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Old Salem Jail and Howard Street Cemetary, Salem, MA

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.
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the Old Salem Jail seen from Bridge St/Rte 107
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the Old Salem Jail seen from Bridge St/Rte 107

  • the Old Salem Jail seen from Bridge St/Rte 107
  • east tower. this is the original structure dating to 1813.
  • main entrance and driveway. i assume this is where prisoners arrived.
  • north face and yard
  • south yard and east tower with the Jailor's house on the right.
  • south yard
  • Jailor's residence
  • the back side of the Jailor's residence
  • the barn front
  • the barn rear
  • the shoe. is it just a shoe or does it still belong to someone? a part of Jail lore is that a leg can be seen in photographs of this women's shoe. and the shoe tends to move around; I've seen other photos of it in front of the fence...  <a href="http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/journal/spooky_salem/the_shoe.jpg">http://www.newenglandanomaly.com/journal/spooky_salem/the_shoe.jpg</a>
  • The Hell Hole. the shoe can just be seen in the center of the photo, between the two dark branches.
  • west tower and the fence of The Hell Hole
  • west tower
  • west wing
  • strange writing on the wall outside. it looks like coordinates for something.
  • east wing as seen from Howard Cemetary. the jailor's house is on the left and the main prison structure is right in the middle.
  • east wing as seen from Howard Cemetary
  • east wing
  • east wing
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