Hocus Pocus is set in two main places: the 17th-century town of Salem, Massachusetts, where the backstory unfolds, and the modern-day (late 20th century) town of Salem, Massachusetts, where the sisters’ mischief unfolds during a Halloween night. The film begins with events in 1693 in a witch- hunting Salem and then shifts to present-day Salem three centuries later.
Key settings and what they include
- 1693 Salem, Massachusetts: The Sanderson sisters’ cottage, a thatched-roof home outside of town, the forested area around the cottage, and the town where the witches are pursued after the girls’ spellbook is used to resurrect them. This sequence establishes the origin of the curse and the backstory of Thackery Binx.
- Present-day Salem, Massachusetts: The trio—Max Dennison, Dani, and Allison—revisit the Sanderson cottage (now a museum) and inadvertently rekindle the witches’ powers by lighting the Black-Flame Candle. The action then moves to nearby locations in Salem as they try to stop the witches.
Notable filming/location notes (for context)
- Exterior scenes of the Sanderson cottage and Thackery Binx’s surroundings were filmed in Salem’s Pioneer Village, a living history museum that recreates 1600s life. This area stands in for the witches’ cottage exterior and other period settings.
- The modern-day sequences were filmed around actual Salem locations, including spots that fans often visit on walking tours of Hocus Pocus filming locations in Salem, MA.
If you’re curious about specific real-world addresses or the exact sequence of locations used for particular scenes (e.g., Allison’s house or the Halloween party at Town Hall), I can pull a concise list of each site and its on-screen equivalent.
