Haunted Happenings Parade

October 10, 2014

By:  Megan Horn

As I made my way to a place to stand along Derby Street in downtown Salem,I could feel the excitement, as people were gathering to watch the parade. The hum of people talking filled the crisp October air and the wind swirled leaves around their feet. At The beginning of every October in Salem Massachusetts, the city kicks off the tourist season with their annual Halloween parade. This year the theme was “fantasy”.

The crowd was made up of all age groups. There were teenagers, adults, and elderly couples. There was a couple with a 13 month old next to me and there were many people with strollers. Several people had dogs dressed up in silly costumes; one in particular was dressed as a skunk. There were all types of costumes among the parade watchers; one toddler in particular was outfitted as a policeman, which delighted many of the police who were there to make sure everyone was safely away from the floats. The Salem Police Department does a great job at keeping the town safe during the Halloween madness which occurs each year. Naturally, the police started the parade, followed by a series of colorful and fanciful floats. One float was based on the movie “Frozen”. It had a homemade version of the outpost from the movie, as well as lights, fake snow blowing out, and music from the soundtrack. Another float was a depicted the book,Game of Thrones. People dressed as the iconic Ghostbusters, were followed by a car that was tricked out like the one in the movie. The theme song blasted from the station wagon’s radio.

Along with floats, there were also people holding up signs for businesses which sponsor the parade each year. There was Snyder’s there with free samples of their pretzels and chips. A man dressed as a demon was booming out that “Tonight only, $5 to gain access to the best haunted house in Salem”. On the sidelines vendors sold light up swords and wands as well as balloons.

The different schools of Salem were also part of the parade. The Salem High school marching band showed off their new bright red uniforms and played loud music as they marched with precision. The elementary schools were especially fun to see. One in particular had a sign saying “Geared Up for Another Year” and everyone was wearing homemade paper hardhats. Another elementary school went with the theme of the parade this year and made a fantasy tree but the kids were wearing all types of costumes.

Young girls from a gymnastics team cartwheeled and flipped their way down the parade route.. Another performance was from a dance school and the girls were dressed in white and black and had spooky makeup. One group choose Alice in Wonderland as a theme, with a Red Queen, dancing playing cards, teapots, cups, and flowers.

Of course, SSU had a float comprised of Orange and Blue paper balls on a van with three witches on the back all made of paper. The SSU students in the parade handed children candy from their jack o’ lantern buckets. It was fun to see children rush forward to capture as much candy as possible.

Salem truly knows how to capture the spirit of Halloween and much of its October tourism is built around the holiday. If you haven’t checked out the annual parade yet, then I highly recommend going next year.

Click here for the entire calendar of Haunted Happenings events.

Contributor’s Note: Megan Horn is an English/Education major who always enjoys a good parade.