Can Salem Exorcise Its Witchy Reputation?

S A L E M, Mass., Jan. 6, 2004 -- 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. About a fourth of those tourists come around Halloween, but theproblem is in what happens after Oct. 31, said Mark Meche ofSalem's Main Streets initiative, which promotes downtownbusinesses.

A Ghost Town After Halloween

Monthly tourist visits generally don't reach six figures againuntil midsummer. In the meantime, some fright purveyors make somuch money in October that their attractions are all but abandoneduntil the next fall — not ideal for any business district.

"That is the worst aspect of this whole thing," said Meche, alocal architect. "It's so acutely seasonal … Part of ourmission is to extend the shopping season."

A key to expansion plans was the renovation of the Peabody EssexMuseum, which featured the piece-by-piece transplantation of a homefrom rural China to Salem. Museum spokesman Greg Liakos saidattendance has tripled, from 65,000 to about 200,000, in the sixmonths since the museum's June re-opening, compared to previousyears.

The museum draws the kind of culture-seeking tourists who can beredirected to lesser-known historic sites, he said — from the 1797replica merchant vessel Friendship, docked at Salem's waterfront,to a collection of Federal period homes lining Chestnut Street,touted by locals as one of the most beautiful streets in the world.Eventually visitors will be able to spend their extended stay in anew hotel, currently under construction.

Salem’s Identity Crisis

Minelli's marketing proposal, with the theme "if you think youknow Salem, think again," extends beyond tourism, with businessand real estate leaders encouraged to help promote Salem as a goodplace to live and work.

Day said he's all for promoting Salem's hidden attributes, butadded that it's a waste of money if they ignore the one thing thatmakes it unique — the Salem witch trials. Boston is just a fewmiles away and offers as much, if not more, architecture andhistory, not to mention the Museum of Fine Arts.

"You will never compete with Boston, you just won't," Daysaid.

Bob Murch, creator of Cryptique, a Ouija board dubbed "thespirit board of Salem, Massachusetts," said a distaste for theHalloween industry — including traffic jams and a belief that itexploits a tragedy — has led to an identity crisis.

"I think there are those that don't realize that most of themoney they bring in is because of something they hate," he said."You don't kill the past because you hate it. … Salem is 1692."

Liakos said the much of the kitsch associated with Salem'shorror industry — vampires, werewolves, haunted houses, etc. — hasnothing to do with the actual witch hysteria, when 20 people wereexecuted and more than 200 imprisoned.

"When [the witch history] is used for the wrong reasons, it canbe damaging," Liakos said.

Paul Durand, an architect and incoming head of the Chamber ofCommerce, said Salem's witch-related industry will thrive even asthe city focuses on promoting its other historic assets. But hesaid people don't want any more of it.

"You don't want to live in Disneyland," he said. "You want tovisit, but you don't want to live there." If You Go…

LOCATION: Salem, Mass., is a 16-mile drive northeast of Boston.By train, from Boston's North Station, take theNewburyport/Rockport Commuter Rail; by bus, the No. 450 or 455 fromHaymarket Square and South Station in Boston, or the No. 459 fromLogan Terminal C.

HISTORIC BUILDINGS: The Derby Street Historic District includesthe 1819 Custom House, the 1762 Derby House. The House of the SevenGables complex includes three 17th century homes. The McIntireHistoric District includes the Corwin or Witch House, built before1672, and the 1651 Pickering House. The Chestnut Street district,laid out in 1796 and lined with mansions, is considered one of themost architecturally significant streets in America.

HISTORY: In addition to the famous witch trials, the Salem areawas home to the first Filene's and boasts connections to a numberof famous Americans, including Scarlet Letter author NathanielHawthorne, Parker Brothers founder George Parker, and GeneralElectric CEO Jack Welch.

ATTRACTIONS: Various themed walking tours, Pickering Wharf andmuseums including the Peabody Essex Museum, New England PirateMuseum and the Salem Witch Museum. For a guidebook or moreinformation, contact Destination Salem at (877) SALEM-MA orwww.salem.org.