Last year one of the most popular and beloved Halloween events, Salem Haunted Happenings, wasn’t quite the same as it had always been. Thanks to our old buddy, old pal COVID-19. But good news, witches! NBC Boston reported that its “scheduled to return in October 2021 after being largely scaled back last year due to the pandemic.”
Here’s what they reported Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem, said about the Salem Haunted Happenings 2021 season:
“We are excited to welcome the return of special events and programs to Salem’s calendar of events this October. Salem Haunted Happenings generates approximately 30% of the City’s annual tourism revenue, which is critical to the survival of our small business community during the off-season. Being the destination of choice and often a ‘bucket list’ destination for visitors from around the world is a special designation for Salem.”
There still aren’t a lot of details on how “normal” this year’s Salem Haunted Happening will be, or if there will still be precautions in place and what those will be. On their site, they stipulate that they’re “optimistic that many components” of their annual celebration of Halloween and autumn in New England will return in 2021.
However, NBC Boston did share there will be some new events. Let’s start by taking a look at those.
New Salem Haunted Happenings 2021 Events
- A new exhibit about the Salem Witch Trials at the Peabody Essex Museum.
- The Endless Night Vampire Weekend at the Hawthorne Hotel.
- An exhibit at the Salem Arts Association.
The Charter Street Cemetery
The Charter Street Cemetery, a.k.a. the Old Burying Point is Salem’s oldest cemetery. You can find it right behind the Witch Trials Memorial.
It’s been undergoing preservation work and has been closed for a while, but will open for the 2021 spooky season with a new Welcome Center.
Here are some photos I snapped of the cemetery during a jaunt to Salem in 2019.
Other Events During Salem Haunted Happenings 2021
According to the calendar on their site, events and activities include, but aren’t limited to, the following:
- The Salem Psychic & Witches’ Market
- Broom Making, Book Binding
- Messages from the Spirit World: An Authentic Salem Seance
- “Artoberfest” at Salem Arts Association
- Other Memory: Kirkean Necromancy and Ancestor Work
- Fairy Godmothering: The Legacy Work of Tending Ancestral Portals (a five-part class and ritual series)
- Speaking to the Dead with Laurie Cabot
- Graveyard Conujre with Hoodoo Sen Moise
- The Witch’s Familiar with Witchdoctor Utu
- Conjuring Spirits with Christian Day
- The Mourning Tea: Remembering the Dead
- The Official Salem Witches’ Halloween Ball
- The Annual Salem Witches’ Magic Circle
- Witch City 5K Road Race
- Haunted Happenings Grand Parade
Some of the above happen more than once during the month, while others, such as the tea, the 5K, the parade, and the ball, only take place on one day.
For More Info
Visit salem.org and hauntedhappenings.org.
Check-In
Which Salem Haunted Happenings events and activities would you like to attend? And have you ever celebrated Halloween in Salem?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, as well as obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of healing, to learn how she channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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