Salem

Salem Streets Frighteningly Busy Ahead of Halloween

Halloween is expected to be even busier. The downtown roads will be closed by 11 a.m. Monday.

NBC Universal, Inc.

It's been a big weekend in Salem, Massachusetts, ahead of Halloween on Monday. Visitors have been urged not to drive into the Witch City with so many ghosts and goblins roaming the streets.

After two years of COVID, the city of Salem is seeing record crowds this October.

On Friday, the mayor said the city has seen crowds equal to three Halloweens.

People have come from across the country, including the Carn family visiting from Michigan.

“I like how there is a lot of spooky, scary places,” Leo Carn said.

The city doesn't have the roads to accommodate the number of cars coming in or enough parking, so they've asked visitors to take public transportation.

In Salem, getting into character is encouraged in October. Costumes, which takes months of preparation, go from costly, to handmade. It's a spooktacular time for everyone, young and old.

The spine-chilling to ghostly haunted Salem's streets this weekend. Some of the costumes were bananas, and others were out of this galaxy.

A New York couple made the trek to Salem for the first time, adding to what is becoming record-setting crowds.

But for those call Salem home, they said it’s been cool to see everyone back -- though they tell NBC10 Boston that this year's crowds haven't seemed worse than last year.

It's anticipated, however, that Monday night will draw a larger crowd compared to Sunday. Most downtown roads are expected to be closed by 3 p.m. Monday.

Contact Us