{"id":1717,"date":"2017-10-19T19:53:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T23:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/108.167.140.125\/?p=1717"},"modified":"2017-11-24T20:02:23","modified_gmt":"2017-11-25T01:02:23","slug":"a-chat-with-the-salem-satan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/2017\/10\/19\/a-chat-with-the-salem-satan\/","title":{"rendered":"A chat with The Salem Satan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yay! I am happy to add to this series of blog posts talking with\u00a0some of Salem’s recognized faces around Halloween. Today we have a chat with The Salem Satan. I know I personally have seen him around the city, standing beside the religious folks that protest, maybe you have too. Please note his actions are not meant to be disrespectful, and please keep any comments civil.\u00a0This is what he had to say…be sure to follow his adventures on Facebook here<\/a>!<\/p>\n

“When I was a kid growing up in Mass, we would go trick or treating almost every year. It was at the time of the cheap plastic mask and smocks of your favorite TV\/movie characters. There were a couple years where I did my own costume with my mother\u2019s help.<\/p>\n

I was always drawn to the idea of being somebody else even just for one day. \u00a0We would go out as a group of friends and family and just have a blast. \u00a0As I got older I got out of trick or treating, but never lost the love of Halloween.<\/p>\n

One year we developed a haunted neighborhood walk through. \u00a0My uncle has a place where several homes shared their backyards and we made a little haunted walk through that people loved. \u00a0Then again in college we made a haunted house out of our dorm on a budget of $50 abandoned objects, things from home, and our imagination. \u00a0We were told that it was the best house people had gone to that particular year.<\/p>\n

I still dressed up throughout the years though. \u00a0The Halloween spirit never left as I got older.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t actually live in Salem, however, I find myself drawn to it and wanting to be there. \u00a0I do hope to move there one day, but one never knows.<\/p>\n

I visited once when I was a kid, but I don\u2019t remember that trip that well. \u00a0Having an interest in witches and alternative religions, my ex-wife and I went down on a day trip and did all the attractions. \u00a0I think we missed out on the Witch House, but we did everything else. \u00a0It was interesting. Flash forward almost 10 years later, I went down after going through a bad breakup. \u00a0The feeling I got from that trip was so overwhelmingly positive. \u00a0It was like I didn\u2019t have any problems to worry about. \u00a0I don\u2019t typically like a lot of crowds, but I didn\u2019t mind and at that point, I decided to go back later in the month of October for Halloween. \u00a0I\u2019ve been coming every since. \u00a0The energy, positivity, and the overall love there is amazing. \u00a0There\u2019s nothing else like it. \u00a0Being a Mass native and that feeling the town gives off, I feel like I\u2019m at home even if just once a year.<\/p>\n

The Salem Satan was born on my 3rd year going down to Salem. \u00a0My first trip in 2010 I met a friend and actually didn\u2019t dress up. \u00a0I was just enjoying the day and taking pics of all the great costumes and taking it all in. \u00a0I then saw the street preachers yelling at people and thought how obnoxious it was. \u00a0(I fully support the First Amendment and their right to do that, but it was annoying because of the positivity the town has vs what they were saying and doing) \u00a0I largely ignored them that year.<\/p>\n

The second year I came (2011) I saw them yelling at little kids for dressing up and enjoying their time in Salem. \u00a0This actually upset me. These are little kids who are enjoying the day and having a little fun and they\u2019re being made to feel poorly about it. \u00a0This didn\u2019t sit well.<\/p>\n

I started to think about what I could do to get my own point across.<\/p>\n

I simply got my mask and robes through Spirit Halloween and my wife modified the robes to fit better. \u00a0I try to add or change a little something every year and next year I will have a new costume. I also made my Free Hugs From Satan sign.<\/p>\n

\"things<\/p>\n

2012 was the first year I went as The Salem Satan. \u00a0I started to shyly stand next to the preachers, but as time went on throughout the day I broke out of my shell. \u00a0I got an overwhelmingly positive response and I have been making every effort to be there on Halloween as The Salem Satan every year since.<\/p>\n

What started as a joke has become somewhat of a social commentary for me. \u00a0I noticed the hate the preachers were getting from standing on their soap boxes and how people were responding to them using their bullhorns. \u00a0I stand quietly with my sign and I get hugs, laughter, high fives, thank you\u2019s, etc. \u00a0It\u2019s the whole \u201cyou can catch more flies with honey than vinegar\u201d approach.<\/p>\n

I continue the Salem Satan character to keep pushing that ideal of being nice, no matter how you\u2019re dressed will get a better response than yelling. \u00a0In 2016 I had asked people if I should continue because I started to feel that it was played out. \u00a0I found that people wanted me there and felt that I was part of the Halloween lexicon now for some of the regulars. \u00a0This was a humbling moment and an honor at the same time. \u00a0I\u2019ve decided that I will do this for as long as I can and until my body says I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n

I usually come down for 2 or three days and the first day is spent with my family. \u00a0This is where my costume creativity comes into play. \u00a0One year I went as an evil pumpkin with an Animotion pumpkin mask. These are masks that have an evil smile or hide teeth and when you open your mouth they are exposed. \u00a0I dressed my daughter as a little pumpkin and decorated her stroller. \u00a0I found battery operated pumpkin lights and strung them around it. \u00a0I also added fake leaves and placed a fake carved pumpkin on top and added battery operated tea lights to it. My daughters stroller is typically modified to what she wants to be. \u00a0That\u2019s the most fun I have is decorating her stroller.<\/p>\n

\"things<\/p>\n

Then last year I went as a scarecrow with the same style Animotion mask. \u00a0I got burlap for my neck and went to Goodwill to get a flannel coat and picked up some plastic knives and a sycle. \u00a0I also added fake leaves around my shoulders.<\/p>\n

I love Halloween. \u00a0I love Salem. \u00a0I love what I do.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

#salem #salemma #thingstodoinsalem #thingstodoinsalemma #thewitchcity #witchcityguide #northshore #salemmass #salemmassachusetts #halloweencostumes #halloweencosplay #cosplay #thesalemsatan @SalemSatan #halloweeninsalem #octoberinsalem #visitsalem #visitsalemma #hauntedhappenings #hauntedhappeningssalem #hauntedhappenings2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yay! I am happy to add to this series of blog posts talking with\u00a0some of Salem’s recognized faces around Halloween. Today we have a chat with The Salem Satan. I know I personally have seen him around the city, standing beside the religious folks that protest, maybe you have too. Please note his actions are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[154,1583,1321,1319,162,33,853,854,163,18,19,26,27,1581,1582,24,20,21,428,429,25],"class_list":["post-1717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-your-visit","tag-cosplay","tag-free-hugs-from-satan","tag-halloween-cosplay","tag-halloween-costumes","tag-halloween-in-salem","tag-haunted-happenings","tag-haunted-happenings-2017","tag-haunted-happenings-salem","tag-october-in-salem","tag-salem","tag-salem-ma","tag-salem-mass","tag-salem-massachusetts","tag-the-salem-satan","tag-the-salem-satan-salem-ma","tag-the-witch-city","tag-things-to-do-in-salem","tag-things-to-do-in-salem-ma","tag-visit-salem","tag-visit-salem-ma","tag-witch-city-guide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thingstodoinsalem.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}