Salem Aims for World Record of Largest Gathering in Witch Hats
On a bright Saturday morning in the middle of Haunted Happenings, Derby Wharf at Salem Maritime National Historical Park became a living portrait of the Witch City. Hundreds of residents and visitors arrived before 11 a.m. on October 17, 2026, wearing witch hats of every size, style, and color. Organizers from the City of Salem, Salem Maritime National Historical Park, and Destination Salem had invited everyone to help create a massive overhead drone photograph as part of Salem’s 400th anniversary celebrations.
The event, called Witch Hats on the Wharf, was framed as both a joyful community gathering and a world-record attempt for the largest group of people wearing witch hats. While some early reports noted that organizers had not formally submitted the effort to Guinness World Records, the invitation still drew a spirited crowd eager to make a little history together. Keolis even handed out 1,000 hats at Salem Station on a first-come, first-served basis so no one had to arrive hatless. Special Salem 400+ branded hats and patches sold by the city raised money for HAWC, the local nonprofit that supports survivors of domestic abuse across the North Shore.
From the waterfront, the scene looked exactly like the kind of moment only Salem can create. Pointy black hats mixed with colorful, decorated, and handmade versions. Families, friends, and solo travelers stood shoulder to shoulder along the historic wharf with the harbor and brick buildings of the park behind them. At 11 a.m. the drone rose and captured the gathering, freezing a sea of hats against the water for a photo that will mark this milestone year.
In a city that already welcomes more than a million visitors during October, the event felt like a perfect blend of history, celebration, and everyday magic. Whether or not an official record is ever confirmed, the people who showed up turned a simple idea—wear a hat, stand together—into something lasting. Salem didn’t just mark 400 years. It filled its waterfront with witches and made sure the whole world could see them.
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