All good things must end...
Went on the annual Salem MA October trip that I have made nearly every year since 2001. It has always been a special time and a special place for me- spooky and mystical, possessing a metaphoric historic relevance, and beautiful. But it has kind of lost it. Not because I'm used to, or sick of, it. It has just become overdone and watered down.
The whole month of October is "Haunted Happenings" and there are tons of special events and things to do in the lead up to Halloween. In 2001, my first visit, that just meant that a few of the museums stayed open a bit later, and there was a ghost walk you could go on at night. But now, with many in Salem seeing there is money to be made, there are a huge amount of new "attractions" that draw in more people, but frankly, suck. For example, the ghost walk I have been going on since 01 is led by professional storytellers who use only factual accurate tales about the area. It is VERY well done. But over the last years there have been more and more imitators who make up fanciful stories about werewolves and vampires and such, even though they are not based in fact. They are led by younger people who often dress up wacky and convince people to take photos in the graveyards so they can point out the "orbs" in the picture (dust particles anyone?).
And the crowds are out of control. It has always been busy, but now you can't even move on the streets and have to get reservations hours in advance to go to any of the museums. When you do get in one of the museums, they rush you through before you even get a chance to look around, so they can get the next group in. They are closing off streets so vendors can set up tents to sell chinsy crap to tourists. Cool old buildings are being "made over" to be used as bed and breakfasts. It has become really fake.
Looking for a new fall destination next year.
ps- did go to Lexington and Concord again, and that was awesome.
The whole month of October is "Haunted Happenings" and there are tons of special events and things to do in the lead up to Halloween. In 2001, my first visit, that just meant that a few of the museums stayed open a bit later, and there was a ghost walk you could go on at night. But now, with many in Salem seeing there is money to be made, there are a huge amount of new "attractions" that draw in more people, but frankly, suck. For example, the ghost walk I have been going on since 01 is led by professional storytellers who use only factual accurate tales about the area. It is VERY well done. But over the last years there have been more and more imitators who make up fanciful stories about werewolves and vampires and such, even though they are not based in fact. They are led by younger people who often dress up wacky and convince people to take photos in the graveyards so they can point out the "orbs" in the picture (dust particles anyone?).
And the crowds are out of control. It has always been busy, but now you can't even move on the streets and have to get reservations hours in advance to go to any of the museums. When you do get in one of the museums, they rush you through before you even get a chance to look around, so they can get the next group in. They are closing off streets so vendors can set up tents to sell chinsy crap to tourists. Cool old buildings are being "made over" to be used as bed and breakfasts. It has become really fake.
Looking for a new fall destination next year.
ps- did go to Lexington and Concord again, and that was awesome.