Salem was part of my area growing up in which I evangelized, and Salem has made the above a money machine, but the Satanic Temple is mainly there because it is a more of a political org, which goes about the US demanding equal rights for their "resolutely non-theistic," supernatural agnostic tax-free "religion" (as per IRS).
Damned and deluded, sadly.
I went to Salem for Halloween. It was quite an experience.
First, it truly is a tourist trap. You can’t walk more than 500 feet without tripping over some tarot card, witch, Wiccan, etc store. In fact there was an Army Navy store on a big corner for years. It closed and now there is some other witch retailer there. Do NOT drive to Salem: parking sucks and the gridlock is next-level.
Second, on Halloween they block off the Main Street and run extra trains from Boston. On the walk from the train station to town, you pass big trucks (they’re likely there to stop a terrorist from driving thru town) and a MASSIVE showing of police presence. The cops are pretty decent (I thanked a few of them for what they do, and they seemed to appreciate it) though they are aggressive if you have a toy gun or knife. There are a LOT of porta potties.
Third, the costumes are VERY creative. I saw Teletubbies with blood stains and chain saws. Some of the really creative ones will let you take a picture with them for a donation. They’re not as aggressive as Times Square. Parenthetically, there are some decent music venues.
Fourth, there were about three or four evangelist groups with amplifiers and microphones trying to save people. One lot was VERY aggressive, sort of condemning passers by, almost asking to get into a fight. The others, generally, were voices crying out in the wilderness but not being hostile. That said, some of the costumed rabble were rude and mocked the evangelists rudely.
It is hard to separate the fun-loving, costumed people from the Truly Evil on Halloween. I’m not saying Salem is a demonic portal. But the history of the town is what it is, and there ARE many occult stores and pentagrams. It is easy to dismiss a lot of that as commerce. But you have to wonder about the kind of person who wakes up and says “I’m going to open a store that sells books promoting Satan.”
I recommend the breakfast diner in the middle of town and Boston Burger on the main street. I also recommend leaving early.