Daniels House

A historic bed and breakfast dating to 1667, making it one of the oldest surviving homes in Salem. The timber-frame structure has witnessed over 350 years of Salem's history, including the witch trials era.

The Daniels House is the oldest bed and breakfast in the country, constructed in 1667 by Stephen Daniels I and Stephen Daniels II, a father and son duo of Salem shipbuilders. This First Period property predates the infamous witch trials by twenty-five years, characterized by its rustic feel and Pioneer atmosphere. For the first century and a half, the house was occupied by shipbuilders and carpenters, as reflected in the fine paneling and interior details across various generations.

The home you see today remains largely original to its seventeenth-century structure, with renovations done in 1756 by Samuel Silsbee, who was related to the Daniels family through marriage. For about a century afterward, the house was subdivided into apartments, served as a day nursery and boarding house, and sheltered an ever-rotating group of widows, laborers, railroad workers, and shoe workers. The house stood vacant after a foreclosure during the Great Depression for almost twenty years. In the 1950s, the first floor operated as a historic tea room, and in 1962 it became a bed and breakfast under Thomas and Catherine "Kay" Gill, who ran it until Kay's death in 2018.

The infamously haunted bed and breakfast is home to several supernatural residents. A ghostly gray tabby cat has been spotted wandering the halls. A man in Puritan attire, believed to be Stephen Daniels himself, appears to guests in the historic rooms. An enigmatic female spirit whose identity remains a mystery makes her presence known throughout the building. Mischievous apparitions playfully move guests' belongings—one reviewer noted having "one playful ghost that had fun moving things around."

The rustic kitchen features ritual protection marks etched into the heavy wooden door—the double V for Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed B—carved by early residents to protect the house and those within from evil spirits. The marks suggest that the original inhabitants knew they were building on spiritually charged ground and took precautions accordingly.

With just seven rooms spread across two properties—the original Daniels House from 1667 and the Victorian Silsbee's from 1843—the bed and breakfast offers an intimate experience with history. The rooms feature antique furnishings, wood floors, exposed beams, and some even have fireplaces. Expertly guided tours delve into Salem's fascinating history and mystique, with private showings available.

In a city defined by witch trials and supernatural legend, the Daniels House stands as one of the oldest continuously inhabited buildings, where spirits from 350 years of Salem history may still reside.