Tourists traditionally flock to Salem all month to mark the spooky celebration, and the city is widely regarded as the country’s epicenter of Halloween because of the infamous witch trials of 1692. In January of that year, three girls from wealthy and respected families began having fits and, under pressure from the town magistrates, claimed that they were possessed by the devil. Usually October is the busiest month and Halloween the biggest night of the year. August 4, 2020 Spooked by COVID-19, Salem cancels slew of Halloween activities. Salem Haunted Happenings COVID-19 Information Click here for COVID-19 information for visiting Salem outside of October. Anyone who does must comply with state public health guidelines for the holiday. Friday’s announcement follows several previous measures the city had taken to keep the public safe during the health crisis. “Due to capacity restrictions, most businesses have changed to advance ticketing or, for restaurants, reservations are required. It’s a terror not of viruses, but of witches. I feel our residents can come up with some pretty creative options that would be both safe and fun.”. The spellbook is really just a series of videos you click through, not unlike skipping throughout a YouTube playlist. Therefore, if you do not have a ticket or a reservation right now, you won’t be able to get in anywhere.”, Driscoll added: “We want our residents, visitors, and workers to be safe, and our visitors to have the [best] possible experience when they come to Salem, and that’s just not possible this year.”. The Halloween and Costume Association created an interactive map showing COVID-19 risk levels for each county. August 4, 2020 Though the holiday is still a couple months away, Salem is already planning for a drastically pared-down Halloween season this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. SALEM — Saturday night will be a magical one for the witch community, even if it’s going to play out from a distance. in October, when the town hosts its series of Halloween-themed programming. There is typically an organized chaos that undergirds visiting Salem, Mass. “We fully understand how difficult it has been for everyone, and especially our children, to deal with a sustained state of emergency,” he said in a statement. We are currently in Phase 3 of reopening (and Phase 4 will only come with … Massachusetts Halloween covid spike spooks Salem, Airbnb marks Orinda. A typical year brings in hundreds of thousands of visitors and generates about 140 million dollars in revenue, Fox says. Participation in traditional Halloween activities should be avoided. As scary as the physical streets of Salem have been, full as they are of tourists flaunting social distancing guidelines, this year’s virtual Salem programming has maintained the more jovial terror that has made the town famous. But this weekend, Salem will impose additional restrictions downtown to discourage large gatherings, with a focus on the Essex Street pedestrian mall. The house was made famous by This is the fear of Salem residents in 2020, especially those who work in the town’s tourism sector. Mayor of Halloween Hotspot Salem, Mass., Urges Public to Stay Away This Year amid COVID There are 208 active cases of COVID-19 in the town and 43 people have died, according to the city's website The town has tried to move all of its regular Halloween scheduling online — advising people to postpone their travel plans until next year and expending time and money to create virtual alternatives — in an effort to thwart the spread of COVID-19. The city of Salem, Mass., typically a popular tourist destination around Halloween, announced on Wednesday that it will be tripling fines typically implemented over … Wellesley officials said Wednesday that the town Recreation Department is offering family-friendly activities this month so people can stay safe. They alleged that three women — one a Carribean slave, one a homeless beggar, and one an impoverished old woman — were the ones responsible for their possession, which they had brought about by witchcraft. Somerville officials also said all in-person city-sponsored and permitted events, like the popular annual Haunted Hall and block parties, won’t be held or permitted this year. In addition, tents on the mall will be prohibited and more barricades will be set up to limit entry lines. “There is too much potential for community spread. The mall, the city said in a statement, has seen big crowds the first two weeks of the month, though total numbers for October are down from previous years. Beshear said he expects to reach 1,200 deaths by the end of the week. Salem might not be safe to visit this year, but its spookiness is still remains. Their program includes a virtual marketplace, parades, contests, and magic shows. “Our message to those planning a trip to Salem this October at this point is to postpone your visit,” Driscoll said in the statement. Since then, Salem’s frightening past has intrigued people from all over the globe. Those measures include postponing the shift to the second step of Phase III of the statewide reopening; limiting table capacity at restaurants to six; canceling all Haunted Happenings parades, balls, festivals, and large events; barring street performers from the central downtown area; and instituting a mandatory mask zone downtown and inside businesses. A highlight is the House of Seven Gables, a 1668 colonial mansion built for the family of John Turner. And Chicopee’s mayor, John L. Vieau, has been urging residents to find other ways to celebrate Halloween, too. “We are going to see new restrictions in the next three weeks, especially around that area of Salem where we’re not gonna be able to allow as many people in,” Fox says. In 1692, amid King William’s War and a smallpox epidemic, tensions in Salem were high. Salem To Shut Down Early For Halloween Amid COVID-19 Oct 31, 2020 SALEM, Mass. On Saturday, access to the mall will be restricted from the Peabody Essex Museum side “as pedestrian volumes may require,” the statement said. In addition, downtown businesses that haven’t implemented reservation systems should “implement one before this weekend.”. The town joined a handful of other municipalities — including Worcester and Springfield — that are prohibiting trick-or-treating in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus. SALEM — It was a quiet Halloween season in Salem this year as the city took several measures to dissuade tourism and reduce the spread of COVID-19. Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Usually a Christmas event, Salem is offering its annual house tours as a part of the virtual Haunted Happenings programming, but this time featuring Salem’s very own witch, Borah. Twitter Share. SALEM, MASS. Massachusetts is in a 4-Phase reopening process that does not yet have an estimated completion date and may be extended if there is a resurgence of diagnoses and hospitalizations. Trains outbound from Boston will not stop at Salem station on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 between 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. or Oct. 24, Oct. 25, and Oct. 31 between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. 41 Salem residents have died from the virus. She says that in the town center, “people were shoulder to shoulder and really cramped as they were looking for things to do.” Most planned programming for the Halloween season has moved online, so all there is for tourists to do in the town is shop and eat. Hawthorne was a Salem native and descendent of John Hathorne, the only judge of the Salem Witch Trials to never repent his actions. Halloween 2020 was originally expected to be a big month for the city, with five weekends in October leading up to the holiday (and two full moons).