Hocus Pocus: Salem to Los Angeles

The film opens on 31 October 1693, and this living-history museum beside Forest River Park supplied the thatched cottages and lanes of old Salem. One cottage became the home of Thackery Binx and his sister Emily; fans now call it the Binx House. Opened in June 1930, the village was the first museum of its kind in the United States. Visitors can walk past a blacksmith's shop, a sawmill, a saltworks, a wigwam and the cottages themselves.

Visitor guidance: In Forest River Park; open weekends 12–4 for self-guided tours.

The high school's exterior comes from this former elementary school on Essex Street, which had already closed and later became a health centre. Max is introduced here as the new boy from Los Angeles, and the school is also where the young heroes finally corner the Sanderson sisters, luring them into the pottery kiln and burning them alive. Interiors were shot at East Whittier Middle School in Whittier, California. The building stands beside Salem Common; only its outside appears on screen, and it is not open to visitors.

Max walks through Salem Common with Allison after school, and the park still lies directly in front of the old school building. The Common was established in 1667, when part of it was still swamp. The wrought iron fence you see today was built in 1850 and has since been restored, and the white archway is a 1976 replica of the original. It remains open public ground at the heart of Salem.

Visitor guidance: The Common is public ground beside the former school building.

Max pedals through Marblehead on his way home and, in this hilltop graveyard, meets locals Jay and Ice, who take his trainers. The daytime cemetery scenes were shot here, while the nighttime sequences were recreated on a set at the Burbank studio. Old Burial Hill was founded in 1638 and holds many historic Puritan gravestones, including a commemorative stone for Wilmot Redd, a victim of the 1692 Salem witch trials. In the film the cemetery is hallowed ground, and the witches cannot step inside.

Visitor guidance: A historic cemetery in Marblehead; paths lead up from Orne Street.

Max has just moved from Los Angeles, and this house on Ocean Avenue is where Dani pesters him into taking her trick-or-treating. Only the exterior appears in the film, and it is still a private home, so admire it from the street. The address is 4 Ocean Avenue, just north of Pioneer Village, which makes it an easy stop on a Salem wander.

Trick-or-treating takes Max and Dani to a grand house with a costume party inside, and its exterior is the Ropes Mansion on Essex Street. In the film it belongs to Allison, Max's crush, and fans have nicknamed it Allison's House. The Georgian mansion is now run by the Peabody Essex Museum, which gives seasonal self-guided house tours. Only the outside appears on screen; the party interior was shot back in California, so the façade is the thing to see here.

Visitor guidance: At 318 Essex Street; self-guided tours run seasonally under the Peabody Essex Museum.

Max, Dani and Allison rush to the town's adult Halloween party, and its exterior is Salem's Old Town Hall on Derby Square. The building at 32 Derby Square is now an events space. In the story the adults gather here while the children try to warn them of the danger, and the party becomes the stage for Winifred's song. The ballroom scenes themselves were shot at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, so the square is where you see the party's public face.

Visitor guidance: On Derby Square in Salem; the hall is an events venue, so view the exterior from the square.

The party moves indoors to the ballroom of the old Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, where Winifred performs I Put a Spell on You and puts a dancing spell on the guests, who dance until they die. The building was completed in 1926 and designed by Claud Beelman, with a ballroom big enough to serve as an auditorium. It closed as a hotel in 1998 and now operates as the events space The MacArthur, across from MacArthur Park. It is the route's only stop outside Massachusetts.

Visitor guidance: Now The MacArthur at 607 Park View Street, across from MacArthur Park; the ballroom is an events space, so check before travelling.