It’s Halloween week and as most of you know, I live in Salem Massachusetts. The Witch City. Spookytown. Halloween Central. Home of Haunted Happenings and Festival of the Dead.
I’ve lived here for quite a few years and I’m sure it comes as no surprise that it is the mecca for all things Halloween. It is a haven for tourists who want to learn a little bit about history, maybe to learn what actually transpired during the Witch Trials and to be able to walk around wearing a witch hat, a cloak or a top hat without feeling self-conscious about it.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that it’s absolute pandemonium on Halloween. The city shuts down all of the major streets to accommodate all of the people, the police recruit help from neighboring towns and traffic is backed up for hours at a time.
Here’s a video that was shot of last year. It’s a bit long but you don’t have to watch all of it to get the gist of what it’s like here.
While it is both an amusement and a burden to live in Salem, I do love seeing all of the various costumes people come up with. While it’s always been my favorite holiday, I was never one for dressing up in costume until recent years. Here are two of my recent costumes.
psychotic nurse from 2006
zombie concubine 2007
You can also view my Flickr set from Halloween 2007. There’s lots of good photos there.
With Halloween being this Friday, I cannot imagine what this year will hold for my quaint, little historical town. It will surely be insane. And I will be out there in the middle of it all.