Turner's Salem - Good Stuff to Know for Halloween Season

Bridget Bishop was born in 1632 in England, later emigrating to the 'New World', becoming a settler in Salem. She is historically significant for being the first person executed in the famous 1692 Salem Witch Trials. 

Before her execution on June 10, 1692, she led a life that made her the subject of gossip and suspicion. Bridget had been married three times (twice widowed), was accused of unseemly behavior, and had run-ins with the courts for "profanity" and disputes with neighbors. Early witch trial accounts indicate she was a tavern keeper and a midwife.

Bridget Bishop owned a home in Salem Town, and land that included an apple orchard. That orchard roughly occupied the site of what is now Turner's Seafood at Lyceum Hall. The building was originally built in 1831, after Bishop's time, and later transformed into our restaurant, Turner's Seafood at Lyceum Hall, in 2013. 

Over the years, local lore has connected Bishop's orchard with haunted tales: visitors and staff at Turner's Seafood report that in certain parts of the building they sense strange atmospheres, see apparitions, or smell apples (though no orchard remains), linking these phenomena to Bishop's former presence on the land. 

The last words spoken by Bridget Bishop, on June 10, 1692:  
I am innocent, I know nothing of it, I have done no witchcraft. I am as innocent as the child unborn. 

One might think that grabbing a table in the middle of the day, on an October weekday, wouldn't be a challenge.
Well, that person has never experienced Salem in October!

During Salem's Halloween Season, from mid-September to mid-November, our online reserved seating is limited and usually books well in advance. Most seating is for our simple and fast-moving wait-in-line system.

Have a confirmed online reservation?

Please check in with the host stand upon arrival. We do our best to seat you within 15 minutes of your requested time. Your party must be complete when you check in. 

No reservation? No problem. 

If there's no line when your party arrives at Turner's, please check in with the host stand; if a table is available, we will seat you immediately. 

If there is a line of people outside the front entrance, please have your party join the line. 

Our hostess does not maintain a list; we don't use buzzers or texts. We use a simple first-come, first-seated system, based on party size and tables openings. As tables become available, a host will let the line know what size table and the next party in line for that size table will be seated. 

What to know about our wait-in-line system:

- The line moves quickly given our large seating capacity.

- This system includes the bar high-tops and the bar itself. 

- Unfortunately, due to the extremely high volume of guests during the Halloween season, our bar can only provide drinks through your server.  You'll have to wait until November to belly up top the bar again.

- We can accommodate parties of all sizes, but we cannot guarantee seating together for large parties.

We highly recommend taking the MBTA Commuter Rail into Salem, as parking is limited and the city can get very crowded. The Newburyport/Rockport line stops in  Salem, servicing North Station in Boston, and numerous stations with parking available.  

If you are driving, our top recommendation for parking is the Salem MBTA garage at 252 Bridge Street in Salem. It's a short walk to our restaurant and is the most affordable parking at $5 per day on weekdays, and $2 on weekends. This garage has 712 covered parking spaces.

Destination Salem lists all major parking lots in Salem, with  parking rate info, at https://www.salem.org/travel-info/parking/ 

No plans yet? Not sure what activities are happening? Check Destination Salem's website to help you plan. The site has the latest updates on what's happening in Salem, as well as information about the history of Salem.

The site also has a page for parking in Salem, listing all major lots, along with pricing and hours.