Fodor’s Travel Names 2 New England Towns Best Places for Halloween Celebrations

Fodor's Travel has named Salem, Massachusetts, and Laconia, New Hampshire, among America's 12 best small towns for Halloween celebrations.

Renowned for its Haunted Happenings festival, the city of Salem attracts more than a million visitors each October for Halloween festivities. Here's what the editors of Fodor's Travel had to say about Halloween in historic Salem:

"Salem, the site of the horrific 1692 witch trials, lives up to its notoriety as the ultimate Gothic destination. The quaint New England town is brimming with occult stores and witchy attractions year-round, but turns the darkness up a notch every October. 

"Salem's Haunted Happenings include costume balls, ghost tours, broom decorating, and a Howl-O-Ween pet parade. See the film locations of Disney's Hocus Pocus, admire Ouija boards from around the world at the Salem Witch Board Museum, and pose with movie monsters at Count Orlock's Nightmare Gallery. Note that the town gets packed to the rafters around Halloween, so it's best to make reservations far in advance and try to avoid weekends and peak hours."

Fodor's Travel highlighted the annual Laconia Pumpkin Festival, which was established in 1991. The travel publication's editors said that "participants add tens of thousands of pumpkins to a 35-foot-tall ziggurat that looms over the town. At night, the orange tower blazes with flickering candles as if it were a cathedral honoring The Great Pumpkin." 

Additionally, the festival, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 25, features various live entertainment, food vendors, zombie walks, and more family-oriented activities.