The resident witches want to keep Witch City their own.

The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance last night to license palm readers and fortunetellers who have been in Salem for at least a year, pass a criminal background check, and submit a résumé showing at least five years of experience.

But a group calling itself the Witches' Public Awareness League, made up of several locals who have for years offered psychic readings for a fee, said the proposal isn't enough to stop interlopers who show up during the busy Halloween season and steal their business...

[You'd think they would have seen that coming.]

Laurie Stathopoulos, a card reader for more than two decades, said that many depend on Halloween profits to get through the year.

"To put 40 psychics in the same street is outrageous," Stathopoulos said before the meeting. "We hold people's lives in the palm of our hand sometimes..."

[Wiccan humor. No word on whether Ms Stathopolus weighs as much as a duck.]

Others worry that increasing the number of psychic licenses could invite hucksters and taint the hard-earned reputations of established businesses.