Hocus Pocus 20th Anniversary

To the five or so of you out there who are not aware, Hocus Pocus is THE Halloween movie.  It tells the story of three 17th century witches who are resurrected for one Halloween night in 1993, and they must suck the life out of children in order to keep living.  Hocus Pocus is also probably one of the most underrated films of all time.  It flopped when it came out, and it has a measly 33% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes (although it does have a respectable 66% approval rating from fans).  The movie seemed destined to be forgotten until ABC Family started showing it in October during its 13 Nights of Halloween marathon.  Since then, it has garnered a respectable cult following and has gotten at least some of the appreciation it deserves.

It's a mad, mad world

Dennison House

So, why am I telling you all this?  Well, consider that the film is about 17th witches, it shouldn't shock any of you that it takes place in Salem, Massachusetts.  As I mentioned before, and as you all likely already know, Salem is known for and now unabashedly celebrates its connection to the Witch Trials of 1692.  While Hocus Pocus was filmed in a variety of locations, some of the most memorable exterior shots were filmed right in Salem and the neighboring town of Marblehead.  This Halloween being the 20th anniversary, my sister and I decided to visit some of the sites from the film.

First of all, no, we didn't get to see Max and Dani Dennison's house (otherwise known as "awesome cupola house").  It was too far out of the way, and we got lost several times looking for other sites, so we couldn't make it.  From what I've read, it's still a private residence, so you also have to take into account the creep factor if you're planning on visiting/photographing it.

Allison's House

What we did see was Allison's mansion.  The house is actually known as the Ropes Mansion (or the Ropes Memorial) and is currently one of the many historical houses in the area owned by the Peabody Essex Museum.  The yard and gardens are open to the public, but the inside is not; however, that didn't really matter because the movie only used the outside of the house for the filming.  The house was built in the 1720s and is located in the Chestnut Street District.  I don't have any photos for Chestnut Street, but it's basically a street filled with beautiful, beautiful mansions, most of which are twice as big as the Ropes Mansion.  I highly recommend a walk down it if you're ever in the area and like beautiful, beautiful houses.

High School, complete with beautiful,
interfering autumn tree

We also visited the Salem Common, which was also right across the street from the school used in the film.  Commons are one of the best things about living in New England.  Back when it was far more likely for city-dwellers to raise livestock, there was usually a large expanse of grass to which everyone in the area could send their animals for grazing.  Since most apartments no longer allowed cats, let alone cattle, those grasslands have largely become ready-made public parks.  We spent some time waiting for the fireworks to start (which, admittedly, ended up starting no where near there), but we did get front row seats for a group of teenagers debating the wisdom of lighting up in front of a K-9 unit police cruiser.  So that was fun.

City Hall, complete with a less
beautiful, interfering truck

Finally, we saw the Old City Hall, which played the part of the Current City Hall in the film.  This is where apparently all the adults in the city of Salem had an all-night Halloween party.  It's also where the best scene in the entire movie takes place.  You all know exactly what scene I'm talking about.  This is also where we saw a performance of Cry Innocence, and the interior is much smaller than you would think from looking at the outside.  So, I'm guessing that they only used the exterior of the building for actual filming.  I also bought a children's version of the Massachusetts Statutes from 1844 on the steps in back of the Hall.  I learned from this book that it is our right and duty to worship the Supreme Being under the Declaration of Rights.  There are also three very important things that I think all travelers to Massachusetts should know:

1. Blasphemy is punishable by not more than two years imprisonment
2. Swearing is punishable by a fine of two to five dollars, and
3. Drunkeness is punishable by "five dollars for the first offense, and ten for the second, or confinement in the house of correction not more than three months."

So, assuming that no laws have changed since 1844, if you want to party in Massachusetts, go nuts with swearing and drunkeness, but you should probably steer clear of blasphemy.  FYI.

Also, I hear they're thinking of making a Hocus Pocus musical.  There are many reasons that this is a very good thing.

And now, what you've all been waiting for, quite possibly the very bestest scene that has ever scened: I PUT A SPELL ON YOU...