“After three centuries, three witch sisters are resurrected in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween night, and it is up to two teenagers, a young girl, and an immortal cat to put an end to their reign of terror once and for all.” – Hocus Pocus on IMDB.
Hocus Pocus is such an iconic Halloween movie and I am sure anyone born in the 80’s or 90’s agrees with me here. Did you know a lot of the movie was filmed in Salem, MA? Below is a quick run down of Salem locations used. There are a few others in neighboring MA towns, but for the sake of this blog entry I am sticking to only those in Salem.
The Ropes Mansion
318 Essex Street Salem, MA 01970
Many of you will recognize this house as the outside of Allison’s house. In the beginning of the film when Max is forced to take his sister trick-or-treating they stop here and discover a cauldron full of candy inside. It’s at this point that Max realizes that his crush Allison lives in this home. The Ropes Mansion is actually owned by the Peabody Essex Museum and is open to the public if you want to take a peek.
Ocean Ave Salem, MA 01970
This location was used as Max and Dani’s house and both interior and exteriors were used throughout the film.
Please note this home is private property, so if you are going to stop by, keep that in mind. Unfortunately the residents who live in the house tend to have problems with out of town visitors walking on their porch, through the yard, and leaving trash on their property. Please respect the owners and only view or photograph the home from the street. Guests may not access the property, house, porch etc.
Phillips Elementary School on the Salem Common
Towards the end of the film when Max, Dani and Allison try to trap the Sanderson sisters they lure them to this school, located on the Salem Common. It had been shut down as a functioning school right before the movie started filming so the location worked well. The school is not open to the public.
The Salem Common
Miscellaneous parts of the movie were filmed in the Common, providing a fall backdrop when needed. If you’re in the area and looking for a gorgeous spot to wander or take a picnic, check it out!
The Old Town Hall
32 Derby Sq. Salem, MA 01970
The Old Town Hall was used in the scene where The Sanderson Sisters crash a costume party and enchant everyone, making them all dance like crazy so they hopefully won’t notice that they are stealing the souls of the children in town. We see Dani and Max’s parents leave the party at one point and they are clearly inside the doorway of the Old Town Hall below.
Please note this image is © Teresa Nevic.
Pioneer Village
98 West Ave. Salem, MA 01970
The opening of the movie where we see Thackery Binx before he is turned into a cat is filmed in Pioneer Village.
Currently Pioneer Village is a historic site and living history museum.
I hope that was helpful. Enjoy!! <3
Cait
How did you find out that the interior of Max and Dani’s home were used in filming? I’ve done some research to try to confirm that and can’t find anything.
Alyse
I’m not sure about the inside of the house for Max and Dani but 4 Ocean Ave. is the outside. The inner scenes might have been a set. I’ll do some poking around online as well to see if I can dig up more info for you!
jace
The interior of their houses were filmed on a built set in LA
Alyse
Yes, set locations were also used. 🙂