Costume Swap Day

 FIRST ANNUAL SALEM COSTUME SWAP

Hosted by Salem Park Recreation & Community Services

Date: Sat. October 13 (National Costume Swap Day)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m.
Fee: $5 per costume or swap costumes for free!
Place: Salem Senior Center, 5 Broad Street, Salem

Do you have a closet full of costumes that you would never dare be seen in again or some that will never fit your children again? Can’t think of what to be this year? Don’t have thousands of dollars to spend on costumes for the entire family? We have the perfect solution for you...come to the Salem Costume Swap!!

Here’s how it works:  

• Donate your swap-able costumes at the Salem Senior Center. Empty your closet as a recycle/cleaning house project, you may drop off gently used costumes at the Salem Senior Center starting on September 10th during normal hours.
• In exchange for each complete, clean, gently worn costume, you will receive 1 swap ticket to claim a new-to-you costume at the 10/13 event.
• No costume to swap? Still want to shop? No Problem! Stop by the event to purchase any costume for $5. Proceeds will benefit Salem youth programs.

Did you know?

Swapping the costumes of only half of the children who celebrate Halloween would reduce annual landfill waste by 6,250 tons, equivalent to the weight of 2,500 midsize car.

2012 Haunted Happenings Guide now available!

The Official 2012 Event Guide & Calendar for Salem Haunted Happenings has arrived!  If you would like one, please email your mailing address to us at info@hauntedhappenings.org, and we will happily send one your way.  

In addition to a calendar of October events, the 2012 Guide includes attraction, museum, tour, restaurant, and shopping listings. Information on the Salem Witch Trials and the Witch Trials Memorial, a page of Free Family Fun, and listings of New and Noteworthy Events.  The all-important map is there, too, folding out of the back of the brochure, to help you navigate the streets of Salem. 

We will have a printable PDF of the guide linked from HauntedHappenings.org this week. We will post on our Facebook and Twitter feeds when the PDF is available.

Leatherface to appear at Count Orlok's

Count Orlok's always gives us a great line-up of events that celebrate horror cinema, and this October is looking awesome!  Kane Hodder (you probably know him as Jason from Friday the 13th) will be appearing at Count Orlok's October 19-20, and R.A. Mihailoff will be appearing on October 30-31. Who better to meet on Halloween than Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre?!

Visit NightmareGallery.com for more information on Count Orlok's.  It is a most delightful monster museum.

A "Spirited Evening" at 43 Church

Our friends at 43 Church are planning a "Spirited" evening in the Old Lyceum Hall, which is the function space upstairs at 43 Church (formerly known as the Lyceum Restaurant).  Participants will learn how to connect to the other side and take part in a paranormal investigation of the Old Lyceum Hall. 

We've often heard that this site is haunted. Now's your chance to find out! 


Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door  (if available), and include Tapas Buffet and the Investigation. There is limited seating, so we recommend saving the $5 and purchasing tickets in advance.


A portion of ticket sales will benefit the Northeast Animal Shelter Emergency Fund. 

Learn more at 43church.com or click here to buy tickets.

Don't Miss Salem Heritage Days!

Can you believe it's August?  We can't. Primarily because we are neck-deep in preparing the 2012 Guide to Haunted Happenings (and it looks good!).  While we all wait for Haunted Happenings, there is plenty to do in Salem right now.

Salem Heritage Days began on August 1st and continue through August 12.   Heritage Days highlights include the Ice Scream Bowl (yum!), Essex Street Fair (like the Haunted Biz Baz, only warmer), and the Phillips House Car Meet.

Click here to view the complete Heritage Days schedule.

And, click here for information on the Salem Maritime Festival, which promises free family fun on Friday and Saturday (August 3-4) at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site.