Where was Halloweentown filmed?
1998
City Locations
St. Helens, Oregon; Beaverton, Oregon; Portland, Oregon
Location Types
Modern, Contemporary, Colonial, Victorian
Location Styles
Castle/Chateau, Gothic/Victorian, Rustic
About Halloweentown
Halloweentown’s original film was released by Disney in 1998, starring Debbie Reynolds. The main character is Marie (played by Kimberly J. Brown), who is in a state of confusion about why she and her siblings can’t go out for Halloween. Marnie’s siblings are Dylan and Sophie. Mom Gwen has told all of them that they aren’t allowed to go away from home to celebrate the holiday. At this point, Marnie has no idea about her family’s special talents.
Marnie is approaching her thirteenth birthday, and when she does, she learns about her family’s history as witches. In fact, Marnie’s grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) and her mother are both witches too. Yet, there is a conflict between Aggie and Gwen as Aggie encourages the children to celebrate Halloween while Gwen wants her children to live as mortals.
Aggie will introduce Marnie to Halloweentown, a magical place where witches, vampires, and other so-called monsters live in harmony. In fact, in this city, it’s Halloween all year long.
While Gwen and Aggie argue about training Marnie regarding her powers, Aggie reveals that people are disappearing from Halloweentown. Having overheard the argument, Marnie and her brother Dylan will follow their grandmother onto the Magic Bus and arrive at Halloweentown themselves.
The children make their way to Aggie’s mansion, and Aggie decides it’s time to begin Marnie’s training. Gwen soon discovers the children are missing, so she also hops on the Magic Bus to look for them. Once again, Aggie and Gwen argue, and Gwen tries to take the children back home. However, there is no upcoming ride back to the mortal world - but there’s a good reason for that. Gwen soon sees her mother with an unsavory fellow, and she believes Aggie is in trouble.
After following Aggie to an abandoned theater, Gwen and the children discover this is the hiding place for those citizens who had disappeared from Halloweentown. Gwen and Aggie are frozen in time by the hooded demon, so the children must save the day.
It’s revealed that the hooded demon is Kalabar, the mayor of Halloweentown and Gwen’s former love interest. The children use their powers and a potion to defeat Kalabar.
In the end, it’s revealed that all of Gwen’s children have magical powers, and Gwen agrees to allow Aggie to train Marnie. Aggie also agrees to come to spend more time in the mortal world to be with her grandchildren.
Halloweentown Locations
The majority of this Halloweentown production was shot in St. Helens, Oregon and in Scappoose, Oregon. However, every year, St. Helens transforms into Halloweentown, and yes, you can visit! In fact, St. Helens offers tourist opportunities the entire month of October every year for fans of Halloweentown.
St. Helens has been transforming into Halloweentown on an annual basis since the original film’s release in 1998. The festival is called the Spirit of Halloweentown, and in addition to visiting the filming location of Halloweentown, there are a wealth of activities during the season.
Visitors may take a photo with the huge pumpkin from the film in the main plaza, and the Vendors Village is open for lots of shopping opportunities. On weekends during the season, visitors may enjoy costume contests, and there are multiple parades (be sure to check out the pirate parade).
Halloweentown is also a special stop for the likes of Captain Jack Sparrow, who likes to hang out with the pirates of Halloweentown.
Other special activities include voting for the mayor of Halloweentown, participating in magic shows, and a “Haunted Hot Rod” car show - which should prove to be a lot of fun for the adult fans of Halloweentown.
Marnie finds out her family is full of witches scene in Halloweentown
Nob Hill Riverview Bed and Breakfast, 285 S 2nd St, St Helens, OR
Marnie is about to turn thirteen soon, so when her mom tells her she can’t go out for one of her favorite holidays, Marnie simply can’t understand. This is mainly because Marnie doesn’t know her family history. Marnie’s mom and grandmother are both witches.
Marnie’s grandmother, Aggie, comes for her annual visit around Halloween, and Marnie as well as her siblings are so happy to see their mom’s mom. They know something is special about Aggie, but they don’t know exactly what that is.
It’s only after Marnie happens to overhear a conversation between her mom and her grandmother that she truly understands what makes Aggie so special. Marnie learns that not only is her grandmother a witch, but so is Gwen, her mother.
Marnie confronts her mother with the new knowledge, saying: “Look, if you want to give up your roots, that’s fine. But I don’t. And it’s not right for you to try to make me.” Aggie wants to begin training Marnie because if Marnie doesn’t begin by her thirteenth birthday, she could lose her powers.
Gwen argues that Marnie should live the life of a mortal because Marnie’s father is a mortal. However, Marnie wants to explore the side of her that’s associated with magic. Soon, Marnie and her siblings will leave the mortal world and follow their grandmother on the Magic Bus to Halloweentown.
Going to visit this Halloweentown film shoot location from Portland is simple. Just hop on the GREEN light rail and you will be there in less than 45 minutes. Coming from the Astoria area, you could also take Bus CC.
Marnie isn’t allowed to go out on Halloween scene in Halloweentown
Grandma Aggie’s mortal realm house, 3814 SE Martins St, Portland, OR
Marnie is accustomed to not only her grandmother visiting around Halloween, but she’s also used to going out to celebrate her favorite holiday with her friends and siblings. However, just before her thirteenth birthday, Marnie’s mom, Gwen, tells her she won’t be going out to celebrate this year.
Marnie had plans to attend a friend’s costume party, but Gwen won’t allow her to go. Furthermore, Gwen won’t allow any of the children to go out on Halloween. She tells Marnie and the other kids: “Marnie, I’m sorry. I know that you want to go out with your friends, but there are just some things about Halloween that you don’t understand.”
You have to appreciate that Gwen loves her children, and she’s very protective of them. However, in this scene, it’s revealed that Gwen is really trying to protect her children from learning about her own identity. Gwen vehemently refuses to let the children find out about her past as a witch. Plus, she doesn’t want them to find out about their grandmother’s home, Halloweentown.
Yet, Gwen is still being protective of the children. Gwen knows that her former love interest, Kalabar, once vowed he would get revenge for Gwen’s marrying a mortal. So, we viewers can understand that deep down, Gwen is trying to protect her children from what could happen with Kalabar.
Ready to go see this film shoot location? This is one of the only scenes shot in Portland. You will find this important scene on SE Martins Street in Portland, Oregon. The city has an excellent public transit system including the Amtrak Train, FlixBus, and Greyhound bus.
Gwen and Aggie argue over being normal scene in Halloweentown
Cromwell mortal realm house, 33244 SW Sequoia St, Scappoose, OR
This scene is one of the Halloweentown locations. Marnie is upset that her mom won’t let her attend a Halloween party hosted by a friend, and she doesn’t understand why Gwen won’t allow her to do so. She also has a lot of questions about her own history, as she knows her grandmother Aggie is different, but she can’t pinpoint just what.
Aggie’s annual visit is going to bring a lot of changes to the household. Aggie is anxious to introduce her grandchildren to their magical heritage, but Gwen attempts to maintain their normal life. Some of the most famous quotes of Halloweentown come from the scenes surrounding the argument between the two, including Dylan’s quip about “being the most normal person in the household.”
Marnie will overhear her mother and grandmother arguing about Marnie’s special qualities as well as her future. After hearing the argument, Marnie realizes that not only does she possess special powers, but so does her mother. Marnie will make a pivotal decision after this scene - she’ll gather her brother Dylan and the two will follow Grandma Aggie to get on the Magic Bus.
You cannot take the Magic Bus to this Halloweentown filming location. But it is very easy to get to from just about anywhere by bus. Just take Bus 1 from Portland or Bus CC from the Astoria area.
Conclusion
Halloweentown was released some two decades ago, but it remains an immensely popular holiday movie. In fact, Disney regularly shows the original Halloweentown and its sequels during the month of October. Often they are shown in chronological order.
Halloweentown offered not only the original movie, but three sequels. A spin-off series was also written and produced due to the popularity of the film. Halloweentown is considered one of the forty best movies produced by Disney.
Visitors who truly want to get into the spirit of Halloweentown can visit Halloween locations in St. Helens each year for the Spirit of Halloweentown festival. This festival often begins in mid-September and runs through Halloween, so a trip to beautiful Oregon can be planned at visitors’ leisure.
It’s easy to get to St. Helens from Portland, so fly in from anywhere across the country. There are multiple bus lines that pass by St. Helens from Portland, or you can take the Green light rail to St. Helens. Enjoy the costume contest or take a picture with the giant pumpkin in the Main Plaza. Don’t forget about the pirate alley, where one may spy Captain Jack Sparrow. Only in St. Helens can you experience Halloweentown in all its reality!