Gay Salem! Your Gay Guide to the Witch City!

Welcome to Gay Salem!

Salem, Massachusetts, better known as the Witch City due to a well known incident in 1692 where 20 people were put to death after being accused of witchcraft. Thankfully, Salem has come a long way from that place where religious intolerance ran rampant and being different meant facing a trial of your peers.

My husband, Gary Halteman, and I moved to Salem in February of 2000 where we rented our first apartment. One apartment and two condo's later we are proud to call this city our home. When we first came to Salem, neither Gary nor I were all that comfortable with being gay. This city and the people who live here are largely responsible for both Gary and myself becoming active members in the gay community and more importantly helping us realize that being gay was not a bad thing and certainly nothing to be ashamed of. In present day Salem, being different isn't just OK, it's considered normal!

It seemed we weren't the only gay people who saw Salem as a great place to call home, because soon after we moved here, we started to notice more and more gay and lesbian couples walking around town and riding the train...not to mention all the gay tourists we met! Since Salem has so much to offer the gay community we thought wouldn't it be nice if there was a website that catered to gays and lebians?

For me that meant tapping my best friend Christian Day - Salem Witch, event promoter, and Web designer extraordinaire! He is the only one I could trust to design a site that would capture the soul of the Witch City and present it in a way that appeals to the gay and lesbian audience. I think he succeeded!

We hope this sites serves you and your family well. Whether you are a visitor to our town or a local, there are lots of resources listed here. If in your exploration of Salem you find something that isn't listed let us know by clicking here.

Again welcome to Gay Salem. I hope you find Salem, Massachusetts as friendly and accepting as we have. Enjoy the shops, restaurants, parks, and all the history Salem has to offer. We are even willing to bet that after visiting Salem, you just might make it your home as!

Best Swishes!

Robert Murch

Gay Fabulous!
(These places are especially welcoming to gay and lesbians. We are in the process of evaluating every listing on our site to determine their "fabulousness." Let us know if you feel a listing should be designated as Gay Fabulous or to suggest a listing we might have missed entirely!)