Salem Resident Tracks Halloween Visitors from Alaska to Peru

Salem, Massachusetts, recently welcomed citizens of the world during the community's annual Haunted Happenings event last month.

Pete Akinson, a resident who represents the epicenter of the McIntyre District on Upper Essex between the PEM's Ropes Mansion and the Salem Library, wrote to The Salem News about the visitors he tracked for trick-or-treating. According to Atkinson, visitors came from 16 countries and 29 states, as well as four Canadian provinces and 22 Massachusetts towns. These guests represented states from Alaska to Alabama, as well as international destinations from Paris to Peru.

By 7:30 p.m. on Halloween night, Atkinson had already distributed 450 pieces of candy.

"We thanked every one of them for visiting," Atkinson said. "Of course, the revelry, community, and unique combination of awe, art, and joy during the annual 21st-century pilgrimage to our humble hamlet is a boon, not a curse. Known worldwide, Salem hosts ghosts without peer — no shame in our name."