For generations of Days of Our Lives viewers, Susan Seaforth Hayes is more than just an actress. She is the living heartbeat of Salem itself. As Julie Williams, she has loved fiercely, fought relentlessly, survived betrayals, and stood tall through decades of heartbreak and redemption. But recently, Susan offered fans something even more powerful than a plot twist — a deeply personal and emotional revelation that blurred the line between fiction and reality, and reminded everyone why Days of Our Lives remains one of the most enduring legacies in television history.

In a heartfelt and nostalgic Instagram post, Susan opened up about one of the greatest surprises of her life: rediscovering the physical home of Salem from an entirely new perspective. What began as a casual behind-the-scenes tour quickly transformed into a profound emotional journey — not just for Susan, but for millions of devoted fans who have grown up with Julie Williams as a constant presence in their lives.

“There are some pleasures to growing old,” Susan wrote. “One is having a long, eventful history.”

For her, that history isn’t scattered across fading memories or distant locations. It exists in one legendary place: NBC Burbank Stage 4, now known as The Burbank Studios — the sacred ground where Days of Our Lives has lived, breathed, and evolved for decades.

And what Susan revealed during her visit sent a ripple of emotion through the fandom.

A Living Monument to Television History

Stage 4 isn’t just a soundstage. It is a monument to television’s golden age. A place where the first experiments in color broadcasting changed entertainment forever. A space where generations of stories were born, and where Susan herself grew from a child actress into a daytime icon.

Accompanied by producer Randy Dugen, her assistant Amy, and former NBC page turned director Galen Vila, Susan was granted rare access to parts of the building she had never seen before — despite spending more than half her life there.

They began high above the familiar sets, standing on the concrete roof overlooking the entire complex. From there, they descended into hidden corridors, forgotten balconies, and narrow ledges perched halfway up the massive walls of Stage 4.

“It’s a dark mystery,” Susan admitted.

And it truly was.

From that dizzying vantage point, she looked down at Salem itself — the Horton House, the Brady Pub, the DiMera Mansion — all reduced to fragile illusions built on wooden platforms. The familiar streets where Julie had fallen in love, suffered betrayal, buried loved ones, and risen again now looked surreal, almost vulnerable.

For the first time, Susan saw Salem not as a fictional town, but as a physical dream — held together by history, lighting rigs, pulleys, padded walls, and decades of shared emotion.

Julie Williams and the Weight of Legacy

Susan has portrayed Julie Williams since 1968, making her the only actor to appear on Days of Our Lives across all seven decades of the show’s existence. Julie is fiery, stubborn, passionate, and resilient — a woman who has survived scandals, family feuds, near-death experiences, and the kind of emotional devastation only soap operas can deliver.

And yet, even after 50+ years, Susan confessed that she had never explored certain areas of the very building that shaped her career.

That realization hit her harder than any scripted storyline.

She first stepped onto Stage 4 as an eight-year-old child, playing Queen Elizabeth I on Hallmark Hall of Fame. The same lights that dazzled her then — upgraded but rooted in the same infrastructure — still illuminate Julie’s scenes today. The same thick carpets still absorb hurried footsteps. The same walls still witness heartbreak and hope, day after day.

Time moved forward. The building didn’t.

And neither, in a way, did Julie.

The Shock for Fans: This Was Almost Lost Forever

One of the most unsettling revelations in Susan’s post wasn’t nostalgic — it was sobering.

Stage 4 is now the last remaining NBC-affiliated production still operating within the Burbank Studios. Every other show has moved on. Ownership has changed. The industry has shifted. Streaming dominates. Daytime television has been declared “dying” more times than fans can count.

Yet Days of Our Lives remains.

A survivor.

A relic.

A miracle.

And Susan’s tour reminded fans just how close Salem has come — multiple times — to disappearing entirely.

In a world where beloved soap operas vanish overnight, the continued existence of Days feels almost defiant. As if the walls themselves refuse to let go of the stories they’ve held for nearly seventy years.

A God’s-Eye View of Heartbreak

During the tour, Susan shared hauntingly beautiful photos. One showed the Horton entryway — a simple doorway that has welcomed generations of characters — sitting alone on a rolling platform in a massive hallway, waiting to be placed.

Not in Salem.

Not in Horton House.

Just… waiting.

It was a chilling metaphor.

These legendary locations exist only because the show continues. Without the story, the sets become nothing more than movable chess pieces in an empty maze.

And suddenly, every goodbye in Salem felt heavier.

Every wedding felt more precious.

Every funeral more final.

The Emotional Ripple Through Salem

For fans, Susan’s revelation landed like a quiet emotional earthquake.

It reframed everything.

Julie’s love story with Doug.

Her battles with family secrets.

Her survival through addiction, illness, and loss.

All of it now felt layered with deeper meaning — not just character arcs, but living history performed on the same physical ground for decades.

Susan herself described the experience as seeing the show “in a completely different way.”

Not just as entertainment.

But as a continuum.

A legacy.

A place where a little girl once played a queen — and returned decades later as one.

The True Shocking Revelation

The real shock wasn’t a secret affair or a hidden villain.

It was this:

Salem is real.

Not as a town — but as a shared emotional space that has shaped millions of lives.

Susan’s journey revealed that Days of Our Lives isn’t just surviving.

It is quietly defying time itself.

While characters age, die, return, and evolve, the heart of Salem remains anchored in the same walls, the same lights, the same stage that once broadcast the first color signals into American homes.

And Susan Seaforth Hayes is the living bridge between every era.

Past.

Present.

Future.

The Future Feels Fragile — But Hope Endures

Susan closed her post with gratitude — thanking Randy for guiding her, and her companions for sharing the journey. But what she truly gave fans was something far more powerful than nostalgia.

She reminded them why they fell in love with Days of Our Lives in the first place.

Not for the scandals.

Not for the villains.

But for the feeling of belonging.

In an age of disposable content, Susan invited everyone to honor permanence — the beauty of longevity, the magic of shared history, and the quiet power of telling stories in the same sacred space for nearly seventy years.

Salem may be fictional.

But the home built on Stage 4 — and in the hearts of its fans — is very real.

And as long as Susan Seaforth Hayes continues to walk those halls as Julie Williams, Days of Our Lives remains more than a show.

It remains a living legend.