You can visit most of the real places seen in Disney’s 1993 comedy Hocus Pocus, and nearly all of them are in Salem, Massachusetts. The Halloween party hall, Allison’s house, the school and the 1693 village from the opening are all in or near downtown Salem, while the graveyard where Max meets the bullies is in neighboring Marblehead. Only Max and Dani’s house is off limits, because it is a private home.
Most of the film was shot on sound stages in Burbank, California, according to Wikipedia’s article on the film), with the daytime scenes set in Salem filmed on location in Salem and Marblehead. That is why the real streets look familiar but the interiors do not exist anywhere you can walk into.
Quick facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Location | Downtown Salem, Salem Common, Forest River Park, and Old Burial Hill in Marblehead |
| City/State | Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts |
| Film or show | Hocus Pocus (Walt Disney Pictures, released July 16, 1993) |
| Can you visit? | Yes for the exteriors, Ropes Garden, Salem Common, Old Town Hall (seasonal hours), Pioneer Village and Old Burial Hill. No for Max and Dani’s house, which is private. |
| Cost | Free to walk the streets, Salem Common and Ropes Garden. Pioneer Village and Ropes Mansion interior tours are ticketed. |
| Best time to go | Weekday mornings for fewer crowds. October is the busiest month because of Haunted Happenings. |
Where each scene was filmed
Ropes Mansion (Allison’s house)
The exterior of Allison’s house is the Ropes Mansion at 318 Essex Street in Salem, which Destination Salem lists among the film’s locations. The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) owns it. The surrounding garden is the part most visitors can enter freely: according to PEM’s gardens page, it is open to the public 365 days a year from dawn to dusk at no charge, and leashed dogs are allowed.
The house itself has interior tours in season. As of October 2026, PEM lists the mansion as open for tours through October 18, 2026, with no daily times on its page, so check the PEM historic houses page before you go.
Old Town Hall (the Halloween party)
The costume party where Winifred sings “I Put a Spell on You” was filmed at Salem’s Old Town Hall, a Federal-style building from 1816 in Derby Square, per Wikipedia) and the Salem tourism listing for Old Town Hall. The listing gives its address as 32 Derby Square. The building no longer handles city business and now works as a cultural and rental venue.
You can see the exterior any time. Inside, Destination Salem says a seasonal Salem 400+ gift shop and welcome center operates for the summer and fall. Its hours were listed as limited to Thursday through Sunday as of October 2026, and the building is often closed for private events, so check the listing first.
Phillips School and Salem Common
Salem Common, the large public park in the middle of town, was used for many outdoor scenes. The former Phillips Elementary School on the Common stood in for the film’s school. Destination Salem notes that the school building is not open to visitors but can be viewed from the Common. This is a stop for the exterior only.
Pioneer Village (the 1693 opening)
The film opens in 1693 with Thackery Binx’s story, shot at Pioneer Village in Forest River Park. Destination Salem says the village was built in 1930, and it is run today as a living history museum interpreting Salem in 1630.
The village’s own site gives 98 West Avenue as the address. As of October 2026, the official Pioneer Village site lists a season from June 6 to November 15, 2026, open Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m., with last entry at 3:45 p.m. Tickets are sold through a separate page that the site links to, so confirm prices and any special October programming there before you go.
Old Burial Hill in Marblehead (the cemetery)
The daytime graveyard scenes, including Max’s run-in with the bullies, were shot at Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, a short drive from Salem.Wikipedia’s entry on the cemetery) describes a burying ground founded in 1638 with roughly 1,000 graves, 17th-century gravestone carvings, and a memorial stone for Wilmot Redd, who was executed in the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Wikipedia lists two ways in: a walkway at Redd’s Pond and a stairway at Orne and Pond streets. The ground is hilly and uneven, with old stone steps, so wear shoes with grip.
Max and Dani’s house
Max and Dani’s house is a private residence on Ocean Avenue in Salem. Destination Salem says it is not accessible to visitors. This guide does not give a house number. See the etiquette section below.
How to visit
Getting there
Salem is about 15 miles north of Boston. The Haunted Happenings parking and directions page says the MBTA Commuter Rail connects Salem to Boston’s North Station on both the Newburyport and Rockport lines, and that Salem Depot is a walk from downtown. In October, the train is the least stressful option, since downtown streets fill up on weekends.
Parking
If you drive, the same page lists public lots (most are paid through the Passport Parking app), including the MBTA garage at 252 Bridge Street. It also warns that many streets are resident-only in October, with a fine for parking in those areas, and it mentions overflow parking on Fort Avenue and at Salem Willows on peak weekends. Marblehead has its own street parking rules, so read posted signs.
A simple one-day route
- Start at Ropes Garden on Essex Street in the morning.
- Walk to Old Town Hall in Derby Square and then to Salem Common.
- If it is a weekend and the village is open, continue to Pioneer Village in the afternoon.
- Save Marblehead’s Old Burial Hill for a separate leg, ideally in daylight.
Visiting respectfully
Some of these places are people’s homes or burial grounds, and locals live with heavy foot traffic every fall.
- Photograph Max and Dani’s house only from the public street or sidewalk. Do not walk up the driveway, step onto the lawn, peer in windows, or use a drone.
- Keep voices down on residential streets and do not block driveways or sidewalks to pose for photos.
- In Old Burial Hill, stay on paths where possible, do not sit or climb on gravestones, and skip gravestone rubbings, since many of the old stones are fragile. This is a working historic cemetery, not a set.
- Do not enter Ropes Garden outside dawn-to-dusk hours, and keep dogs leashed as PEM requires.
Nearby spots
Everything in downtown Salem is close together. Ropes Garden, Old Town Hall and Salem Common are all within a short walk of one another, and the Peabody Essex Museum is about 0.4 miles from the Ropes Mansion, according to PEM. Pioneer Village and Marblehead each need a short drive or a rideshare. For other Halloween-season sites around the country, see our guide to Halloween movie filming locations you can visit in the U.S., and read our filming location etiquette guide before you go.
FAQs
Where was Hocus Pocus filmed?
Most interiors were filmed on sound stages in Burbank, California. The exteriors and daytime scenes set in Salem were filmed in Salem and Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Can you go inside Allison’s house?
You can walk in the free garden during daylight. The Ropes Mansion interior is open for tours only in season, and PEM lists tours through October 18, 2026. Check PEM before you go.
Is Max and Dani’s house open to visitors?
No. It is a private home on Ocean Avenue in Salem. Respect the residents and view it, if at all, from the public street.
Is the cemetery in the movie in Salem?
No. The graveyard scenes were shot at Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, a separate town a short drive from Salem.
When is the best time to visit?
Weekday mornings outside October are the quietest. October offers the most atmosphere and events but also the heaviest crowds and tightest parking.
