Not so much because the witchery that most actual witches practise today is authentically represented in the movie, but because the ability to openly be a witch/Pagan or adore witches – a point that many other Hollywood and literary contributions, very much including the Harry Potter franchise bolstered as well – has arguably never been more possible. I would even go so far as to argue that the greater widespread awareness and, to a degree, acceptance in some parts of the world of witchcraft, Wicca, and Paganism may have helped to bolster Hocus Pocus’ popularity. In more recent years, as Gen Xs and Millennials have reached adulthood and a mighty wave of nostalgic has swept across the pop culture landscape, Hocus Pocus has found both new and renewed popularity with fans who adored it back in the day, as well as those – of any age – who are just seeing it now for the first time.

However, thankfully, there were some critics and reviewer – and no shortage of fans – who “got” what Hocus Pocus was about and who saw the merits of a film that while seeped in literary, folkloric, and Hollywood inspiration, was a trailblazing movie in its own right. I fangirl like my life depended on it and – as many fans do – like to think of myself as something as a 4 th Sanderson sister. When it comes to Hocus Pocus, all bets are off. None, and I mean absolutely none, of them ranks higher for me than Disney’s 1993 Halloween themed classic, Hocus Pocus.

Yet, like most rules, this one is broken for a select few favourites. I don’t cosplay, I’ve only ever written one piece of fan fiction (an alternative ending, penned when I was about 13 years old to Titanic in which both Rose and Jack survive), and I’ve not yet stepped foot at a US amusement park such a Disneyland or Universal Studios. Sure, I love a good many things with a ceaseless passion, but I don’t feel the need to buy every last piece of merchandise pertaining to my favourite books, TV shows, movies, bands, and so forth.

Getting better and holding more allure the longer time elapses from its creation to the present moment.īroadly speaking, I’ve never been what, in modern parlance, is often referred to a “fangirl” when it comes to, well, most anything. Indeed, if anything, it deepens and matures like a fine wine. They are a sort of silver screen sacred ground and no matter how many years pass by, our love for these films never wavers. For many of us, there are certain movies that hold an immeasurably special spot in our hearts.

Hocus Pocus in Focus by Aaron Wallace