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What’s the most haunted place in Salem?

Local guides share spine-chilling stories — and an electromagnetic field reader — on a recent night in the historic city.

The Merchant Hotel in Salem, located at 148 Washington St. (Annie Jonas/Boston.com)

October 22, 2024

6 minutes to read

Salem is known for its supernatural reputation that attracts millions of spooky enthusiasts from around the world.

But when it comes to searching for the most haunted place in Salem, there are plenty of establishments with a reputation for frightening its visitors.

“Definitely the spook factor is there,” owner of Witch City Walking Tours Beth Crowley told Boston.com. “Do we have ghosts walking around from the witch trials? Probably not. But there’s definitely a lot of energy here, and that’s what brings people [to Salem].”

According to local experts, what’s considered the most haunted is often based on personal experiences, so it can be tricky to claim only one place as the spookiest.

So we visited the historic city to explore the spookiest places in Salem at night, and the chilling stories behind them. Experts we spoke with shared six locations, and all agreed one of them stands out as the most haunted.

Hawthorne Hotel

Often cited as among the most haunted locations in Salem, the Hawthorne Hotel is dripping in history. The hotel is named after novelist and Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was built in the early 1800s. It stands on the site of the headquarters of the Salem Marine Society, according to Crowley, and opened its doors in 1925 to guests. Visitors have reported eerie experiences, particularly in rooms 612 and 326, Crowley said.

Flickering lights, mysterious sounds, and doors opening on their own have all contributed to its haunted reputation, making it a prime destination for thrill-seekers.

Giovanni Alabiso, the president of Salem Historical Tours & Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tours, also named Hawthorne Hotel as among Salem’s most haunted places.

“I had people on my tour who were on the third floor and they woke up in the middle of the night and their door was open to the hallway,” he said.

In 1990, the hotel held a séance in the Grand Ballroom to try and contact Harry Houdini. (Alas, the séance was unsuccessful).

When Boston.com called to ask if they deemed the hotel as haunted, staff said it depends on personal experience, but acknowledged some guests have reported supernatural occurrences.

Ropes Mansion

Known to many “Hocus Pocus” fans as the “Allison House” (where one of the main characters, Allison Watts, lives in the 1993 Disney film), the Ropes Mansion is another hotspot for ghostly activity. The Georgian mansion was built in 1727 for merchant Samuel Barnard, who died of smallpox in the house, according to Crowley.

Many believe the mansion is haunted by the spirit of a woman, Abigail, who died in the 1830s when her dress caught on fire.

“She had third degree burns covering a good part of her body, so people believe her spirit is very angry; they say they feel pushed or shoved. I’ve never felt that, but what I have felt personally is a drop in the temperature. And a lot of times that can be an indication of spirit activity,” Crowley said.

The garden behind the Ropes Mansion is said to be haunted by the spirit of Abigail, a woman who died in the 1830s after her dress reportedly caught on fire. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com)*

Alabiso concurred, saying he sees a lot of anomalies in the backyard garden of the mansion.

“We get all these weird pictures of the house. Sometimes we get faces in the window. I’d say it’s definitely a candidate for the most haunted location in Salem,” he said.

Rockafellas Restaurant

This popular dining spot has its own ghostly tale to tell. Beneath the building are alleged tunnels that are rumored to be the source behind the hauntings at the building. Specifically, the ghost of a woman in a blue dress, known as the Blue Lady, is said to haunt the restaurant. Diners at the restaurant can even order a drink named after her, “Lady in Blue.”

“People think they see the woman there, the Blue Lady, and the restaurant even has a picture of what they think is the Blue Lady,” Alabiso said.

Patrons have reported seeing her ghostly figure and experiencing unusual sensations, Crowley and Alabiso said, adding to the restaurant’s spooky allure.

Turner’s Seafood

An electromagnetic field (EMF) reader displayed some spirit activity, as indicated by the device’s orange flickering lights, at the patio behind Turner’s Restaurant in Salem. *– Annie Jonas/Boston.com Staff*

Turner’s Seafood, like Rockafellas, is a restaurant with a rich, and allegedly haunted history. The restaurant was once the location of Bridget Bishop’s tavern and apple orchards, the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692.

Samantha Page, a tour guide and paranormal investigator with Witch City Tours, said the scent of apples can sometimes be smelled in the patio area of Turner’s Seafood.

When Boston.com visited the patio last week, an electromagnetic field (EMF) reader displayed some spirit activity, as indicated by the device’s orange flickering lights. No apple scent was detected.

Old Salem Jail

For a more visceral connection to Salem’s past, the location of the Old Salem Jail is a popular location for visitors. Old Salem Jail, built in 1813, served as a detention facility for over a century before closing its doors in 1991. At the time it had no electricity or running water, and its use as a jail was no longer humanely feasible.

The jail housed various inmates, and was known for its harsh conditions. After its closure, the building underwent renovations and was transformed into a mixed-use development and condominiums.

Page, the paranormal investigator, said she became “obsessed” with the jail after first visiting Salem with her grandmother in 1992, a year after the jail closed.

“I got to go tour it with the Chief of Police and my grandmother, because she was a cop. And it just got to me. I heard and felt things there that I had not seen in many places. It was just this sense of despair, not even that it was scary,” she said.

Page said when she walks around the property with her EMF reader, the meter will stay red, indicating spirit activity and energy.

“On the talk boxes, I’ve been told straight up to get out. And I’m like, ‘Okay, bye,’” she said. Ghost hunting talk boxes, also known as spirit boxes, are devices that scan radio frequencies to capture unexplained sounds or voices that might be messages from spirits. They work by rapidly scanning through AM radio frequencies, and it’s believed that spirits can manipulate these frequencies to communicate.

The Merchant Hotel

The Merchant is a boutique hotel located at 148 Washington St., in Salem, and is considered my several local experts to be Salem’s most haunted place. *(Annie Jonas/Boston.com Staff)*

The Merchant is steeped in history and intrigue, and was named by all three local tour guides as a top contender for Salem’s most haunted place.

What is now a boutique hotel was once a home owned by Sheriff George Corwin, the high sheriff during the Salem witch trials. Crowley, Alabiso, and Page said it is believed that Corwin tortured prisoners in the basement of the house and that Corwin himself was later buried in the basement by his wife so his grave wouldn’t be desecrated.

The hotel acknowledges on their website that the building has a haunted reputation, and said patrons have reported what they believe to be one of Corwin’s victims, a “woman sporting wild, black hair.”

According to the hotel’s website they claim to have “never seen or felt her (or anyone else), but we leave that up to you, your senses and your imagination.”