Ropes Mansion

An elegant Georgian colonial mansion built around 1727, home to several generations of the Ropes family. The mansion is known for its beautiful formal gardens and tragic history involving a wife who was burned to death in a kitchen fire.

The Ropes Mansion stands as one of Salem's most beautiful—and most haunted—historic homes, a Georgian Colonial masterpiece that gained worldwide fame as Allison's house in the 1993 film "Hocus Pocus." But long before Hollywood discovered this Essex Street landmark, the mansion had earned its reputation through centuries of tragedy, death, and restless spirits who refuse to leave.

The house was built in the late 1720s by merchant Samuel Barnard, a man who seemed cursed from the start. Originally from Deerfield, Barnard had survived an Indian raid that killed his wife and son before relocating to Salem. His luck appeared to change as his business prospered, but death followed him into his new home. Barnard married four times while living in the mansion, with three wives perishing under circumstances mysterious enough that some historians wonder if he had a hand in their deaths. Blood, it seems, was in the woodwork from the very beginning.

In 1768, Judge Nathaniel Ropes purchased the home and moved in with his family. A Harvard-educated jurist, Ropes served as a magistrate loyal to the British Crown—a dangerous position as revolutionary fervor swept through Massachusetts. When an angry mob gathered outside the mansion to protest his loyalist sympathies, the stress proved too much for Ropes, who was already weakened by smallpox. He died shortly after, convinced his neighbors had betrayed him.

His spirit never left. Staff and visitors report seeing Judge Ropes walking through the mansion's museum, gazing longingly at family furniture. He has a particular attachment to his old couch in the front hall, where he reportedly sits, naps, and occasionally startles unsuspecting visitors. Museum caretakers Rick and Georgette Stafford believe they captured his image on film during an insurance appraisal—a ghostly figure in period dress appearing in their photograph.

The mansion's most tragic ghost is Abigail Ropes, known as "Nabby," who died in 1839 in a horrific accident. Walking too close to the fireplace, her dress caught fire. She was consumed by flames before anyone could save her. Visitors still hear her screams echoing through the house as she relives her final moments. But Nabby is not merely a tortured spirit—she has a playful side. Visitors report feeling a cold hand tap them on the shoulder, only to turn and find no one there. Objects move on their own. Doors open and close without explanation.

Nabby is most often seen gazing from a second-floor window, watching the street below even after the mansion has closed to the public. Her pale figure has been photographed by tourists who notice her only when reviewing their images later.

The mansion caught fire again during 1894 renovations, adding another layer of tragedy to its history. After careful restoration, it opened to the public in 2015 under the care of the Peabody Essex Museum.

When film crews arrived in 1992 to shoot "Hocus Pocus," the mansion's exterior became the home of Allison, Max Dennison's love interest. Filming lasted through one long night, wrapping near dawn. Since the movie's release, the Ropes Mansion has become a pilgrimage site for fans—many of whom leave with more than photographs, convinced they've encountered the spirits who still call this place home.