Condemned to death by hanging in the gallows or drowning in iron cages, witches rose from the grave this weekend alongside dragons, demons and other specters to lure spellcasters and spookseekers to their eternal tombs.

Each year, courageous tourists dress in costume and converge on Salem to celebrate Halloween among the musty museums and haunted houses.

“In October, all of Salem becomes haunted,” said Witches Cottage owner Erik Rodenhiser. “All of a sudden, all these crazy stories come out about everything being haunted, and you just decide what you think is real. It only takes one person to tell a story, and then it becomes fact.”

The town and its inhabitants could have been taken from the pages of a Harry Potter novel, right down to shops like The Broom Closet, an official witch supply store that sells wands, hats and other items to serve the town’s roughly 3,000 practicing witches.

Misconceptions abound that portray witching as mythology or devil worship, but Rodenhiser said witches’ beliefs are based in energy, adding they use wands to harness elements and energy to protect themselves and call out prayers.

“You’re not born a witch with magical powers,” Rodenhiser said. “Anyone can be a witch with research, and if you’re more in tune to your body and your mind . . . you become a little more psychic, or a little more in tune with energy.”

Those who make the trek to Salem in late October meet a whole different mindset, where talk of the supernatural and sinister is commonplace.

Kim Branche, a practicing witch from Worcester, said she educates curious tourists during her “witching hour” by performing rituals when she summons ancient powers and sweeps the floor with her broom to cleanse the space both physically and spiritually.

“All of the elements we use to create the sacred space, we do that so we are safe,” Branche said. “Because in this world there are negative energies.”