Although Hocus Pocus is a fantasy, the film has ties to real-life Salem, including a leading actress who's related to an accused witch! So leave your laid-back, California, tie-dyed point of view at the door because we're delving into the world of Hocus Pocus and how it relates to Salem, then and now.
CNN reported that the Sanderson sisters are fictional characters. There were not three sisters named Winifred, Sarah and Mary who were executed for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts.
The inspiration for "Hocus Pocus" came from the bedtime story producer and cowriter David Kirschner would tell his kids. "Halloween is a huge deal in our home, and it has been since our daughters were little," Kirschner told Yahoo in 2015. "It speaks to me in a way that becomes so emotional for me and always has."
Yes, you can see the real-life location where the Sanderson Sisters were resurrected—if you dare! This private residence located at 4 Ocean Ave in Salem dates all the way back to 1870. Visitors probably shouldn't go knocking, but you can take a stroll by the house and admire its iconic exterior.
1600s Salem (Pioneer Village, 310 West Avenue in Salem, Mass.) Hocus Pocus begins in the distant past — specifically in 1600s Salem, Mass. This is where we first see Thackery Binx (Sean Murray) frantically searching for his sister Emily (Amanda Shepherd).
So there weren't three actual Sanderson sisters in real life (maybe that's a good thing). However, as this CNN report notes, three sisters were in fact accused of witchcraft in the completely boring little town called Salem (nothing ever happened in Salem!).
While the three sisters were portrayed as truly magical individuals with a craving for children's souls to keep themselves young, their characters were based on real women, who were innocent people, murdered for being supposed witches. The Salem Witch Trials began in the spring of 1692.
300 years ago, in 1693, in Salem, Massachusetts, the Sanderson sisters were hanged by the population of Salem after a boy named Thackery Binx tried to stop the witches and was turned into an immortal black cat while saving his sister Emily.
Currently, Sarah Jessica Parker is 56, Bette Midler is 76, and Kathy Najimy is 64. There are many fun facts about the iconic witches of Hocus Pocus. Below, we have compiled five such fun facts ahead of the sequel's release on September 30.
Salem (/ˈseɪləm/ SAY-ləm) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one of the most significant seaports trading commodities in early American history.
For their evil activities, Winifred and her sisters were sentenced to death by the Salem townsfolk in 1693, and later resurrected by Max Dennison in 1993. Upon her return, she and her sisters aspired to consume the life forces from children in order to achieve eternal youth and immortality.
Disney boss Sean Bailey confirmed that Hocus Pocus 3 was in the works in June 2023, following the long-awaited sequel being a hit on the streaming service. Hocus Pocus 2's director, Anne Fletcher, is returning for the new movie, according to TheWrap.
Billy greatly despises Winifred, but he did have a relationship with her when he was alive because they shared one kiss. He put up with it until he is fed up with her obsession and fell in love with her youngest sister Sarah.
It turns out Isabella is the descendant of Elizabeth, the daughter of a fourth, secret Sanderson sister, and she discovers later in the book that she also has magical abilities, similar to Becca in "Hocus Pocus 2."
On that same night, the three witches were hanged by the Salem townsfolk. But not before they cast a curse: if a virgin should light the Black Flame Candle on All Hallow's Eve with a full moon in the sky, the Sanderson vowed they would one day return to take revenge on all of Salem.
Were there actual witches in Salem? There were no witches in 17th-century Salem. In the 17th century, a witch was understood as a person who agreed to serve the devil in opposition to the Christian church.
Winifred, Mary and Sarah are executed in 1693 and have been dead for 300 years. They are brought back in 1993 when the black flame candle is lit. Winifred loves her spell book above all.
What Hocus Pocus is about. The original Hocus Pocus, released on July 16, 1993, follows two stories: that of the Sanderson sisters, a coven of witches hanged in 1693 Salem, Mass., and that of the Dennison siblings, who moved from Los Angeles to Salem three hundred years later.
We learn that the Sanderson Sisters were orphaned at a young age. And when a young Winifred refuses to obey Salem's reverend, he tries to take Mary and Sarah out of her custody (though the girls escape). Winifred is domineering over her sisters even though they are good to her.
About eight real-life black cats were used to play Binx as a cat. The names of the cats used for the role of Binx in his cat form were Stimpy, Felix, Mad Cat, Clyde, Killer, Rio, Tom-Cat, and 'Fraidy Cat. Sean Murray, the actor that played Thackery, is best known for his role of agent Tim McGee on the show NCIS.
After luring them to the local high school, the children trap the witches in a pottery kiln and burn them alive. But while the children are celebrating their victory, the witches' curse revives them again.
No convicted witches executed at Proctor's Ledge in 1692 are buried at Charter Street Cemetery. Their remains were taken from the shallow graves near the gallows and buried in secret by their family and friends. Their burial locations remain unknown.
Are there any living descendants of the Salem witches?
Both the accused and the accusers involved with the trials have left many descendants over the centuries since the events occurred. Many descendants have multiple accused witches in their ancestry, due in part to the tendency of the accused witches' families to intermarry.
Perhaps the most devastating story from the Salem witchcraft trials is that of Dorothy Good, the youngest person to be arrested and jailed in 1692. At the age of just four years old, Dorothy was accused of practicing witchcraft and confined to a dungeon-like prison for nearly eight months.
