Halloween in Boston and the Boston Area

by Westray Keeler

Everyone knows that living in Boston comes with the knowledge that practically every step you take is through historically significant sites. Ghost tours are an amazing way to take in the city’s history while preparing for Halloween. For example, Old Town Trolley Tours is offering a “frightseeing” ghost tour, which promises to expose sightseers to “local tales of murder and mayhem” on the streets frequented by the Boston Prowler. If you don’t feel like taking a tour, Boston offers plenty of Puritan-era cemeteries open to the public (for free!)—including Granary Burial Ground and King’s Chapel Burying Ground. If you go this route, you’ll wind up exploring the gravesites of John Hancock, Paul Revere, and more.

If you’re looking for a less urban Halloween experience, there are plenty of places nearby. Allandale Farm in Brookline offers a wide selection of pumpkins, so you can make Jack-O-Lanterns or pumpkin pie. Perfect fall festivities!

This list would be incomplete without mentioning Salem, Massachusetts. Don’t let the half-hour train ride scare you away—nearly half a million people travel to Salem every October. Celebrating Halloween in the “Witch Capital” is a unique experience, and the plethora of options make it possible to choose something that directly caters to your interests. There are a variety of tours offered, including the Bewitched After Dark Walking Tours, which are led by historians. Black Cat Tours, another agency in the area, offers both a daytime historic tour and a nighttime “Ghostly Tour” for the more adventurous.