‘Hocus Pocus’ Celebrates 30 Years: Some Of The Cast Will Fly Into To Salem This Week

Author Carolyn Kruse

October 18th, 2023 12:40 PM

As if Salem isn’t crazy enough this time of year, it’s about to get a lot crazier. Get ready North Shore, because big crowds are coming this weekend. As the hugely popular movie Hocus Pocus celebrates 30 years, some of the cast will fly into Salem this week!

Friday and Saturday cast members Omri Katz, who played Max, Vinessa Shaw, who played Allison, and Thora Birch, who played Dani will all descend upon witch city starting Friday. They even posted on Facebook saying, “This is not a joke.” They are hosting a couple of parties and said they will even dress up. It’s a ticketed event and there is a link for you below.

The iconic Disney movie made it’s debut in 1993 and has become a yearly watching tradition in millions of homes ever since. As reported on MassLive, Friday the cast will scare up a good time at BitBar in Salem from 8pm -1m. It’s an arcade/bar you’ll find at 278 Derby Street. Who knows maybe you could play a little air guitar with “Max, or hit the pinball machines with “Dani.”

On Saturday, the “kids” of Hocus Pocus will be brewing up some fun at Salem Common. Catch them there from 12:00 noon to 7pm. They will be signing autographs, taking pictures and as Thora Birch says in the video above, taking a walk “down memory lane.”

The three actors even have a website called “It’s Just A Bunch Of Halloween.” And that’s where you will find tickets to this event. Or you can click HERE to get tickets to the BitBar event. For tickets to the meet and greet on the Common, Saturday, go HERE.

So, break out your best “Winifred” costume, or any Halloween costume and join in the freaking fun. Party with the stars this weekend! It’ll be a scary good time as ‘Hocus Pocus’ Celebrates 30 Years:, as some of the cast will fly into Salem this week!

Oh The Horror! These 8 Scary Movies Were Made In Or Close To Massachusetts

• 1. Jaws

  Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard

  Starting with the obvious here. Steven Spielberg directed the original Jaws movie set in the fictional town of Amity Island, New York. Which, according to screenrants.com was supposed to be Long Island. There’s even town named Amityville there. So why was the 1975 movie filmed on Martha’s Vineyard?  The simple answer is, it was too crowded. Spielberg wanted the area to feel more isolated.

• 2. The Conjuring

  Harrisville, RI 

  The first installment in this horror franchise was in 2013 and centered on the real-life story of husband and wife, Ed and Lorraine Warren. They investigated paranormal events. The film focused on a 1971 case where the Warrens probed into a witch’s curse at a farmhouse located in Harrisville, which is part of Burrillville, Rhode Island. Now, you can pay to stay overnight at the house. Oh, that would be a no for me, thank you.

• 3. The Witch

  Although The Witch wasn’t filmed here, it was set here. The 2015 movie was written and directed by Robert Eggers, who lived in New Hampshire, according to Wikipedia “was inspired to write the film by his childhood fascination with witches and frequent visits to the Plimoth Plantation as a schoolboy.” The movie is set in 1630s New England and starred Anna Taylor Joy in her film debut. 

• 4. The Haunting

  Berkshires (Western Mass)

  This 1999 remake of The Haunting (1963) takes place in the Berkshires, although the house is actually located in England. As the story goes, a group of people come together at this Western Massachusetts sprawling estate thinking they have signed on for an insomnia study. Ultimately, they find themselves plagued by paranormal events in Hill House, which has a very grim history. Starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson.

• 5. Altered States

  Beacon Hill, Boston and Harvard Medical School

  Filmed partially at Harvard Medical School, Beacon Hill and Logan International Airport, this 1999 thriller stars William Hurt, in his film debut. It’s described as a “science fiction body horror film.” Drew Barrymore also made her film debut in this gem. It’s about a highly respected scientist and psychology professor and his work on combining sensory deprivation tanks with hallucinogenic drugs. The more he works on the experiment, the more he loses his sense of reality.

• 6. The Covenant

  Ipswich

  The 2006 supernatural horror movie was directed by Renny Harlin. It’s set in Ipswich, where 4 high school boys, known as the Sons of Ipswich, are all descendants of colonial witch families. They boys all of magical powers that manifest when they turn 13, and grow stronger every year. The power is addicting. And eventually leads to their premature aging and death. Struggles ensue and dead spirits arise.

• 7. Shutter Island

  Boston

  Based on the Dennis Lehane novel, this 2010 American neo=noir psychological thriller was directed by Maritn Scorsese and starred Leonardo DiCaprio. The shooting took place at Peddocks Island, which is a ferry ride away from Boston Harbor, just south of the Harbor. The story follows  U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels in 1954 as he and his new partner travel to Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, Boston Harbor. They are there to investigate the disappearance of a patient of the hospital who had previously drowned her three children.

• 8. Hocus Pocus

  Salem

  Ok, I know, not particularly a spooky movie, but certainly worth mentioning here because of it’s famous setting and popularity. This 1993 Walt Disney Halloween Movie follows a “villainous comedic trio of witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) who are inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy (Omri Katz) in Salem, Massachusetts, on Halloween night.” (Wikipedia). Some of the filming locations included the Old Burial Hill in Marblehead, the Old Town Hall in Salem, where the town Halloween party takes place, and Phillips Elementary School. The school is where the witches are trapped in a kiln. And did you know the exterior for Max and Dani’s house is a actually a private residence on Ocean Avenue in Salem?

Author Carolyn Kruse

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