Halloween heaven

Bonus: Photo slide show!  
“How do you not see a six foot chicken?” said Krista Everill.

 Krista, Eric Pye, Meghan Savoy, Dustin Stevens, and myself were sitting in TD Gardens in Boston after arriving from Salem, Massachusetts. A man dressed in a yellow chicken suit walked by us. It’s not hard to tell it’s Halloween.

From left to right: Krista Everill as a cowgirl, myself as a French maid, and Meghan Savoy as a witch at TD Gardens in Boston.

We’re at TD Garden to watch the Boston Bruins play the Edmonton Oilers. The stands are filled with people in costume, including us. A French maid, a witch, a cowgirl, Stewart from Mad TV, and Eric, who went as himself (lame). Leaving the game, the train to Salem is packed. Every seat is taken and people are standing in the aisles. Everyone is going to Salem for Halloween. Vampires and zombies sit on the platforms as the attendants tell them the train is full and can’t take any more passengers.

Eric, Krista’s boyfriend, goes to Salem State College to play hockey. Halloween was the perfect time to come visit. Krista bought a witch Pez dispenser for Meghan, who named it Winifred after a character from Hocus Pocus, and she’s become our mascot. She glows.

Halloween is for Salem what Mardi Gras is for New Orleans. This is the one place on earth Hocus Pocus-inspired Halloween enthusiasts would want to be.

Oscar the Grouch being carted around by Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Here, everyone is someone else. Spiderman, Batman, Gumby, Teletubbies, the Blue Man Group, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, and the Cookie Monster, Barack Obama, Swine Flu… Halloween is the one night where it’s okay to be someone you’re not. Wandering around downtown, people scoff at those dressed like themselves.

Salem, Massachusetts is where the infamous witch trials happened. In 1692, 19 men and women were hung after being convicted of witchcraft, with hundreds more being accused. An entire tourism industry has sprung up around the witch trials, and around Halloween. Out of state license plates are all over the place. There’s the Salem Witch Village, the Witch Museum, the Witch Dungeons, the Witch House… Giftshops in Salem are filled with witches on cards and mugs.

Downtown, everything is decorated. If it isn’t decorated, people are standing in front of it wearing costumes. People were dressed up Friday evening, walking through the streets and in stores like it’s completely normal to talk to your friend who’s a Teletubby while you’re dressed as a cow.

The night before Halloween, we went on a haunted walk tour. Carrying candles, the tour group walked through historic

Meghan and Dustin with our mascot, Winifred, before we go on the candle-lit walking tour.

Salem, some in costume and some not. People took pictures of windows in hopes of seeing ghosts in the homes of those killed during the trials, as well as the house of Sheriff John Ward, who was sheriff during the witch trials.

Halloween night, the five of us went out. Eric put on his costume after hockey practice. He’s dressed as Waldo. Walking around downtown, not 100 per cent sure where we are, people walk up to Eric and tell him they found him.

We followed the crowd of people streaming down a blocked off street, following the sound of fireworks. The street ends at a bridge and people stand, looking at the fireworks exploding over the river. A sign hanging off a brick building says there was a concert earlier in the night. We didn’t even know there was one. Eric spots another Waldo and goes up to talk to him. Eric is convinced he’s the evil Waldo.

You get the feeling that the locals aren’t as excited for Halloween as the thousands of tourists that flood the city during the days leading up to Halloween. Pulling off the highway, there are beige and white houses with neatly kept front lawns bare. No spider webs, skeletons, or witches. Not even a pumpkin sits on most front lawns.

Krista’s sitting on my bed in the hotel with Eric, who is still dressed like Waldo.

She points at me.

“WITCHES!” she yells.

We’re going to the witch museum today.

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Posted by Chelsea Stevens on Nov 1, 2009. Filed under Features, This Week's Edition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.