Wall Street Journalさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Wall Street JournalInstagram)「Three centuries ago, hysteria swept Salem, Mass., and residents accused about 200 people of witchcraft. This month, local resentment toward witches is brewing again.⁠ ⁠ One million tourists, many sporting pointy black hats, layers of mascara and long capes, were expected to course through this city’s historic downtown in October to visit cemeteries, haunted houses and witch museums. Traffic is choked. Sidewalks are jammed. ⁠ ⁠ “It’s hellish,” said Bri Chisholm, a social worker who has lived in Salem all her life. “Last night, we walked a half mile in the pouring rain with our groceries in brown paper bags because we couldn’t park anywhere.”⁠ ⁠ Salem’s streets are narrow and crooked. The front doors of its centuries-old homes swing open onto skinny sidewalks designed for austere Puritans. On a recent Sunday, they were packed with out-of-state tourists, many of them munching candy corn. On Saturday night, Salem’s mayor cautioned people about driving in. (“You won’t make it through,” he wrote on social media, suggesting trains.)⁠ ⁠ “Salem Haunted Happenings,” as locals call the Halloween festivities, is bigger than ever. When pandemic lockdowns lifted, what had been a mostly regional tourist attraction went national, according to the tourism department. Cellphone data shows visitors coming from as far away as Ohio, Texas and California.⁠ ⁠ The hordes inject millions of dollars into the local economy. Homes rent out for $2,000 a night. Hotels book up a year in advance.⁠ ⁠ Last year, Stacia Cooper, director of a local tourism board, scolded her high-school-age son when he spent $300 on an 8-foot Sasquatch costume. So far this fall, he has made more than $1,000 posing with tourists.⁠ ⁠ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠ ⁠ Photo: Joseph Prezioso/AFP/Getty Images」11月1日 5時00分