It's Not all About the Tourists
By: Rachel Spenser '19
If you wish to see Batman having a drink with Deadpool or want to have a conversation with a six-foot bunny, wander the streets of Salem, Massachusetts during October.
When you cross the tracks from Peabody with the sun shining bright or over the bridge from Beverly where trees line the streets with their fall beauty, October ends and Halloween begins. The dark streets and brick buildings scream Halloween. Residents decorate their trees and front porches with fake spiders and ghosts. The telephone poles have masks and capes. People from all over the country, some from other parts of the world, come to the City of Salem to see the craziness of Halloween. People dress up and wander the streets the entire month of October, whether for fun, leading tours, or to scare the innocent strangers walking by. Tour groups line the main roads, tourists drive in the wrong lanes, and pedestrians cross the road anywhere and everywhere. If you have to be anywhere Salem, assume you’re going to be late. Those who work and go to school in Salem, either love it or hate it.
Working in Salem during October really takes a toll on the employees. Young or old, you’re going to be working harder to accommodate for Haunted Happenings and the amount of people in Salem. According to Stewart, an administrator at Salem Hospital, “working in Salem during October takes a mental toll on the employees.” Stewart explains that it is the most taxing time of year at the hospital because of the change in when patients are willing to come in. Stewart works in the Cardiac Department, he explains that the tourists don’t change the number of new patients coming in, it just keeps the regular patients away from the hospital to avoid getting stuck in traffic. He says, “most employees are stressed out because their patients are not coming though. They have heart problems that need to be monitored at specific dates, the employees are worried about the health of their patients, but no one wants to drive through Salem during October.”
Stewart has been working in Salem for the last 32 years. “I hate working here during Halloween. It is the longest month of the year and everyone’s schedule changes, mostly due to traffic,” if you are working a 9-5 shift (as he and many others at the hospital do) in Salem you have to account for the extra time during rush hour that you are going to be stuck in traffic. Stewart says, “on a normal day, it takes me 25 minutes to get to work, when October starts, my commute increases anywhere from one to three hours.” Stewart explains that he “would never suggest working in Salem on a regular day solely because there is no easy way to get in and out of Salem,” in October he says to “just stay home if you can.”
On the other hand, Cody, a server at a busy downtown restaurant explained in an interview that working in Salem is the most exciting in October. “I absolutely love working in Salem this time of year,” he describes the different costumes he sees and how the tourists boost the mood of the employees while they are there. Cody explains “it’s a difficult time for all the employees in the restaurant, we have bouncers, bartenders, bussers, everyone working harder than usual to make sure the 4,000 people that come in daily this month are enjoying their time and are willing to come back the next year. It’s exhausting, but worth it.”
Cody explains that the increase in patrons due to tourists causes all the employees schedules to change, “everyone is working longer shifts and staying as late as they can to help out where it’s needed.” Cody has only been working in Salem for the last year and a half; he likes to work the earlier shifts to avoid having to stay past midnight or one, however, when October starts, he works longer and later each day. He says that “if you enjoy people and people watching, Salem is the place to work. If you aren’t stay away, you’ll only get frustrated and mad at the amount of people and the long wait to get in anywhere.”
Be nice to the people in Salem, especially those who are waiting on you, whether its dinner, a snack, or dessert. This time of year is difficult for the people that make a living here.