SALEM — Undeterred by near-freezing temperatures last night, upward of 60,000 people rolled into Witch City for the annual Halloween celebration.
Scantily clad nurses, angels, wrestlers and Hooters waitresses huddled together, shivering and folded their arms for warmth.
"Alcohol and blankets," said Malden resident Billy Sharkey when asked how he was keeping warm.
He decided three days ago to dress as a Hooters girl, as he was munching on a chicken wing. Last night, Sharkey was dressed in a tank top, short shorts and a wig. He was covered in goose bumps.
But the excitement of those around, all of whom seemed to want to take his picture, kept him smiling.
"This is my 15 minutes of fame, unfortunately," he said.
Lt. Conrad Prosniewski estimated the crowd at 40,000 for Saturday night and 60,000 to 70,000 last night.
And for the most part, said Capt. Brian Gilligan, the event commander, people were enjoying themselves.
"It's a pretty upbeat and happy crowd," he said.
Police had made 18 arrests since Friday afternoon, Prosniewski said. One of those arrests was for an assault with a knife that took place behind Steve's Quality Market on Margin Street. Police said the victim, who suffered face lacerations, was taken to the hospital.
Between 200 and 250 officers from Salem, neighboring communities, the Essex County Sheriff's Department and the regional police agency NEMLEC (North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council) were on hand last night to assist with the crowds.
Chief Paul Tucker said decisions to decentralize the event — with stages throughout the downtown — and the shifting of food vendors from crowded Essex Street to the Common prevented problems.
"There were so many different venues," he said. "It helped to spread the crowd out."
And this year's Halloween, spread out over two days, seemed to lighten the crowd last night, Mayor Kim Driscoll said.
"It's definitely a little tamer," she said.
Chris Jones of St. Petersburg, Fla., noticed. "It doesn't seem like there's as many people as in past years," said Jones, who has come to Salem for Halloween for the past five years. "Before, it seemed a little crazier."
Still, he wasn't complaining as he waited in line to get into Salem Beer Works.
"You guys know how to party up here," he said. "In Florida, we don't even have trick-or-treaters."
Some folks were able to impress the other revelers and keep warm at the same time. Among the more popular costumes this year were Nintendo characters Mario and Luigi, but Mandy and Dave Halloran of North Reading went bigger: Mandy was a controller and Dave was a Nintendo game system, complete with blinking power button and auxiliary inputs.
"These boxes are pretty wind-resistant," Mandy said, happily.
Earlier in the day, the celebrants took in the scenery, snapping photos of zany costumes and wacky moments.
When two Ghostbusters spotted a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, they gave the crowd something to laugh about.
The Ghostbusters — Alex Griffin and Pat Harmon of Dover, N.H. — gave chase to their movie nemesis, played by Andrew Foley of Framingham. The trio stopped to have their photos taken together.
"This is awesome," Griffin said.
Gerry Laffromboise and Maryse Cleary drove seven hours from Montreal, with their children, Samuel Blais, 9, and Krystine Blaise, 8.
The family arrived Saturday and planned to stay three days in Salem.
"It's amazing," said Laffromboise, who dressed as a zombie doctor.
He was also impressed by the friendliness of the crowd. Many people had offered to snap family photos of them.
The Engel family — Mark and Nancy, with their four adult children and two dogs — drove 195 miles from Albany, N.Y., in a motor home, and all eight spent the night in the vehicle at Winter Island Park. The family has been coming to Salem since all the children were actually children — nearly 20 years — but this was only their second time coming for Halloween.
"Salem is the place to be for Halloween; there's no other place," Mark Engel said.
His one lament: Parking was tough.
Some people still trickled into the city even as the fireworks, which marked the end of the official Halloween festivities, got started just after 10 p.m. The enthusiastic hordes of people, however, dispersed rather amicably after the show was over. Some walked up Washington Street toward the train, but many more headed back into the city to find cars, friends or another bar.
Police from as far away as Waltham lined the intersection of Essex and Washington, blocking people from going down the pedestrian mall.
Police on horseback lined up across Washington Street, forming an intimidating fortress. By 11 p.m., there was still a large gathering, but most people appeared to be headed somewhere, not lingering looking for more to do, as had been the case in past years.
Despite the cold, people were enthusiastic until the very end.
As the fireworks reached the epic climax, and the glowing embers lit the night sky, a group sitting on the steps of the Tabernacle Church on Washington Street yelled in unison, loud and clear, "Happy Halloween!"
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