Can Salem Exorcise Its Witchy Reputation?

S A L E M, Mass., Jan. 6 -- A witch flies on the side of this city'spolice cruisers, swoops past the local paper's masthead and leadsSalem High into battle as its mascot. This is undeniably the"Witch City," even if not all residents are comfortable aboutrenown rooted in the evil of the Salem witch trials of 1692.

But some wonder if it's time for Salem to expand its reputationbeyond witch hysteria, and the kitschy spook industry that's grownup around it.

Now, tourism leaders have hired a marketing consultant, thefirst step in a campaign to retool the city's image by focusing onits significant, but lesser-known, cultural assets.

Salem has the House of Seven Gables — made famous by theNathaniel Hawthorne novel of the same name — along with abundantFederal-period architecture and an engaging seaport past. It alsohas momentum from a $125 million renovation of the Peabody EssexMuseum that has turned it into a major draw.

No Whitewash for Witch

No one wants to whitewash the witch, says the consultant, MarkMinelli of Boston, but efforts must be made to attract a differentkind of tourist — one who will stay longer, spend more money andmake tourism less dependent on the annual flood of Halloweenvisitors.

"You can't expand upon it," Minelli said. "It doesn't haveanother dimension. If you don't say anything about the witch forthe next 100 years, it would still be there. It's the 500-poundgorilla in the middle of the room that you don't need to talkabout."

Christian Day, a practicing witch and host of Salem'sHalloween-time "Festival of the Dead," said de-emphasizingSalem's spooky side is as good as trying to kill it. It's anattempt to change Salem's image by those ashamed of history andsnobbish about Halloween tourists that he's heard described as"T-shirt-wearing zeros."

"A lot of people don't want Salem associated with a negativeblot on history, even if it draws people by the thousands," Daysaid.

Salem attracts about 800,000 people annually, according tocounts at its visitor center, and at least another 200,000 whonever check in there, said Carol Thistle of Destination Salem,which promotes local tourism.