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Now that the clocks have been set back and the dark comes upon us before the six o'clock evening news, the Halloween lover may be looking for a fright larger than a handful of molasses candy.

Outside of actual bat caves, the perfect Halloween atmospheres might be found in the historical communities just outside of Boston. The salt air and large colonial buildings seem to fit the mood for a good haunting, and two towns in particular have the authenticity of documented terror to put a good chill into anyone.

In the seaport of Salem, up on the Massachusetts north shore, it's always Halloween. In fact "Witch City, U.S.A." puts on such a good-fun ghoulie show, one may forget just how brutal the events were that made the town famous.

In 1692 in Salem Village, the daughters of the Rev. Samuel Parris, perhaps inspired by tales told by their West Indian slave Tituba, started acting-out in strange ways -- staring off in trance-like states or barking like dogs. The condition was diagnosed by a Puritan doctor as a kind of possession, setting forth a chain of events that would lead to mass accusations of witchcraft throughout the colony, culminating in the hanging of 19 innocent people and the pressing to death of farmer Giles Cory.

From this horrific 311-year-old tragedy, Salem has created an international identity that it cleverly embraces. Every October, Salem hosts "Haunted Happenings," a Halloween festival featuring pumpkin-carving contests, pumpkin bowling (of course!), ghost-story performances, and a costume parade and street party on the 31st. To my counting, there are more than a dozen witch-trial-related sites within walking distance of each other in downtown Salem.

For my money, the "Witch Dungeon," near the preserved home of witch-trial judge Jonathan Corwin, is both the most fun and informative of these offerings. Featuring an opening statement which suggests that the motives behind the hysteria were financial (a chance to grab the land of the accused) as well as religious, a snappy performance by two young actors in the roles of Elizabeth Proctor and her accuser Mary Warren ensues during which they exchange the recorded testimony in front of a wax (but still outraged-looking) jury. This is part of the famous scene where, in one of worst occurrences of bad luck in history, the little yellow bird alleged to be the devil who was informing Goodwife Proctor actually flew into the court house.

Beneath the theatre is the reproduction of the dungeon, where the deprivations of the accused are also represented in wax figures, including a grim and terrifying reproduction of a hanging scene.

Across from the Salem Commons, the Salem Witch Museum is also fun and informative and strives to put a modern emphasis in explaining how witch hunts work in a larger political sense. After the child-friendly presentation, featuring a booming James Earl Jones-like voice-over, you are led to a small museum exhibit that tries to explain how the Salem trials adjoin other prejudicial hysterias.

Salem's eminently walkable streets make it perfect for day-tripping, and the town seems like a friendly quarter for glamorous Goths and contemporary Wiccans. For those who get witched-out, Salem is also proud of its Maritime past and its most famous literary citizen, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

For those who get Hawthorned-out, there's the Salem Beer Works. Ironically not far from a statue of Theobald Mathew, the so-called Irish "Apostle of Temperance," in this local brew pub one can try Pumpkinhead Ale (which does taste like pumpkin pie) or a Black Bat Stout (which had no trace of bat, as far as I could tell).

South of Boston, the working-class community of Fall River may justly be proud to call itself home of chef Emeril Legasse, especially since Fall River's most famous citizen used to be the notorious Lizzie Borden. In August 1892, Andrew Borden and his second wife, Abby, were found slain in their estate, their heads smashed by an object that was never found. Lizzie Borden, 32, was accused of the crime but was eventually acquitted in "the trial of the century."

The Fall River Historical Society boasts "the World's Largest Lizzie Borden Exhibit," a fascinating collection of police crime-scene photos and other forensic samples.

The Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum replicates the original Borden House. You can actually stay in the room where the body of Mrs. Borden was found.

This October, of course, all of the communities around Boston had been enthralled by efforts, ultimately unsuccessful, to lift the dreaded Curse of the Bambino, the 85-year-old spell that has prevented their beloved Boston Red Sox from winning the World Series.

As a man in a North Shore clam shack told me, if you want to see a truly haunted house, just slip into Boston late at night and drive by Fenway Park.

If you go

GETTING THERE

Salem is about 25 kilometres north of Boston on the coast.

Fall River is about 70 kilometres south of Boston, toward Rhode Island.

INFORMATION

Witch Dungeon Museum:16 Lynde St., Salem; phone: (978) 741-3570; Web: http://www.witchdungeon.com. Open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through November.

Salem Witch Museum: Washington Square, Salem; (978) 744-1692; http://www.salemwitchmuseum.com. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m..

Salem Beer Works: 278 Derby St., Salem; (978) 745-BEER.

Fall River Historical Society: 451 Rock St., Fall River; (508) 679-1071. April to mid-November, Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast & Museum: 92 Second St., Fall River; (508) 675-7333.

Oak Grove Cemetery: Prospect Street, Fall River.