SALEM, Mass. — Peter Campbell watched surprise spread across young faces in the rowdy Halloween crowd as they realized the rap music they're enjoying is Christian.

“Are you sure this is Catholic?” they asked.

The concert was part of Saint Fest, a musical evangelistic outreach to the teens and young adults who wander the streets of “Witch City” — Salem, Mass. — on Halloween weekend. This is the third year Campbell and his group, Proud2BCatholic.com, have staged this public witness.

Each year, thousands of party-goers descend on this historic seaport city. Most locals “stay hunkered down,” according to Father Timothy Murphy, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in the heart of downtown. It's in the parking lot of Immaculate Conception that Saint Fest took place.

“It's bizarre here,” he said of the drunken street-party that tops a month of events aimed at capitalizing on the Salem witch trials of 1692, and openly promoting the occult.

“To a certain extent, it's pushed commercially, but there is a large group that practices wicca [witchcraft] here all year,” Father Murphy said. He believes that many of the 50,000 curious people who bring gridlock to Salem in October don't really understand the spiritual warfare aspect.

Campbell, 34 and a youth ministry volunteer, stated plainly: “There is a real presence of evil.” Saint Fest is an “effort to inject a positive message of true faith and hope” in the midst of the revels that also draw Boston police canine units and 2,000 bikers.

With a stage and loudspeaker set up Saturday night, Oct. 29, in the church parking lot, singer Monica Ursino and Christian rapper Zealous performed outside.

“Go for the gold,” Zealous’ lyrics urge. “Don't sit around mopin’ at home, leavin’ your faith lukewarm, or frozen and cold. Run so as to win! The case is open and closed, and never look back, ‘cuz you were chosen to go.”

Even if listeners don't recognize the rap as based on 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, St. Paul's message can speak to their souls.

Music can communicate on an emotional level, Campbell said. “It's a great tool for people who are outside the Church. This broadens their vision, puts the message of faith in a style young people can relate to. It's a soft approach to evangelization.”

Reclaiming Halloween

The message can help reclaim the meaning of All Hallows Eve, the vigil of the Feast of All Saints.

Inside the church, a vigil with Eucharistic adoration provides prayerful support for the music ministry. Religious Education Coordinator Domenico Bettinelli guards the one door left unlocked for worshipers. Last year, a group vandalized the historic church — the first in New England dedicated to Mary — by setting off fire extinguishers.

“This is basically a kind of white martyrdom, putting yourself on the line for the Gospel,” said Bettinelli, 37, who recently was appointed editor of Catholic World Report magazine.

Although the foot traffic is not always friendly to Saint Fest, the message is sometimes well received. “Some people are grateful we're here. You'll see them dressed in wild costumes, but they go into the church, genuflect and pray,” Bettinelli said.

While Saint Fest is aimed at the young out-of-towners who encircle the parish, Father Murphy does have two “reformed witches” in the congregation who can witness year-round.

Paula Alyce Keene is one. Now an elementary school art teacher and a Third Order Carmelite, she is a cradle Catholic who in the 1980s rebelled and dabbled in the occult. “I was very liberal, very contemporary,” she said.

After five years studying witchcraft under Laurie Cabot (whom former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis once proclaimed the “official witch of Salem”), Keene discovered that “white” witchcraft is a dangerous euphemism for pagan practices that lead to sorcery.

“Sorcery is the use of supernatural powers over others through the help of evil spirits,” Keene said. “It was the last thing I expected to have anything to do with when I got involved with Salem wicca.”

New Age religions can estrange people from the one true God, Keene said. “You're overtaken by a numbness, a spiritual stupor.” She knew that she was in trouble when she could not remember the words to the Hail Mary.

Years of anxiety culminated in a near-breakdown, until in 1989 she returned to the sacraments. “Christ healed me. If it wasn't for the Eucharist, I’d be dead or insane now,” Keene said.

“Darkness and evil are real. The devil is real.” Keene said she knows of other witches now who “want to get out. But you can't get out without Christ.”

City founders knew this nearly four centuries ago when they covenanted the city to God, she noted. The Salem Covenant of 1636 states in part, “We do bind our selves” to profess and walk “through the power and grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Thanks to Saint Fest 2005 and its youthful organizers who understand the Communion of Saints, those walking these same once-hallowed streets still hear of Christ's mercy and grace, albeit to a different beat.

Gail Besse is based in Hull, Massachusetts.