Oct 9, 2026 · 37 min · 15 segments
Come with me as I take you on a candlelit walk through Salem, Massachusetts, the Witch City, where the tragedy of 1692 left behind far more than history. The accused were almost certainly not witches…
Our first stop is the grandest building on Washington Square, right across from Salem Common.
The Hawthorne Hotel opened its doors in 1925, a handsome brick hotel named for Salem's most famous son, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
If you're a fan of classic television, you may even recognize the building.
A sweeping ballroom, polished wood, and it is consistently named one of the most haunted hotels in America.
Guests who come looking for a fright ask for two rooms specifically, room 325 and room 612.
In room 325, guests have described waking in the night to the feeling of a hand tugging at their bed sheets or fingers brushing through their hair.
Some report the faucet in the bathroom turning on by itself, water running into an empty sink in the dark.
And then there is the sixth floor.
Here, guests and staff have described a woman walking slowly down the hallway, dressed in clothing that does not belong to this century.
She doesn't look at anyone.
She simply drifts, and then she's gone.
Room 612 is where she seems to linger most, and some guests have reported waking to find the furniture shifted as though someone had spent the night quietly rearranging the room while they slept.
Housekeepers have their own stories.
Rooms they made up perfectly found disturbed moments later, lights flickering in rooms that were locked and empty.
Now, who is this woman? That is where the story gets interesting.
For years, the legend held that The Hawthorne was built on land that once belonged to Bridget Bishop, the first person hanged in 1692.
Guests swear they smell fresh apples in the hallways, sweet and crisp, with no fruit anywhere in sight.
They believe it's Bridget's orchard, still blooming somewhere beyond the veil.
But most historians say Bridget's orchard was not here at all.
They place it a few blocks away on Church Street, which means either the apple scent has wandered or Bridget herself is restless enough to walk between the two.
And there are other candidates for the sixth floor.
The land beneath the hotel once belonged to the Salem Marine Society, a fellowship of sea captains founded in the 1700s, and the society still keeps its meeting rooms at the very top of the building.
Some believe that the spirits here are the wives of those captains, still pacing, still waiting for ships that never came home.
[bell ringing] And from here, let's follow the scent of apples down the street and see where it leads us.
Our first stop is the grandest building on Washington Square, right across from Salem Common.
The Hawthorne Hotel opened its doors in 1925, a handsome brick hotel named for Salem's most famous son, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
If you're a fan of classic television, you may even recognize the building.
A sweeping ballroom, polished wood, and it is consistently named one of the most haunted hotels in America.
Guests who come looking for a fright ask for two rooms specifically, room 325 and room 612.
In room 325, guests have described waking in the night to the feeling of a hand tugging at their bed sheets or fingers brushing through their hair.
Some report the faucet in the bathroom turning on by itself, water running into an empty sink in the dark.
And then there is the sixth floor.
Here, guests and staff have described a woman walking slowly down the hallway, dressed in clothing that does not belong to this century.
She doesn't look at anyone.
She simply drifts, and then she's gone.
Room 612 is where she seems to linger most, and some guests have reported waking to find the furniture shifted as though someone had spent the night quietly rearranging the room while they slept.
Housekeepers have their own stories.
Rooms they made up perfectly found disturbed moments later, lights flickering in rooms that were locked and empty.
Now, who is this woman? That is where the story gets interesting.
For years, the legend held that The Hawthorne was built on land that once belonged to Bridget Bishop, the first person hanged in 1692.
Guests swear they smell fresh apples in the hallways, sweet and crisp, with no fruit anywhere in sight.
They believe it's Bridget's orchard, still blooming somewhere beyond the veil.
But most historians say Bridget's orchard was not here at all.
They place it a few blocks away on Church Street, which means either the apple scent has wandered or Bridget herself is restless enough to walk between the two.
And there are other candidates for the sixth floor.
The land beneath the hotel once belonged to the Salem Marine Society, a fellowship of sea captains founded in the 1700s, and the society still keeps its meeting rooms at the very top of the building.
Some believe that the spirits here are the wives of those captains, still pacing, still waiting for ships that never came home.
[bell ringing] And from here, let's follow the scent of apples down the street and see where it leads us.
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