Haunted hotel guide · Salem, Massachusetts
The Haunted Hawthorne Hotel, Salem: Rooms 612 and 325 and the Sea Captains' Ghosts
Salem’s grand 1925 hotel on Washington Square is the city’s best-known place to sleep with a ghost story, from the woman outside Room 612 to the crying child in Room 325.
The Hawthorne Hotel has stood on the corner of Washington Square since July 23, 1925, a six-story brick hotel built because Salem’s business community wanted a modern place for visitors to stay. It is named for Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born a few streets away in 1804, and it sits on the site of the Salem Marine Society’s old headquarters, a fraternity of sea captains that agreed to give up its building if the new hotel gave it meeting rooms on top.
It is also the hotel most people mean when they talk about staying somewhere haunted in Salem. Guests describe a woman in the sixth-floor hallway, an uneasy presence in Room 612, taps and faucets turning on by themselves and a crying child in Room 325, and the smell of apples where none should be. Ghost Hunters filmed here in 2007, and the hotel throws one of the city’s biggest Halloween parties every October. For the rest of the city, see our guide to haunted hotels in Salem.
Hawthorne Hotel at a glance
Haunted Rooms Score
- Address 18 Washington Square West, Salem, MA 01970
- Opened July 23, 1925; 100th anniversary celebrated in 2025
- Most haunted spots Room 612 and the sixth-floor hallway, Room 325, the restaurant and lower level
- Best-known ghosts A woman in the sixth-floor hallway, a crying child in Room 325, the old sea captains of the Salem Marine Society
- Booking the haunted room Ask for Room 612 or Room 325 when you book, by phone or in the booking notes. Requests are not guaranteed, and October books up months ahead.
- Good to know About 93 rooms in the main hotel plus the Fidelia Bridges Guest House nearby; a member of Historic Hotels of America since 1991; steps from the Salem Common and the Witch Museum.
The ghosts of Hawthorne Hotel
The woman of the sixth floor and Room 612
The story told most often is of a woman seen walking the sixth-floor hallway and pausing outside Room 612, sometimes appearing to go into other rooms. Guests who have slept in 612 describe the feeling that someone else is in the room, or a restless presence pacing at night.
Nobody knows who she is. Some local tellers connect her to Bridget Bishop, the first person hanged in the 1692 witch trials, but that link rests on the apple legend below rather than on any record.
Room 325: taps, lights and a crying child
Room 325 has the busiest list of reports: lights and faucets turning on and off, the sound of a small child crying when no children are on the floor, and guests feeling a hand touch theirs as they sleep.
One guest is said to have heard the sink running and the toilet flush in his locked bathroom. When staff showed him there was no way in, he decided he did not mind sharing.
The scent of apples
Local legend says the land under the hotel was once Bridget Bishop’s apple orchard, and that guests sometimes smell apples in the halls when there is nothing apple-based on the menu.
It is a good story, but treat it as one: the deeds and histories of the site point to the Archer Block of 1809 and the Salem Marine Society’s Franklin Building, and the orchard connection is folklore rather than documented fact.
The sea captains
The Salem Marine Society was founded by sea captains to help the widows and families of men lost at sea, and for decades its headquarters stood on this corner. When the hotel was built, the society kept meeting rooms on top.
Staff stories credit the old mariners with odd noises and moved furniture, and a ship’s wheel in the restaurant that seems to turn on its own. A houseman who found his setup on the lower deck rearranged overnight is said to have refused to work nights afterward.
The most haunted rooms and places to look
- Room 612: The sixth-floor room linked to the woman in the hallway; guests describe an uneasy presence and the sense of not being alone.
- Room 325: The room with the most reported activity: lights, taps, a crying child and the feeling of being touched.
- Sixth-floor rooms: If 612 is taken, any room on six puts you on the hallway where the woman is reported.
- Fidelia Bridges Guest House: The hotel’s separate historic guest house, named for the 19th-century artist who lived there; quieter, but outside the main ghost stories.
History of Hawthorne Hotel
The site has a long Salem history. In 1809 Colonel Samuel Archer built the Archer Block here, on the site of the old Higginson house. In 1818 Captain Thomas Perkins, a member of the Salem Marine Society, bought it and renamed it the Franklin Building, and in 1833 his estate passed it to the society, which used it as headquarters. A fire destroyed it in 1860 and the society rebuilt.
By the 1920s Salem had no modern hotel. Frank Poor, founder of the Hygrade lighting company that became Sylvania, pushed the idea of a hotel for business travelers, the Salem Hotel Corporation was formed in 1923, and the stock sold out within a week. The Marine Society agreed to give up its building on condition the hotel built offices on top for its meetings. Construction began in 1924 and the hotel opened on July 23, 1925, with a flag raising and a parade.
The hotel has changed names a few times. It became the Hawthorne Motor Hotel in 1959, closed for more than a year after a foreclosure in the late 1970s, reopened as the Hawthorne Inn and took back the Hawthorne Hotel name in 1989. Former Congressman Michael Harrington took over ownership in the late 1980s.
Its famous moments include the June 1970 filming of Bewitched’s Salem episodes, when Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York stayed here and a scene was shot in the elevator, a 1990 seance in the Grand Ballroom that tried and failed to reach Harry Houdini, and scenes for the 2015 film Joy. The hotel joined Historic Hotels of America in 1991 and celebrated its centennial in 2025.
Tips for a haunted stay
- Book October dates very early, and expect higher rates and a minimum stay around Halloween.
- Ask for Room 612 or Room 325 in your booking notes and confirm by phone; neither can be guaranteed.
- Have dinner or a drink downstairs and look for the nautical pieces linked to the sea captain stories.
- The Salem Witch Museum, the Common and the House of the Seven Gables area are all walkable, so you can leave the car parked.
- If the main hotel is full, the Salem Inn and the Merchant are both a short walk away and have ghost stories of their own.
Want to investigate, not just sleep?
Sleeping in a haunted hotel is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through the building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and lets you explore on your own during free roam.
- Captain Grant's 1754 Inn Ghost Hunt and Sleepover, Preston, CT: Investigate Connecticut’s most haunted inn after dark, then sleep in the Adelaide Room or its neighbors.
- General Stanton Inn Ghost Hunt and Overnight VIP, Charlestown, RI: Exclusive after-hours access to one of America’s oldest inns, with rooms to sleep in.
- Fort William Henry Ghost Hunt, Lake George, NY: A night inside the rebuilt 1755 fort at the southern tip of Lake George.
More haunted hotels nearby
- The Salem Inn: a few minutes’ walk; ask for Room 17
- The Merchant (Joshua Ward House): built on Sheriff Corwin’s land
- Concord's Colonial Inn: Room 24 and the Revolution, about 40 minutes inland
- Haunted hotels in Massachusetts
- Haunted hotels in Salem
Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened
We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem haunted?
It has the strongest haunted reputation of any hotel in Salem. Guests report a woman in the sixth-floor hallway, a presence in Room 612, and lights, taps and a crying child in Room 325. These are reports and stories, not proof, but the hotel is happy to talk about them.
What are the most haunted rooms at the Hawthorne Hotel?
Room 612 and Room 325. The whole sixth floor is also linked to the woman seen in the hallway.
Can you request Room 612 at the Hawthorne Hotel?
Yes, you can ask for it when you book and by phone, but specific rooms are not guaranteed, especially in October.
Was the Hawthorne Hotel built on Bridget Bishop's orchard?
That is local legend. Records of the site point to the Archer Block (1809) and the Salem Marine Society’s Franklin Building, and the orchard story has not been documented.
Did Bewitched film at the Hawthorne Hotel?
Yes. In June 1970 the show filmed part of its Salem episodes at the hotel, including a scene in the elevator, and its stars stayed here.
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.
- Hawthorne Hotel: History
- Wikipedia: Hawthorne Hotel
- History of Massachusetts: History of the Hawthorne Hotel
- North of Boston: Sleep at haunted inns and hotels north of Boston (2026)
- OnlyInYourState: Haunted hotels in Massachusetts
Get new haunted hotel guides by email
New guides, haunted hotel picks and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.