We are officially in it.

The 2026 Haunted Happenings Marketplace opens Saturday, September 26, with 13 free-admission market days across five downtown Salem locations through Sunday, November 1. But more of this season is visible now than it was even a few days ago.

New events are live. The vendor directory is growing. Our sponsor team is confirmed. We have also reshaped the Haunted Happenings Marketplace website around the way people actually plan a Salem day: start with a date, see what is happening, discover the people and places along the route, and leave room for something unexpected.

If you have been waiting to start exploring, this is the moment.

Start With the Date

The biggest update is our 2026 Salem events calendar. Choose the day you plan to visit, then search by name or use quick picks for tours, family-friendly programs, theatre, crafting and the Haunted Happenings Marketplace. Open any listing for current times, location details, tickets and accessibility information.

We have just added more than 400 date-specific listings from Peabody Essex Museum’s fall programming. That includes experiences such as Brick by Brick: Salem’s Hidden Architectural Stories, Sinister Streets, Harry Houdini installations and programs, Hocus Pocus décor at Ropes Mansion, family art-making, film screenings and live performance.

Those join Marketplace dates, walking tours, theatre, family activities and citywide Halloween happenings already on the calendar. Instead of asking you to sort through one enormous list, the calendar lets you choose your actual date and see what is happening then. That is the point.

Salem has a lot going on. Planning it should not feel like its own haunted attraction.

The calendar will keep growing as schedules are confirmed, so check it when you begin planning and check it again before you head into Salem.

Meet the People and Places Before You Arrive

The Haunted Happenings directory is becoming the other half of the planning experience.

It is not just a list of names. Participating artists, makers, food businesses, shops, tours and other local experiences can have their own profiles with photos, visitor information, approved Marketplace dates, locations and direct links. You can search for a business or product, browse by venue, meet the people behind the work and begin building your own route before the season starts.

We are publishing profiles as businesses are confirmed and ready, so the directory will continue to change. That is a good reason to come back. The person making the perfect strange little thing you did not know you needed may not be visible today—but they may be there tomorrow.

The directory now also includes two useful ways to explore beyond the vendor lineup:

• Meet our 2026 Partners & Sponsors and learn how each organization is connected to the season.
• Use our Salem Visitor Resources to find official citywide information, maps, regional planning tools and local visitor guides without confusing those resources with Marketplace vendors.

Meet the 2026 Festival Partner and Sponsors

This work is built by more than the people behind the tents—and this season has a lead partner whose role deserves to be unmistakable.

Festival Partner: Salem Night Tour

Salem Night Tour is our 2026 Festival Partner—the highest level of support for the season. Their partnership helps power the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall experience, including the street-performer and busker programming that brings movement, sound and some wonderfully unexpected moments to the route. Salem Night Tour does not simply appear beside the festival. They are helping build what visitors experience.

Title Sponsors

Jenni Stuart Fine Jewelry and Salem Wax / Haunted Neighborhood are our 2026 Title Sponsors. The new Haunted Neighborhood profile brings together Salem Wax, five Haunted Neighborhood attractions, The Lost Library and the new Spirit Market—giving visitors one place to understand how the whole Derby and Liberty Street experience fits together.

Season Supporters

The season is also supported by Peabody Essex Museum, Legion Salem, Nocturne and Salem Uncovered Tours. These organizations each bring something different to the season, from art and food to shopping, local storytelling and Salem experiences.

Explore the live profiles below to meet the people and places helping make the 2026 season possible. This section is connected to our sponsor directory, so it can keep growing as new profiles are added.

Explore the complete 2026 Partners & Sponsors directory for current profiles and direct links.

Thirteen Market Days Across Five Downtown Stops

The Marketplace itself opens September 26 and runs on 13 dates:

• September: Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27
• October: October 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 24, 25 and 31
• November: Sunday, November 1

On scheduled market dates, Salem Common and Derby Square run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on regular Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. Charlotte Forten Park and the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall have a provisional 9 p.m. close on regular Saturdays and a 6 p.m. close on Sundays. Old Town Hall’s regular Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Indigenous Peoples Day, outdoor Marketplace hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Old Town Hall opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. All Marketplace venues close at 9:45 p.m. on Halloween, with venue-specific opening times. Sunday, October 11: Holiday hours may apply. The scheduled close remains 6 p.m. Hours, locations, vendor lineups and activities can vary, so the live event calendar is always the best final check.

Salem Common and Derby Square remain the two market anchors. The broader circuit continues through Charlotte Forten Park, the Essex Street Pedestrian Mall and the Haunted Happenings Food Court at Old Town Hall. These are not five copies of the same experience. Each place has its own rhythm, mix of businesses and reason to keep walking.

Use the Updated Website as Your Starting Point

We have spent the last stretch of summer turning the website into a more useful visitor tool. The refreshed homepage gives you the season at a glance. The event calendar helps you plan by date. The directory helps you explore vendors, sponsors, businesses and visitor resources. The Marketplace FAQ covers current hours, travel, accessibility, applications and practical questions.

The Haunted Happenings Marketplace is one part of Salem’s larger monthlong celebration. For citywide schedules, parking, transportation, public safety information and official visitor updates, continue to Salem Haunted Happenings.

This Is Still Growing

The Marketplace is produced by Creative Collective, but a season like this is built by many hands: artists, small-business owners, performers, food vendors, partners, property owners, city departments, volunteers, neighbors and the visitors who choose to spend time with us.

We have spent months on applications, schedules, permits, maps, images, listings and all the practical connective tissue that lets the public-facing part work. Now you can begin to see it take shape.

Choose a date. Open a few profiles. Follow a strange little thread. Build a route—and then leave enough room for Salem to surprise you.

We cannot wait to see what you find.

See you downtown.