Salem casts more spells than witches on Halloween

During the summer of 1692, nearly 200 people were accused of being witches in Salem, Mass., a small Puritan settlement 16 miles northeast of Boston. Twenty of them (18 women and two men) were convicted and executed, all but one by hanging. The "witch hysteria" as it is now known, passed almost as quickly as it began, and Salem went on to become a leading seaport and prominent manufacturing center. But it's those horrific events of 1692 that remain the focal point of Salem's multimillion- dollar tourist industry, which reaches its fevered pitch every October with dozens of activities - from the family-oriented to the downright terrifying - guaranteed to both entertain and educate. So hop on the family broomstick and fly up to Witch City, U.S.A.

BY MARSHALL S. BERDAN