The Hawthorne Hotel — Salem's Witchy Haunting — Paranormal History

Is the Hawthorne Hotel Haunted?

The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Massachusetts, was built in 1925 on the site of a home once owned by Bridget Bishop — the first person executed during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Her ghost still walks the halls. The hotel has been a fixture of Salem’s waterfront for a century, hosting dignitaries, scholars, and tourists alike. But beneath its polished exterior lies a history of death and injustice that many believe has left an indelible mark on the building.

The Hawthorne Hotel is not just a place to sleep — it is a portal to Salem’s darkest chapter. The witch trials of 1692 claimed the lives of twenty people, and the land on which the hotel stands is inextricably linked to that tragedy. Guests who stay in the hotel’s rooms, dine in its restaurant, or walk its hallways report encountering presences that seem to belong to another century entirely.

History

Salem’s Witch Trial Legacy (1692)

The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 remain one of the most infamous episodes of mass hysteria in American history. Between February 1692 and May 1693, over 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem and surrounding towns. Thirty were found guilty, and nineteen were executed by hanging. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death with heavy stones for refusing to enter a plea.

The trials were fueled by a combination of religious fervor, personal grudges, and social anxiety. The accusers — mostly young girls — claimed to be afflicted by the spirits of the accused. The courts accepted spectral evidence — testimony that the accused’s spirit had appeared to the witness — as grounds for conviction. The result was a wave of paranoia and injustice that has haunted Salem ever since.

Bridget Bishop: The First to Die

Bridget Bishop was the first person executed during the Salem Witch Trials. She was hanged on June 10, 1692, on Proctor’s Ledge in Salem. Bishop was a tavern owner and a woman of some independence — traits that made her a target in the Puritan community. She was accused of witchcraft by multiple accusers, who claimed she appeared to them in spectral form and tormented them.

Bishop’s home was located on the land that would eventually become the site of the Hawthorne Hotel. The property changed hands multiple times over the following centuries, but the connection to Bridget Bishop remained. When the hotel was constructed in 1925, the builders were well aware of the land’s history.

Construction of the Hawthorne Hotel (1925)

The Hawthorne Hotel was built in 1925 by a group of Salem businessmen who wanted to create a first-class hotel for the city. The hotel was designed by the architectural firm of Peabody and Stearns and was constructed in the Georgian Revival style. It featured 100 guest rooms, a ballroom, a restaurant, and a bar.

The hotel was named for Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great American author who was born in Salem in 1804. Hawthorne was a descendant of John Hathorne, one of the judges in the Salem Witch Trials. The author added the “w” to his surname partly to distance himself from his ancestor’s role in the proceedings — a fact that adds another layer of irony to the hotel’s name.

The Hotel Through the Decades

The Hawthorne Hotel hosted a succession of notable guests over the decades, including presidents, senators, and literary figures. During World War II, the hotel served as temporary housing for military personnel stationed in the area. In the 1960s and 1970s, the hotel became a gathering place for scholars studying the Salem Witch Trials.

In 1990, the hotel appeared in the television movie The Haunting of Julie, bringing national attention to its reputation as a haunted location. The hotel has since been featured on numerous paranormal television shows and has been named one of the most haunted hotels in America by multiple publications.

The Mystery / Paranormal Activity

Bridget Bishop’s Ghost

The most commonly reported apparition at the Hawthorne Hotel is the ghost of Bridget Bishop. Guests and staff report seeing a woman in 17th-century clothing — a long dark dress with a white collar — walking the hallways of the sixth floor. The apparition is described as solid and lifelike, not translucent or ghostly. Witnesses report that the figure moves with purpose, as if she has a destination in mind.

The sixth floor is the most active area of the hotel. Guests who stay on this floor report a range of phenomena, including unexplained cold spots, the sound of footsteps in empty hallways, and the sensation of being watched. Several guests have reported seeing the figure of Bridget Bishop standing at the window of Room 612 — the room that overlooks the site where her home once stood.

Room 612

Room 612 is the most haunted room in the Hawthorne Hotel. Guests who stay in this room report a range of phenomena, including:

A woman standing at the window — described as wearing a long dark dress, looking out at the street below
Unexplained cold spots — particularly near the bed and the window
Objects moving — items placed on the dresser or nightstand have been observed shifting positions overnight
The sound of a woman singing — a faint, melancholy melody heard late at night

One guest, who stayed in Room 612 in 2018, described her experience:

“I was in the elevator when it stopped on the sixth floor. The doors opened. A woman in a long dress walked in. She looked at me and said, ‘They said I was a witch.’ The doors opened on the next floor. She was gone.”

The Elevator

The Hawthorne Hotel’s elevator has a reputation for erratic behavior. Multiple guests and staff report the elevator stopping on floors where no one has called it — particularly the sixth floor. On several occasions, the elevator has been observed opening its doors on the sixth floor and remaining open for several seconds before closing and continuing to its destination.

Some witnesses have reported seeing a figure in the elevator — a woman in dark clothing — even when the elevator was reportedly empty. The elevator’s behavior is most commonly reported late at night, when the hotel is quiet.

The Bar

The hotel’s bar — the Hawthorne Bar — is reportedly haunted by the ghost of a man who has been seen sitting alone at a corner table, drinking whiskey. The figure is described as a middle-aged man in 19th-century clothing, with a beard and a somber expression. He does not interact with other patrons and vanishes when approached.

Staff members have reported finding a glass of whiskey on the corner table in the morning, even though the table was empty when the bar closed the night before. The glass is always half-full, and it is always in the same position.

The Ballroom

The hotel’s ballroom — a grand space with high ceilings and a hardwood floor — is also reportedly haunted. Staff members who work late report hearing the sound of music — a piano playing — coming from the empty ballroom. The music is described as a waltz or a march, consistent with the styles popular in the early 20th century.

On several occasions, staff have entered the ballroom to find the lights on and the piano lid open, even though the room was supposedly locked and empty.

Evidence and Investigations

The Hawthorne Hotel has been investigated by several paranormal research teams. Its combination of documented history, consistent witness reports, and central location in Salem — one of the most “haunted” cities in America — make it a natural subject for investigation.

The Salem Ghost Hunters conducted an investigation of the hotel in 2016. Their team spent one night in the hotel, concentrating their equipment on the sixth floor and in Room 612. They captured several pieces of evidence:

EVP recordings of a woman’s voice saying, “They said I was a witch” — matching the account of the guest who reported hearing the same phrase from the elevator apparition
Thermal imaging showing a human-shaped figure in Room 612, standing at the window
EMF readings that spiked in specific locations on the sixth floor, corresponding to where witnesses have reported seeing apparitions

“The EVP we captured in Room 612 was the clearest piece of evidence we’ve ever recorded. A woman’s voice, clear as day, saying the words that previous witnesses have reported. This is not coincidence.” — Lead investigator, Salem Ghost Hunters

The hotel has also been featured on paranormal television programs, including Ghost Hunters and Most Haunted. These investigations have produced additional evidence, including photographic anomalies and temperature readings that suggest the presence of an unseen entity.

What Do You Think?

The Hawthorne Hotel is built on land that bears the stain of one of America’s greatest injustices. Bridget Bishop was executed for witchcraft in 1692 — a crime she almost certainly did not commit. Her home stood on this spot, and her spirit, many believe, remains.

Is the hotel haunted by the ghost of Bridget Bishop? Or is the weight of Salem’s history — the centuries of guilt, fascination, and obsession with the witch trials — enough to create ghosts where none exist? The line between history and haunting is thin in Salem, and the Hawthorne Hotel stands at its center.

The Hawthorne Hotel is open for overnight stays. Room 612 is the most requested room — and the most active. And Bridget Bishop waits.

Summary

The Hawthorne Hotel was built in 1925 in Salem, Massachusetts — on the site of a witch trial victim’s home
Bridget Bishop — the first person executed in the Salem Witch Trials — lived on this site
Her ghost is seen on the sixth floor and in Room 612, wearing 17th-century clothing
The elevator moves on its own — stopping on the sixth floor when no one has called it
EVP recordings have captured the voice of a woman saying, “They said I was a witch”
Bottom line: The Hawthorne Hotel is one of the most haunted locations in Salem