Officials said this week that police and event staff will keep an eye on the number of people who enter the historic site between the hours of 10 a.m. and sunset, at which point the cemetery will be closed.

The region’s premier Halloween destination will limit the number of visitors allowed inside the Charter Street Cemetery to 100 people at a time during weekends throughout October, including Halloween, according to a statement from Dominick Pangallo, chief of staff for Mayor Kimberley Driscoll.

For the second year in a row, Salem officials have announced tight restrictions on access this month to a popular tourist destination with ties to the infamous witch trials.


The cemetery, also known as Old Burying Point, is a main attraction during the Halloween season. Among those buried there are John Hathorne, a prominent judge during the witch trials; architect Samuel McIntire; and Mayflower passenger Captain Richard More.

Around 600,000 people visit the site — Salem’s oldest burial ground — every year, according to the city’s website. There are three cemeteries, including the one on Charter Street, that are significant to the witch trials of 1692.

For the first time last year, officials put some limitations on the number of spectators entering the centuries-old cemetery, citing the abundance of people who would sit on gravestones and use them as a place to enjoy food or change a baby’s diaper.

The new rules were in place for only the last few days of October last year, as a crush of people arrived for Halloween. This year, however, they will be enforced every weekend of the month.

Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem, the city’s tourism arm, said the restrictions last year were “real effective” not only in limiting the number of people allowed inside the gates but also in educating visitors about the grounds.


“A lot of visitors think the cemetery is manufactured and was created for a movie set,” she said.

Fox said the cap on tourists didn’t have a significant effect on wait times last year, with most people gaining access after five minutes or so.

Like last year, entry to the cemetery will be allowed only from the gate on Charter Street. A gate near the Witch Trials Memorial on Liberty Street will be used for exiting the site.

Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.