SALEM — Greg Shea looked like a man who had just seen a ghost. He was gaunt, haggard and appeared to need bed rest.
"This was our first Halloween," said the owner of the Seaport Cafe, a new restaurant on Pickering Wharf, "and it exceeded all our expectations. Everyone here needs a nap."
Seaport Cafe did just that yesterday, closing at 3 p.m. Several stores and restaurants didn't even bother to open yesterday, but who can blame them? Most have been going nonstop since mid-September.
"It was a perfect retail Halloween — no rain," said Karen Caccavaro, who owns Coon's Card & Gift Shop on the Essex Street pedestrian mall and Penelope's Pet Boutique around the corner.
Caccavaro might have second-guessed herself six months ago when she ordered 360 black, wool skull caps — adorned with white skulls — but she was smiling yesterday with only a handful still on the rack. She did even better with the Salem witch sweatshirts.
"The whole back room (supply) is empty," she said with a smile.
It was a similar story all over town.
This Halloween was perfect: perfect weather, perfect family event, perfect shopping and perfect Halloween night finale.
And perfectly huge crowds.
"It's been a really good October," said Rinus Oosthoek, executive director of the Salem Chamber of Commerce. "You can tally up the money afterwards, but we had the crowds and people did some shopping."
It was so busy almost every store ran out of something.
"I couldn't handle all the readings," said Lorelei, a witch and psychic who did about 30 readings a day this past weekend at Crow Haven Corner, an Essex Street witch shop.
"I couldn't keep the Pumpkinhead (beer) on tap," said Dana Matthews, a bartender at O'Neill's, an Irish pub on Washington Street. "Everybody was looking for a Salem experience."
Even dogs, apparently.
"I sold 72 large bat wings (for dogs) and maybe 50 small ones," Caccavaro said. And that was in the past two weeks.
Even some of the non-Halloween businesses did well.
"We had an awesome October," said Ann Massey, owner of Rouge Cosmetics on Derby Street. "We were up over 20 percent."
Some of that additional business was due to the holiday. "We did a lot of Halloween makeup this year," she said.
"We did zombies," said Amanda Kotkowski, a makeup artist in the shop. "We did Marilyn Monroes."
Halloween was so perfect some people forgot to go home.
"We're from California, and our flight is later today," said Melissa Miller, explaining what she and her husband, Michael, were doing yesterday standing with other shoppers inside Hex, a witch shop on Essex Street.
The couple were married on Halloween day six years ago and have been to Transylvania to celebrate Oct. 31. They're sticking with Salem.
"There's more action here than Transylvania," Melissa said.
Even a few street performers hung around yesterday.
"I was here last year, the day after Halloween ... and saw there was pretty heavy traffic," said Cady Vishniac, who draws large crowds on the mall as a living statue, dressed in the flowing gold robes of a Salem witch. "I was only here a little (today). ... It was a way of saying goodbye to everybody."
Police couldn't have been happier with the crowds, which went home promptly at 10 p.m. Sunday, just like perfect Halloween guests.
"That doesn't happen by accident," said police Chief Paul Tucker, who credited it to the coordinated planning between the city and police. "At the end of the night, I think people get it. ... People understand when it's time to go, it's time to go."
Raw Video: Hail Storm Batters Oklahoma City
California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin
6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee
Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40
On Thailand Trip, Suu Kyi Visits Migrants
Raw Video: Pink Diamond Auctioned for $17.4M
Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later
Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing
Patz Suspect's Sister: I Went to Police in 1980s
Diplomatic Expulsions Follow Fresh Syria Report
15 Dead in Northern Italy's 5.8-magnitude Quake
Witness Describes Fla. Face-chewing Attack
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
