{"id":3213,"slug":"cocoanut-grove-site-boston-massachusetts","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Cocoanut Grove is the deadliest — the '42 fire that killed 492, the nightclub that's the worst. The exits were the locked — the revolving doors that jammed, the inward opening that trapped. The Melody Lounge was the start — the basement that ignited, the decorations that spread.","The Welansky was the convicted — the owner who served 4 years, the pardon that came late. The codes were the changed — the fire laws that were rewritten, the revolving doors that were banned. Cocoanut Grove is the lesson — the safety that was bought, the 492 who paid.","The file keeps Cocoanut Grove: the 1942 fire, the 492 dead, the locked exits, and the code changes.","Cocoanut Grove is the archive's Boston file — the deadliest nightclub."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Cocoanut Grove is the archive's Boston file — the fire that changed codes.","A nightclub keeps its exits — the file's suggestion being that the Grove's hold is the locked: the 492 who couldn't leave, the Welansky who was convicted, and the laws that were rewritten."]}],"name":"Cocoanut Grove site","aliases":[],"type":"SITE","type_label":"Site","cats":["DARK_HISTORY","LOCAL_FOLKLORE","DISASTER"],"groups":["dark-history","legends"],"desc":"November 28, 1942—the fire that killed 492.","full_desc":"A site in Boston, Massachusetts, Cocoanut Grove site is filed here for what the record attaches to it. November 28, 1942—the fire that killed 492. The presences in its file go unnamed: the grove dead, the record says. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend and 1 documented fact, with the verified spine filed separately from the lore. The site is open to visitors.","address":null,"city":"Boston","county":null,"state":"Massachusetts","postal":null,"region":"Northeast","lat":42.338551,"lon":-71.018253,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":"Historic site / memorial","research_notes":"dark2 batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":59.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.65,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":0.3999999999999999,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":3236,"type":"NAMED_GHOST_LEGEND","description":"The dead are reportedly remembered. The presences go by the Grove dead in the file. The reports at Cocoanut Grove site are the site's second history — unofficial, unverified, and stubbornly retold. 'Cocoanut Grove' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. 'Cocoanut Grove' carries the account. The name gives the haunting a face, and the sightings give the name a job.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"The Grove dead","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]},{"id":3237,"type":"HISTORICAL_LEGEND","description":"The fire is documented history. The site in Boston, Massachusetts gives the account a documented setting: real place, real history, unresolved reports. The press reported it; the reporting is documented, the phenomenon isn't. The report is preserved in sources like 'Cocoanut Grove'. Legends accrue where records go silent; this one filled the gap and stayed.","evidence":"MEDIA_REPORTED","evidence_label":"Media reported","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The November 28, 1942 fire is documented; 492 died. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. The record appears in 'Cocoanut Grove'. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":"1942-11-28","confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"The dead are reportedly remembered. The reports at Cocoanut Grove site are the site's second history — unofficial, unverified, and stubbornly retold. 'Cocoanut Grove' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. The retelling is the record now — the legend metabolized the facts long ago.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"The Grove dead","claimed_identity":"The Grove dead","verified":null,"summary":"The dead are reportedly remembered. The presences go by the Grove dead in the file. The site in Boston, Massachusetts gives the account a documented setting: real place, real history, unresolved reports. The account appears in 'Cocoanut Grove'. A named spirit outlasts an anonymous one; the file's name is The Grove dead.","behavior":"The dead are reportedly remembered.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Site access varies; verify before visiting.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Cocoanut Grove","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoanut_Grove_fire","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":2,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":1}}