The Right Time for Salem Witch Tourism

I've had the chance to visit Salem, Massachusetts during different seasons. It isn't the same city in October as it is in May or even November.

October is awfully fun in Salem. A month-long Halloween festival happens, culminating in a sort of northeastern Mardi Gras on Halloween night. It is worth being there even just to see the amazing costumes people come up with. There are street performers, live music, amusement rides, ghost tours, and costume balls. And for a stress- and traffic-free experience, you can easily get to Salem by train or ferry.

Now there is actually a lot more to Salem that the Halloween stuff. Just a sampling non-witch attractions that draw visitors to Salem in the spring and summer.:

• Peabody Essex Museum: A 1.8 million-object art and culture museum said to be the oldest continuously operating museum in the country. Despite its age, it hosts funky and innovative exhibits like live birds playing guitars (literally) and giant self-propelled beach creatures.
• Salem Maritime National Historic Site: The National Park Service's waterfront "national park" that captures the Salem of the 1700s, the epoch in which international maritime trade made Salem one of the largest and wealthiest American cities. It includes a full size replica trade vessel, the Friendship of Salem.
• Pioneer Village: A living history museum that recreates the village of Salem's original 17th Century settlers.
• Bakers Island Light: Public access to this early American light house began only this year (2015).
• Artists' Row: An alleyway of creative entrepreneurs displaying locally made artistic items for sale. 
• The House of the Seven Gables: The impressively preserved 1668 colonial mansion for which National Hawthorne's 1851 novel is named.
• McIntire Historic District: A neighborhood of early American homes. A handful the buildings are owned and preserved by non-profits, but most are occupied by modern day Salem residents.
• The city's unique network of parks: Highlights include Salem Willows (originally a 19th Century amusement park), Forest River (a wooded waterfront recreational area), and historic Salem Common.

And if you are interested in the actual history of the Salem Witch Trials, come in the dead of winter and visit the Witch Trials Memorial. In the cold and quiet, when no costumed tourists are around, you can reflect on what is, lest we forget, a historic atrocity. The memorial was built by the Salem Awards Foundation, which honors the 1692 victims by fighting for social justice and human rights today.

And the fact is, the events of the Salem Witch Trails mostly occurred in the neighboring town of Danvers, which honors the victims with a respectful, though rarely visited, memorial of its own. Also in Danvers you can visit the homestead of victim Rebecca Nurse. This property has a more real connection to the Witch Trials than any in Salem, even the Witch House itself, which is an important and well-preserved colonial home that is really only very loosely associated with the trials.

Throughout all this, Salem is also a normal city in metropolitan Boston where regular people live, work, play, and learn. Ten thousand students study at Salem State University in south Salem. And a vibrant Dominican immigrant community resides in the southeastern edge of downtown. Life goes on November 1st in the public schools, Salem Hospital, the courthouse, and the businesses and restaurants.