and the station is a short walk from downtown. The Salem Ferry also runs from Long Wharf in Boston for part of the fall, and the ride takes about an hour.
Driving is the hardest way to do it. The city asks visitors not to drive into downtown on October weekends, parking fills up early, and garages switch to much higher event rates on October weekends. If you do drive, check the city’s October parking page for lots before you leave.
On Halloween itself, downtown has closed to cars by midday or afternoon in recent years, and the garage by the train station stops letting cars in from early evening and doesn’t let them out until the night winds down. Take the train if you can, and know when the last one leaves.
Salem is also celebrating its 400th anniversary in 2026, so this October has a few extras, including a Witch Hats on the Wharf gathering at Derby Wharf and a 400 drone show to close out Halloween night. The Haunted Happenings website has the full calendar.
Turning it into a bigger fall trip? These things to do in western Massachusetts are a great way to see the other side of the state.
Final Thoughts
Salem in October is busy, a little chaotic and a lot of fun. It’s also a place where something terrible really happened, and the best visits make room for both.
The best things to do in Salem Massachusetts in October don’t take a big budget, but they do take a little planning. Book the Seven Gables early, grab Witch Museum tickets the night before, and save at least one evening for a ghost tour.
Go on a weekday if you can, take the train if you can, and bring a costume either way. Nobody in Salem will look twice.
