Marblehead residents: Don’t be alarmed if there’s a 5-foot-5-inch skeleton roaming the town. His name is Salem Sam, and he’s just warming up the old bones.
Nikki Burnham moved to Salem with her husband two years ago from Michigan, and she was eager to start decorating for Halloween. That’s when she met Sam: “the life-sized figure who would become much more than just a decoration.”
“Sam started as a simple prank, a way to spook my husband and bring laughter to my daughters back in Michigan through my photos,” she said. “But over time, he became something more.”
When Burnham became short on storage space in her new apartment, Sam began living in her car, sitting shotgun.
“Wherever I drove, Sam was there, staring out the window, head tilted just so – a silent yet strangely charismatic presence,” she said. “People noticed. Some did double takes; others burst out laughing. Strangers waved, snapped photos, and shared the moment.
“Sam wasn’t just a stowaway anymore. He was a co-pilot, a character, a curiosity that brightened the day of anyone who crossed his path.”
Sam went for a stroll through Marblehead earlier this week, and he said he feels right at home when visiting Old Burial Hill. He doesn’t just visit cemeteries when he’s in town, though. Sam also loves to take long walks by the water and watch the waves roll in.
One day, Sam hopes he can experience everything Boston has to offer, but Burnham is still figuring out those logistics. Until then, Sam is happy to continue soaking up all that Marblehead has to offer, and he is very happy he lives just one town over.
