Originally completed in 1813, the Old Salem Jail is scheduled for demolition and/or restoration in the next few years. There are several proposals for its use, most involving condos or townhouses. Today, the jail is abandoned and was last used 1991 which makes this one of the longest-serving jails in the country. I am old enough to remember when it was still in use. The original structure still stands. The jail consists of a main jailhouse with over 100 cells, the jailor's residence (the brighter red brick building), and a wooden barn.

This being Salem, there are hauntings reported at the jail and in the adjacent Howard Street Cemetary where I took some of these photos. Although I witnessed nothing, other than my own cell phone scaring me, there is that feeling of supernatural forces that makes the hairs on your neck stand up. Especially when looking past the bars into the open windows. The 'spookiness' of the site is entirely justified - prisoners have been executed here and Howard Cemetary itself is the site of one infamous execution http://www.hauntedsalem.com/hauntinghistory/gilescorey.html). The entire site is considered to be one of the most-haunted places in Salem.