Universal’s Casper was filmed near Friendship, Maine, at Camden Hills, Rockport Harbor, John Burroughs Middle School in Los Angeles, and Universal Studios Stages 12, 28, Singapore Lake and Colonial Street.
Released in 1995, Casper follows the friendly ghost who lives in a vast New England mansion with his three uncles, the Ghostly Trio.
When no-nonsense Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) inherits the house, she’s horrified to discover she’s not the only resident… So, with a bit of prompting from Casper (Malachi Pearson/Devon Sawa) himself, Carrigan and her assistant, Dibs (Eric Idle), hire paranormal therapist Dr James Harvey.
Before long, Casper is helping Harvey’s daughter, Kat (Christina Ricci), have started an unlikely friendship.
Casper Filming Locations
The full list of Casper filming locations includes Rockport Harbor, Camden Hills State Park, John Burroughs Middle School and Universal Studios.
Casper is based on the Harvey Comics’ character, Casper, the Friendly Ghost (referenced by the family’s surname, Harvey). And as one of the first movies with a CGI lead character, the movie featured a then-rare total of 250 CGI sequences.
But since the technology was still in its early stages, Casper’s house and the town of Friendship, Maine, were created through a combination of backlots, sound stages and location shoots.
Casper Locations List
Whipstaff Manor
The interior of the house in the movie Casper, Whipstaff Manor, was constructed on Universal Studios Stage 12, one of the largest sound stages in the world. The same set famously features in the Backstreet Boys’ groundbreaking Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) video.
And in a 1995 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Christina Ricci revealed that the Casper house’s exterior set was mostly a painted backdrop.
Built in 1928, Stage 12 has been used for numerous ghostly mansions and castles over the years, hosting Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
In May 1995, Universal Studios Orlando opened a behind-the-scenes exhibition to coincide with the Casper’s cinematic release.
Alongside glimpses of props and costumes from the family Halloween movie, visitors got to see selected models of the kitchen and great hall sets. One vlogger shared archive footage of Casper on Location, revealing the library, laboratory, and staircase (complete with vacuum cleaner).
And more recently, Universal Studios opened Stage 12 for its Halloween Horror Nights 2024 haunted house event.
The ’Real’ Whipstaff Manor
Gaudi Casa Batllo. Frank K., CC BY 2.0
The likely inspiration behind Whipstaff Manor is Gaudi’s Casa Batllo in Barcelona. Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi designed numerous buildings in Barcelona including the Casa Mila apartments and the famously epic project, la Sagrada Familia.
Each of Gaudi’s buildings features his signature Art Nouveau details, with curving lines sweeping around the doors, under swirling ceilings.
The Casa Batllo features an eerie take on the style, with its windows and balconies earning the building the nickname ‘house of bones’.
Friendship, Maine
Casper’s Friendship scenes were filmed near the real Friendship in Rockport and Camden in Knox County, Maine, and in California. Discovered by settlers in 1750, the real town of Friendship was known as Meduncook by the Abenaki Native Americans who lived in the area.
Today, it’s a tiny town with a population of around 1,142. But the Casper movie used nearby filming locations around Camden and Rockport for their traditional aesthetics.
Friendship Sign
The Friendship road sign location in Casper is near Rockport Harbour in Rockport, Maine. We think the exact location of the town sign is in alongside Pascal Avenue, Rockport, on the edge of Kononen Park.
The shot looks out across Rockport Harbour, with Central Street’s historic buildings, Rockport Opera House, and the homes of Winter Street and Mechanic Street beyond.
Incorporated in 1891, Rockport, Maine, was settled in 1769 and is known for its creative community. Rockport Harbor is one of its famous features, but it gained a famous resident of its own in the late 20th Century.
The local Goodridge family ‘adopted’ Andre the Seal, who lived in the harbour until the mid-80s, inspiring a book and film. In fact, Rockport’s seal statue is just out of shot, close to the Casper filming location!
Friendship Harbor
Camden Harbor. Smuconlaw, CC BY-SA 3.0
Casper’s harbor scenes were also filmed around Camden Harbor, Maine and across Penobscot Bay.
These long shots of the movie’s Friendship Harbor location look like they were filmed from Mount Battie, a hiking spot within Camden Hills State Park.
According to IMDB, Casper was also filmed at Singapore Lake on the Universal Studios backlot – also known as Jaws Lake.
Lawyer’s Office
Carrigan’s lawyer’s office scene was filmed at Universal Studios. In addition to Stage 12, Casper sets were built at Stage 28, also known as the appropriately-named Phantom Stage.
Built in 1925 for the silent movie version of The Phantom of the Opera, it housed the original opera house set for 90 years until its demolition.
Marshwood Junior High School
John Burroughs Middle School. InSapphoWeTrust from Los Angeles, California, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
The real Marshwood Junior High School location from Casper is John Burroughs Middle School at 600 McCadden Place, Los Angeles.
The Californian school was founded in 1924, and has appeared in countless movies over the years – including 80s and 90s cult classics like Teen Wolf, Pleasantville, Pretty in Pink and Never Been Kissed. It’s also used as a filming location in Casper: A Spirited Beginning, Casper’s direct-to-video sequel.
The Cliffs
The cllifftop scene in Casper was filmed at Universal Studios, with stuntwoman Georgia Durante stepping in as Carrigan Crittenden.
In the scene, the heiress deliberately crashes her car over the cliffs surrounding Whipstaff Manor, intending to return as a ghost.
The Applegate Mansion
Colonial Mansion. Laurent Anja, CC BY-SA 4.0
Another Casper filming location is the Colonial Mansion on Colonial Street in Universal Studios, which returns as the Applegate Mansion filming location in Casper: A Spirited Beginning. It also had a very long history before Casper, Kat and Carrigan arrived on the scene.
Built in 1927 as the Shelby mansion for Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Colonial Mansion featured useable rooms behind the façade. The Colonial Mansion’s in the right place for spooky screen connections. It stood close to the Munsters’ house, The House of the Seven Gables, and the homes from ET and Poltergeist.
This Casper location was demolished to make way for a Wisteria Lane expansion in 2005, after Desperate Housewives took over the street.
