Skip The Overwhelming Halloween Crowds In Salem For These Alternative Fall Festive New England Towns

As the leaves begin changing from green to golden, October creeps closer and closer. For many Americans, that means the hair-raising hijinks of Halloween are just around the corner. Kooky costumes, ghoulish decorations, and trick-or-treating are just a few things in the myriad of celebrations that make this spooky month so special. And in the pursuit of unforgettable Halloween thrills, many travelers will pack their bags for a trip to Salem, Massachusetts — a town infamous for the mass hysteria and trials that led to the executions of suspected witches during the late 1600s, not to mention the backdrop of several film locations for the zany children's Halloween film, "Hocus Pocus."

All throughout October of every year, Salem is transformed into a Halloween haven as over 1 million tourists converge upon the town to celebrate Haunted Happenings. This month-long event is punctuated by all manner of daily activities ranging from family-friendly shenanigans to truly spine-chilling activities. Take your kids to meet the Good Witch of Salem for a delightful potion brewing lesson, or get out your EMF detectors for a nighttime ghost hunt. Attend a haunted magic show, or give testimony at a Salem witch trial reenactment. There are costume parades, ghostly walking tours, and jack-o'-lantern festivals, all culminating in a spectacular ball on Halloween night. In a town shrouded by such paranormal charms, Haunted Happenings promises to be the spooky month celebration of a lifetime.

Of course, with so many visitors all vying to join in the October festivities, the Salem crowds can start to feel oppressive. Even locals grow frustrated with the excessive throngs, opting to celebrate elsewhere instead. For anyone who prefers a more mellow Halloween atmosphere, there are a handful of eerily delightful towns scattered across New England you just can't miss, all boasting spooky fun and pumpkin madness without the crowds.

Stretched along the shores of Cape Cod is the historic Chatham, a resort town famed for delightful seafood and historic waterfronts. Boasting a walkable downtown district and an iconic lighthouse dating to the early 1800s, this storybook hamlet is worth a visit every season of the year. But when autumn arrives, Chatham bursts to life with more than just Halloween delights. For an afternoon of boozy merriment and seasonal fun for the whole family, head to Chatham during Oktoberfest to experience an authentic German beer garden atmosphere with live music and kid's games. Held in Kate Gould Park downtown, the day's festivities include a host of food trucks dishing out autumnal fare and beer from local breweries, alongside an artisan village filled with handmade crafts and two performance stages providing lively entertainment.

And as Halloween night draws near, the streets of Chatham are slowly taken over by the appearance of rather well-dressed inhabitants, all sporting pumpkins for heads. Bedecked in fall flannels, wacky costumes, warm beanies, and with hay for hair, these life-sized, gourd-headed effigies are part of the Pumpkin People in the Park event, Chatham's two-week long annual October display to usher in the spooky cheer. Lovingly fashioned by local businesses and residents, past incarnations of the various pumpkin people dotted around Kate Gould Park have taken on different forms depending on the business responsible for its creation, from the mustachioed Pumpkin Muffin Man selling gourd-shaped pastries and a pumpkin witch astride her broom to a pumpkin steam train and Pumpkin Snow White, complete with a princess gown and tinsel crown. Since the Oktoberfest event takes place in conjunction with Pumpkin People in the Park, a visit to Chatham in October is sure to be filled with autumnal thrills and Halloween chills.

Looking for more pumpkin people? Jackson, New Hampshire, is waiting for you. Tucked between a picturesque countryside of rolling hills that burst into golden hues during the autumn, this enchanting resort town in the White Mountains is renowned for classic New England charm. What's more, Jackson also boasts its own pumpkin people festival, making this spellbinding town a perfect destination for spooky season. A beloved annual tradition, the Return of the Pumpkin People is a month-long event throughout October marked by extravagant gourd displays, pumpkin tours, and scavenger hunts for a truly unforgettable Halloween celebration.

If what you're after is a storybook atmosphere, then Jackson will surely deliver. Historic architecture, an iconic covered bridge, and a fantastic dining scene are just a few of this New England village's many charms. Take a leisurely stroll through the streets as fiery foliage flutters overhead, head out into the hills on a refreshing nature hike, or stop a quaint inn with old-world charm for a scrumptious meal by the fireside.

And as the Return of the Pumpkin People festivities kicks into high gear, watch as Jackson is overrun by quirky, gourd-shaped characters. From pubs and inns to the grammar school and even the police and fire departments, many of Jackson's local businesses come together to decorate their premises with unique (and often quirky) pumpkin displays. Grab an official Pumpkin People map, visit the various participating businesses around town, and cast your vote for the "People's Choice" pumpkin display. Stick around for the All Things Pumpkin Festival in the last two weeks of October to take a sleigh ride through town and collect pumpkin keepsakes, or catch the pumpkin carving contest with spookily illuminated jack-o'-lanterns. Whatever you decide, a trip to Jackson in the autumn promises to be a pumpkin extravaganza.

For a truly chilling autumn getaway to make your hairs stand on end, head to Fall River in Massachusetts, just an hour's drive south of Boston. Originally settled by Plymouth colonists in the 1600s, this quaint town's old-world heritage and quiet streets boasting Victorian architecture lends itself to a wonderfully eerie Halloween atmosphere.

What's more, Fall River was where Abby and Andrew Borden lived in the 1890s. Head to The Historic Lizzie Borden House, both a museum and a bed and breakfast, and take a hair-raising tour of the Victorian-style bedrooms where Lizzie Borden brutally murdered her parents with a hatchet. You can even join nightly ghost hunt tours until midnight, where you'll snoop around the bedrooms and basement, fully kitted out with ghost hunting equipment to solve the mystery of the infamous slayings and perhaps even detect some paranormal activity. And if you're brave enough for what's likely to be one of the most bloodcurdling experiences of your life, book a stay at Lizzie's former abode to spend the night at one of the most haunted sites in America. Past guests who have slept there have reported eerie and unexplainable phenomena like doors unlatching on their own, personal belongings being knocked over, and the giggle of children in the attic.

Not to be missed is the Oak Grove Cemetery Tombstone Tour, which takes you to Fall River's burial ground where the Borden family, among others, have been laid to rest. Built in 1855 with a granite arch marking the entrance, this spooky Gothic graveyard is the perfect setting for the tour's tales of true crime. Meanwhile, history buffs should grab a seat at the Victorian Murder History Dinner to enjoy a full-course meal while learning Victorian table etiquette, and trying to solve the grisly Borden mystery.

It wouldn't be Halloween without jack-o'-lanterns, and in Providence, Rhode Island, you'll find glowing gourds galore. Founded in the 1630s by the runaway Puritan preacher, Roger Williams, the charming brick architecture and cobblestone promenades along the Providence River acts as a delightfully archaic backdrop to the town's spooky festivities. Stop by Swan Point Cemetery to visit the grave of H.P. Lovecraft, who lived in Providence for most of his life and penned many a frightful tale in his day, or cozy up at a local tavern and sip on a delicious pumpkin ale.

Providence boasts its fair share of ghostly residents, whom you can learn about as you cavort around town after dark on the lantern-lit Providence Ghost Tour. Listen to the toe-curling tales of the town's haunted history, spooky spirits, and paranormal encounters that will keep you wide awake all night. There's also the Historic Haunted Boat Tour, where you'll hop aboard a riverboat for a moonlit cruise along the waterways to some of Providence's most haunted locales, while expert guides recount the ghostly legends of the city's eerie past.

Then, from the end of September until the start of November, the town is set alight with the phosphorescent glow of over 5,000 carved pumpkins at the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, hosted within Roger Williams Park Zoo. Billed as "New England's favorite fall tradition," soak up the fall magic as you stroll through the maze of glowing pumpkins sporting manic eyes and menacing grins, piled up in towers, arranged in clustered formations, and even smiling down at you from the treetops. For an even more hair-raising thrill, get on the zoo's Soaring Eagle Zip Ride to fly over 100 feet above the dazzling jack-o'-lantern display, sure to be an unforgettable moment.