Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1

Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1

We share our strange encounters at Salem’s famously haunted Hawthorne Hotel, including audio from an Estes session where we spoke to some of the hotel’s spirits.

In part 1 of our look at the Hawthorne Hotel, we look at some of our experiences at the Hawthorne, and share audio from our (we believe successful) attempt to speak to some of the hotel’s entities.
 
Highlights include: a possible sleep paralysis episode, a (briefly) missing wedding ring, a conversation with a squid fisherman, a not-so-friendly entity named Justin, and our first attempt at a Estes session.
 
Resources and things we mentioned:
 
 
 
 
 
The company Chris bought the SB-7 Spirit Box from, Ghost Augustine (they also sell on Amazon)–definitely recommend this place because they replaced the first spirit box they sent with no hassle. Chris thought it was defective, but it turned out that Chris was just using it wrong. They were extremely nice about it and had great customer service.

Pictures

 
Chandelier in our room at the Hawthorne Hotel

Chandelier in our room at the Hawthorne Hotel

Hallway at the Hawthorne Hotel

Hallway at the Hawthorne Hotel

Our room at the Hawthorne Hotel, Room 403

Our room at the Hawthorne Hotel, Room 403

Jen piled pillows in front of the closet in an attempt to keep the spirits inside

Jen piled pillows in front of the closet in an attempt to keep the spirits inside

One of the Hawthorne Hotel's "No Access" rooms

One of the Hawthorne Hotel’s “No Access” rooms

Hawthorne Hotel exterior

Hawthorne Hotel exterior

Hawthorne Hotel exterior (Witch Museum seen in the distance)

Hawthorne Hotel exterior (Witch Museum seen in the distance)

Hawthorne Hotel exterior seen from Essex Street

Hawthorne Hotel exterior seen from Essex Street

The Hawthorne Hotels' Grand Ballroom

The Hawthorne Hotels’ Grand Ballroom

Jen's selfie in the ballroom (Chris' ring seen on the floor)

Jen’s selfie in the ballroom (Chris’ ring seen on the floor)

Chris' ring on the floor (we think)

Chris’ ring on the floor (we think)

 

Chandelier in the Hawthorne Hotels' Grand Ballroom

Chandelier in the Hawthorne Hotels’ Grand Ballroom

Lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel

Lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel

Lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel

Lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel

 

Episode Script for Investigating the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I’m providing this version of the script for accessibility purposes. It hasn’t been proofread, so please excuse typos. There are also some things that may differ between the final episode and this draft script. Please treat the episode audio as the final product. 

This episode is a bit more conversational, so I have less of a script than usual. But here’s what I got:

Stayed at the Hawthorne Hotel, Room 403

  • Around 5:30: explored the lobby, CB lost and re-found ring. It wasn’t cold, I wasn’t taking gloves off or doing anything else
  • ~7:30 played Wildnesgeist by Stone Breath. 8:09 turned it off (50:40 mins in.) While listening, Amy and Jen ate sundaes.
  • Set SB-7 spirit box to 200ms, AM. Scanning forward I think.
  • ~8:13 started
  • 8:18-lights flickered after we talked about Bridget Bishop
  • 8:22-lights flickered again
  • ended around 8:49
  • The lights over Amy kept flickering during the session, and they stopped after the session. The lights over us didn’t flicker.
  • Overnight, had left on a snore recorder. Got an EVP that said “someone’s here.”
  • During the night, Jen had a nightmare (and maybe a sleep paralysis experience–at first Jen thought it was real, and she couldn’t move.) Jen felt someone crawl out of the closet, get into bed and lay beside her and stare at her. The dream kept happening again and again, and in the dream, Jen screamed and we had to pull her out of the bed. She woke up and propped pillows against the door. It was a male ghost, and not a nice one.
  • In another dream, Jen heard knocks. At one point, there was a fire and everyone had to leave their rooms.
  • Note: there were some noisy partiers in the room down the hotel.

Sources

Books

  • Ghosts of Salem: Haunts of the Witch City by Sam Baltrusis
  • Haunted Salem & Beyond by Lynda Lee Macken

Articles

 

Don’t miss our past episodes, like The Smallpox Hospital, aka Renwick Ruin, on Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 1, The Renwick Ruin and Charity Hospital, Roosevelt Island, NYC – Part 2, and Playing the Ghost in 19th Century Australia .