Salem's 'Stay Away' Halloween Message Gains National Attention

SALEM, MA — Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll acknowledged how strange it was to stand in front of the cameras and microphones and do something that would have been considered incomprehensible less than a year ago.

Tell people to keep themselves — and all their potential business revenue —out of Salem this Halloween season.

It's a message the city sent this summer when it canceled all official events — such as the Halloween parade and outdoor beer garden — amid the coronavirus health crisis. It's one that's been echoed in recent weeks with mounting restrictions on public performances, parking and access to the Essex Street pedestrian mall.

It's a message that went national this week Gov. Charlie Baker joined Driscoll in announcing parking lots will be closed early in the day during the next two weekends, MBTA commuter rail trains out of Boston will bypass the Salem station and that restaurants will not be allowed to have people lined up outside after 8 p.m. as the city looks to clear out any crowds as quickly as possible.

"It is our hope that there will not be people in Salem to push out," Driscoll said. "I want to express how abnormal it is to stand up here and not welcome people to Salem."

The plea in the time of a pandemic was picked up by the Washington Post, the New York Post and other national outlets as the personification of how enduring holiday traditions are being upended in the time of coronavirus.

"This is not the year to come to Salem," Driscoll said during Wednesday's news conference. "This is not the year to visit."

Driscoll said the city is using advertising dollars that would typically be spent to get more visitors into Salem to fund public service campaigns such as "Turn Back Now" asking them to come back some other time. She said she usually spends the fall "imploring" the MBTA to add more trains to bring people to the city without adding to the congestion, but now this year is thankful the commuter rail is making it as difficult as possible to get to downtown Salem.

"As much as we are amplifying this message Salem will not be a ghost town this Halloween," Driscoll said before Baker called her out on the pun.

For the next two weekends, municipal and private parking lots will be closed starting at noon to non-residents and area employees. Lots will close at 2 p.m. on Fridays.

The MBTA parking lot will be restricted from noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday, then from 6 to 11 p.m. on Oct. 30, noon to 11 p.m. on Halloween and noon to 6 p.m. on Nov. 1.

No outbound trains from North Station will stop in Salem from 6 to 11 p.m. on Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, for the next two weeks.

Business are urged to curtail reservations after 8 p.m. with no lines allowed outside after 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday. Alcohol service will not be allowed after 11 p.m.

Next weekend, all downtown business must close by 8 p.m. when outdoor crowds will be dispersed.

"I think the message for the most part is: 'Stay away,'" Baker said.

More Salem Halloween Patch Coverage: Salem To Restrict Pedestrian Mall Amid 'Super Frustrating' Crowds

Salem Coronavirus Numbers On Troubling Trend

Message To Salem Halloween Visitors: Maybe Wait Until Next Year

Salem To Keep Strict Coronavirus Restrictions Through Halloween

State Police Airwing Asked To Monitor Salem Halloween Crowds

This article originally appeared on the Salem Patch