Tourists hoping to get an up-close look at the centuries-old gravestones inside Salem’s oldest cemetery this Halloween season will have to resort to viewing pictures of them online instead.
From Sept. 28 through Nov. 3, the historic Charter Street Cemetery, where gravestones of people with ties to the infamous witch trials can be found, will be off-limits to visitors and tour groups, including during the spookiest — and arguably busiest — holiday of the year.
“It is going to be closed completely,” said Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem, the city’s office of tourism and cultural affairs. “We understand that will be frustrating and disappointing for some visitors, but we hope they will be able to come back at another time. It’s just for one month that it won’t be available.”
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The closure this season was announced Wednesday on the city’s website.
According to officials, members of the Cemetery Commission voted Tuesday night to shut down the Charter Street Cemetery before a new phase of restoration work begins on the grounds.
The city is preparing to “undertake a substantial landscape preservation and improvement project in the cemetery,” the statement said. The upgrades follow previous phases of work that included “some headstone and tomb restoration and preliminary archaeological reviews.”
Next steps will include “upgrades and stabilization of pathways, installation of lighting, and restoration of fencing,” according to PreservingSalem.com, which details the project plans.
Fox said it’s the first time in her 20 years working for the city that she can remember the cemetery being closed on Halloween.
In 2017, officials put a cap on how many people were allowed in the cemetery at one time during the last few days of the Halloween season.
The following year, officials tightened those restrictions, and only 100 people were allowed inside the cemetery during the weekends throughout October.
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The 1.47-acre cemetery, also known as Old Burying Point, is Salem’s oldest, according to salem.org. It was founded in 1637 and is the resting place for “several notable Salem residents,” including John Hathorne, a judge during the witch trials and an ancestor of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Mary Corey, the second wife of Giles Corey, the man famously pressed to death in 1692 during the witchcraft hysteria.
The burying ground, which is open from dawn to dusk, is located directly behind the Witch Trials Memorial. It’s often packed with tourists who wind along its paths to read the markings on the gravestones.
An “FAQ” about the cemetery lists at least 10 walking tour companies that bring customers to the site, or through it.
Pamela Captain, co-owner of Bewitched After Dark Walking Tours, said the closure would affect her daytime tours, where many people book tickets with an express interest in seeing the cemetery.
“I’ve sold tickets based on the fact that I’m going to get into the cemetery, so now people specifically interested in that will be disappointed,” she said. “Our evening tours now don’t get into the cemetery [because it’s closed at night], but the ones who book the day tours, it’s a selling point.”
While she couldn’t say how much of an effect on business it could have, Captain understands that preserving the grounds is important to the future of the site as an attraction.
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“We want to see the stones preserved and we want the cemetery maintained,” she said. “So whatever needs to be done in order for that [to] happen, that’s fine with us.”
Seth Mascolo, owner and tour guide for Salem Heritage Tours, also sees the need to keep it shuttered for the time being. Although he doesn’t take customers into the cemetery anymore, he brings them to the spot to observe from beyond the gates. He said it’s a “good thing” to re-do the grounds.
“It helps preserve the history,” he said.
While it’s closed, the city plans to publish information and images about the cemetery and its history online, so people can learn more about the notable headstones and tombs within its gates.
Fox said she doesn’t think the closure will adversely affect Halloween tourism this year, despite the graveyard being a big draw for many.
“There are a lot of other things to do in Salem during the course of October,” she said. “This is the first time we have had to close it in October, and we don’t anticipate it will be this way in the future.”
Steve Annear can be reached at steve.annear@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @steveannear.