2 of America’s greatest small cities for Halloween are in New England

Travel

“In small town America, Halloween celebrations are next level.”

By Kristi Palma

October 22, 2025 | 11:28 AM

1 minute to learn

Travelers in the hunt for Halloween spirit this month will discover a scary quantity of it in two small New England cities, in line with Fodor’s Travel.

The journey publication not too long ago launched a listing of America’s 12 best spooky small towns for Halloween and included Salem and Laconia, N.H.

“In small town America, Halloween celebrations are next level,” wrote Fodor’s Travel.

Salem, house of the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, welcomes greater than 1 million guests each October for its Haunted Happenings pageant.

“Salem’s Haunted Happenings include costume balls, ghost tours, broom decorating, and a Howl-O-Ween pet parade,” wrote Fodor’s Travel. “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.”

Heading to Salem this month? Check out all the things you could find out about Halloween season in Salem.

Laconia, N.H. made the listing as a result of its annual Laconia Pumpkin Festival, which takes place this yr on Oct. 25.

“At the annual Laconia Pumpkin Festival, which was founded in 1991, participants add tens of thousands of pumpkins to a 35-foot-tall ziggurat that looms over the town,” wrote Fodor’s Travel. “At night, the orange tower blazes with flickering candles as if it were a cathedral honoring The Great Pumpkin.”

The pageant brings dwell leisure, meals distributors, costume parades, and different family-friendly enjoyable.

Check out the listing of America’s 12 best spooky small towns for Halloween.