Located at 50 St. Peter Street and Bridge, the jail functioned until 1991. The earliest portion of the facility was built from 1811-1813 which replaced an older jail that was nearby. The Salem Jail was then updated, and enlarged, from 1884-1885 and at this time the two octagonal cupolas were constructed. A federal brick building built in 1813 operated as the sheriff's but was destroyed by a fire well into the 1900's.

Originally the facility had no age restrictions and the inmates ranged from young children to adult men and women. Included in the scope of crimes associated with the wide spectrum of prisoners were women who didn't clean the house as impeccably as expected, contumacious children to sexual assault and murder.

The jail ran for 177 years until 1991 when it stood abandoned for almost 20 years. In 2010 the facility was renovated into 23 spacious, modern apartments along with a jail cell to view as a living museum. The Great Escape, a delectable restaurant on location reopened the prison doors on September 20, 2010.

For the first time ever, never seen before ghost stories told by staff and tenants of 50 St. Peter Street have been published here on Salem Witch City Ghosts!!! Thanks to all who provided your real life paranormal experiences within the walls of the Old Salem Jail...

Not long after opening the doors to the public, Manager #1 at the Great Escape went into work early and entered into the office to turn on the security monitors. He was watching a delivery man when he noticed another figure standing up against the wall. The figure seemed to be a man of average height and build, who wore a dark shirt and pants, a unique period-dated cap and he looked to be holding a clipboard. The manager watched the figure on the screen as the company made the delivery but never noticed or at least acknowledged the figure with the clipboard. After 12 minutes of watching this phenomenon, the figure disappeared. When Manager #2 arrived at work, Manager #1 was perplexed by what he witnessed and asked Manager #2 to view the camera footage. Upon reviewing the footage all seemed normal as the delivery man conducted his business. At the point in time when the figure would have appeared the video abruptly cut out to unexplainable static. During the entire 12 minutes when this figure was seen by Manager #1 static encompassed the monitor screen and then turned back to the normal video footage of the delivery man completing his work. Both managers rewound and watched the videos again but witnessed the same static for those inscrutable 12 minutes.

Keep in mind that Manager #2 is a skeptic of the paranormal, but was unable to explain this phenomenon and the experience personally had by Manager #1. There are valid reasons why this could have happened, such as; the monitor camera malfunctioned at this exact time, the video tape was not good, Manager #1 was tired or seeing pixelization, or it could have just been a strange coincidence..if the man with the clipboard wasn't seen again.

A patron of the Great Escape one night happened to see a man "of average height and build, who wore a dark shirt and pants, a unique period-dated cap and he looked to be holding a clipboard". He watched the man as he walked past the bar and disappeared into thin air. The patron notified the restaurant of his experience which, based on his description, indicated this "man with the clipboard" could have been the same figure seen in the video footage by Manager #1. After researching the attire worn by this disappearing man, it is a belief to some that this figure is actually the ghost of a guard from prison time's past.

Another patron of the Great Escape was sitting at a table against the wall closest to Bridge Street enjoying a dinner with her family when she noticed a man in dark pants, a slate-gray colored shirt and dark hair sitting against the wall just to the right of the entrance door. He was stooped down, back against his wall under the window, and was looking down at the ground. He appeared walking next to their table, then as he go to the wall he slid his back down against the wall until he was sitting on his feet and just stared at the ground. Then he disappeared into thin air and was not seen again. He was not holding a clipboard, but he was of slight built and could very well be the man witnessed by others in the Great Escape restaurant.

Renters in the apartments within the old jail walls have experienced a variety of "typical" paranormal activity. Knocks on doors, but when they are opened no one is standing on the other side. Footsteps are heard when no one is walking. Items mysteriously slide off tables and fall to the floor. Pictures on the walls have been known to fly off and smash into pieces.

So far, no one in the apartments has come forth with an eyewitness account that they have seen an apparition. It could very well be that the guard who manifests himself for patrons of the restaurant hasn't made his way upstairs yet, but only time will tell.

We would very much like to build this page with more personal accounts of paranormal activity at the Great Escape restaurant and the apartments within the old Salem jail. Have you had an experience? Seen a ghost in the restaurant or bar? Do you live at 50 St. Peter Street? We would love to hear from you! Please send us your stories and/or pictures to salmewitchcityghosts@yahoo.com and we will publish your ghost stories and paranormal pictures on our site!
Please see the -ghost photos- page to read about copyright and permission regarding photograph submissions to this site.