For more than half a century, Days of Our Lives has treated Salem not merely as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing place—one shaped by love, betrayal, loyalty,

and memory. Few actors embody that truth more fully than Susan Seaforth Hayes. In a moment that felt as emotional as any onscreen storyline,

Hayes recently invited fans to look backward even as the show itself barrels ahead with fresh drama, reminding viewers that Salem’s past is never far from its present.

On-screen, Julie Williams had already planted her flag. As accusations flew and tensions rose, Julie made it clear where her loyalty lay. While Jada pushed for Jeremy to remain under suspicion and doubts rippled through the room, Julie stood firm. She waited with him, held him close, and openly challenged Belle and Marlena, refusing to accept a narrative that didn’t sit right with her—despite Stephanie’s visible unease. The show subtly suggested that the truth might lie elsewhere, but Julie didn’t need hints. She trusted instinct, history, and her lived experience in Salem over circumstantial noise.

That instinctual loyalty mirrored a moment off-screen that felt strikingly symbolic.

Susan Seaforth Hayes took to social media to share a deeply personal reflection on NBC Burbank Stage 4—now known as The Burbank Studios—a building that has quietly housed much of her life’s work. Her words struck a chord, not just because of nostalgia, but because they reframed Salem itself as something tangible and enduring.

“There are some pleasures to growing old,” Hayes wrote. “One is having a long eventful history.” She went on to reveal that an astonishing number of her memories—professional and personal—are rooted in a single place. Stage 4, with its familiar lights and well-worn corridors, has remained largely unchanged since she was just eight years old, playing Queen Elizabeth I on Hallmark Hall of Fame. Long before Julie Horton Williams became an icon, Hayes was already walking those floors.

That continuity matters. In an industry defined by constant reinvention, Hayes’ career offers something rare: a throughline.

During her walk through the studio, Hayes was guided by producer Randy Dugan alongside her assistant Amy and longtime collaborator Gay Linvill. Together, they explored parts of Salem fans rarely see—descending from the rooftop into the behind-the-scenes machinery that keeps the fictional town alive. It was less a tour and more a pilgrimage, tracing decades of storytelling through cables, catwalks, and corridors.

One image showed a familiar fragment of the Horton house entryway waiting quietly in a massive hallway between stages, ready to roll back into place when the cameras call for it. Another captured Hayes leaning against a wall lined with history, explaining the legacy of countless shows that once occupied the same space. Rather than sounding reflective or sentimental, she radiated excitement—marveling that she was still part of something “so great, memorable, and heartwarming as scripted TV drama.”

If there was one visual that resonated above all others, it was the Horton staircase.

For generations of Days viewers, those stairs are more than set dressing. They’ve witnessed weddings, funerals, confrontations, reconciliations, and countless turning points in Salem history. Hayes posed on the staircase with her arms open, as if welcoming both the past and the future. In another moment, she stood in the long corridor where set pieces wait their turn, a reminder that even Salem’s most iconic locations are constantly moving, evolving, and reassembling themselves.

Hayes also shared glimpses of places she herself had never seen before—a small balcony tucked away above the action, cluttered with cables and pulleys that quietly support the illusion of the world below. Even the rooftop shots carried a sense of wonder, not performance. It felt like someone rediscovering a home she never truly left.

Fans responded instantly, and emotionally.

Comment after comment zeroed in on the same symbol: the Horton stairs. “I have always loved those Horton stairs since I was 15 years old,” one fan wrote. Another echoed the sentiment, thanking Hayes for sharing behind-the-scenes moments that felt like a gift rather than a goodbye. The staircase became a shared landmark, a collective memory viewers hadn’t realized they were still carrying.

What made the moment so powerful was what it wasn’t. Hayes wasn’t announcing a farewell, closing a chapter, or polishing a legacy. She wasn’t asking for applause. Instead, she simply pointed to the walls, the floors, the lights, and the staircases, and said—implicitly—I’m still here.

That sentiment couldn’t be more aligned with Julie Williams herself. On-screen, Julie continues to trust her gut, defend the people she believes in, and challenge narratives that don’t ring true. Off-screen, Hayes continues to walk the same halls, curious and engaged, still finding joy in the mechanics and magic of daytime television.

As Days of Our Lives charges forward with new mysteries, shifting alliances, and emotional reckonings, moments like this remind fans why Salem endures. It’s not just the plots that matter, but the people—both fictional and real—who have lived in this world, left their mark on it, and returned again and again.

In Salem, history isn’t something you escape. It’s something you carry with you. And thanks to Susan Seaforth Hayes, viewers were reminded that some places never truly let you go—and maybe, if you’re lucky, never should.