A “Hocus Pocus” Tour Of New England For Halloween

It’s a cult classic that managed to do the impossible: gain such momentum in the years following its release that, 29 years later, Hocus Pocus finally got the sequel fans demanded. In the original, the Sanderson sisters — witches played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker — are resurrected from the grave and run “amok, amok, amok” all over Salem, Massachusetts in an attempt to remain permanently in the world. (Spoiler alert: they fail.)

In the 2022 sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, the sisters are once again brought back from beyond the veil, only this time they’re battling a coven of teen witches to regain their powers and find immortality. For the sequel, the original Sanderson sisters reprise their roles, and the movie adds Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Sam Richardson (VEEP), and Hannah Waddington (Ted Lasso) to the cast. When it was released on Sept. 30, Disney+ reported that the sequel was its most-viewed film premiere to date on the streaming service.

Both movies are set in Salem, Mass. The original was partially filmed there, and partially in California, but the sequel was shot entirely outside of “Witch City,” as Salem is often referred to for its 17th century witch trials. Hocus Pocus 2 was filmed entirely in nearby Rhode Island. If you’re feeling witchy this Halloween season, here’s where to find the locations that appeared in some of the most famous Hocus Pocus scenes.

Washington Square, Newport, RI

The setting of many of the outdoor scenes in Hocus Pocus 2 look very much like the modern-day version of Salem, and that’s because they used another coastal New England town founded in the 1600s: Newport, Rhode Island.

In the movie, the Salem Scare Fest is a Halloween carnival with game booths, spooky food and a memorable Sanderson-inspired performance. All of that takes place in Newport’s Washington Square. Eisenhower Park is in the center of the square, and is where all the booths were set up. Rising up in the back of the square, the Newport Colony House (built in 1739, the fourth-oldest state house building in the country) is the backdrop for the show.

On the other side of the park, the production constructed a building that wasn’t there before: the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, where the black flame candle makes its reappearance and all manner of witchiness breaks loose. The magic shop occupied a vacant lot on Touro Street during the fall of 2021, but was torn down immediately after production wrapped.

Chase Farm Park, Lincoln, RI

Newport worked well as a stand-in for modern-day Salem, but to create the scenes set in 1653, the film needed a location that could feasibly look nearly 400 years old. That was Chase Farm Park in Lincoln, RI, which was originally purchased by Thomas Arnold in 1661.

Once a dairy farm, the land is now a public park — but was rented by Disney in 2021 to construct the Puritan village where the Sanderson sisters grew up. That section of Chase Farm was closed to the public during construction and filming, as was part of a public road near the set. The buildings no longer exist — if you’ve seen the movie, you know why — but there’s a historic schoolhouse on the grounds, and the park is open daily to visitors.

Federal Hill, Providence, RI

As the Sanderson sisters traverse modern-day Salem looking for children to capture, they searche high and low — including in a Walgreens in “Salem” that’s actually on Atwells Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Federal Hill in Providence. The film constructed part of the Salem Scare Fest on Atwells, which is gone now, but besides that, the film is true to the landscape of the street. When the witches fly into the night, you can see restaurants like Providence Oyster Bar that have been mainstays in the culinary destination for decades.

Benefit Street, Providence, RI

Called Providence’s “mile of history,” Benefit Street is a National Historic Landmark for the concentration of historic buildings on this East Side thoroughfare. The street is home to the RISD art museum and historic house museums including the 1707 home of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The Providence Athenaeum is an old haunt of Edgar Allan Poe (according to some accounts, literally). In Hocus Pocus 2, it’s the site of the scene with the Haunted Salem Tour Trolley.

The Ropes Mansion, Salem, MA

In the original Hocus Pocus, Max and Dani trick-or-treat at Allison’s house, where her parents are having a huge Halloween party, and end up being invited into the event. That home is actually the Ropes Mansion, now part of the Peabody-Essex Museum, which was once the home of a prominent 17th century family. In October, PEM decorates the Ropes Mansion to look as it looked in the movie.

Old Town Hall, Salem, MA

The massive Halloween party in Hocus Pocus that keeps all the parents distracted and away from their kids (thereby making them all the easier for the witches to grab) happens at Salem’s Old Town Hall. It’s also where the sisters sing their iconic rendition of “I Put a Spell on You.” The town hall now hosts performances and is home to a museum. Ahead of the premiere of the sequel, Disney hosted a weekend of Hocus Pocus-themed events that included a Halloween party in the space.

Plimoth Patuxet Museums, Plymouth, MA

In the opening scene of Hocus Pocus, as the camera flies over what is supposed to be the colonial Puritan settlement in Salem where Thackery and Emily Binx live, what you’re actually seeing is Plimoth Patuxet Museums, a living history museum in Plymouth, Mass. While the location is about two hours from Salem — it’s south of Boston, whereas Salem is on the North Shore — the details are very similar. The living history museum uses costumed interpreters to recreate what life was like in the early 17th century for colonists who arrived from England, has a counterpart settlement showcasing the lifestyle and culture of the Native Wampanoag peoples who first lived in the area. The other scenes in Puritan Salem were filmed in Salem’s Pioneer Village, another living history museum.