When fall rolls around every year, so does all the hype over Hocus Pocus, a 1993 Disney film featuring the “beloved” Sanderson Sisters, a trio of witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. This year, the hype was to the extreme as everyone anxiously awaited the September 30 release of Hocus Pocus 2.
To celebrate the return of the Sanderson Sisters, I couldn’t help but notice how many people were hosting Hocus Pocus parties, selling and wearing Hocus Pocus T-shirts, creating Hocus Pocus charcuterie boards and other themed snacks, even dressing themselves and their kids in costumes that looked like the Sanderson Sisters.
I was appalled … confused … then intrigued. Why all the hype? Was I missing something? Were my kids missing something because I had sworn off all things witch-related in our home? Why were all these parents, even Christian parents, excitedly letting their kids watch these movies? Was I being a fuddy duddy?
Maybe I was.
So several weeks ago, on a Friday – my family’s designated movie night – I decided we would give the 1993 film a try. I mean, maybe it was just a harmless, comical, kid-friendly movie after all.
Let me just say, I listened to the lies of the world when I had that thought.
Forty minutes into the movie, we turned it off. That was forty minutes too long, and my kids knew it. They sensed it in their spirits just like I did, and I’m grateful to God for that conviction.
To excuse what is in the movie and to flippantly say, “it’s just a bunch of hocus pocus” is to carelessly invite Satan into your home. It is a flagrant display of witchcraft that glorifies hell, sin, and demonic powers while normalizing the occult and paganism.
I know that’s going to make some of you mad. But I implore you to consider the truth.
The whole premise of the movie is the witches’ luring of children in an attempt to steal their souls and suck the very life out of them. Isn’t that what Satan aims to do every day? To kill, steal, and destroy? (John 10:10) And there is no question whatsoever that his target is our children! Your children! My children! So why risk giving him a foothold in our homes … through a movie?
My heart is so burdened by how Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2 are so widely accepted and celebrated and how the Sanderson Sisters have literally become a household name this time of year.
I urge you to consider the lists below as a wake-up call to what’s really in these movies.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Demonic content
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Witches are shown putting a spell on children and sucking the life out of them so they can stay young.
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“I smell children” is a common phrase used by the witches.
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Witches are summoned back to life when a virgin lights a black candle.
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One witch exclaims, “We shall be back, and the lives of all the children shall be mine!”
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The magical spell book, which is supposedly alive and wrapped in human skin, is given to the witch by the Devil himself.
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The witches summon a dead man from the grave to catch children.
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The witches “desire children,” and at times their desires and gestures when touching and interacting with the children come across in an eerie, almost pedophilic way.
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The witches see a man dressed as the Devil and repeatedly refer to him as “master” and bow down to him.
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The witches sing the following song lyrics: “I put a spell on you, and now you’re mine. … Now the witch is back, and there is hell to pay.”
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One witch is told, “Go to hell,” to which she responds: “I’ve been there, thank you! I found it quite lovely!”
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Deceased humans are reunited in an unknown spiritual realm.
Sexual Content -
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Virginity is a theme throughout.
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A mother is dressed as Madonna wearing a very pronounced cone-shaped bra.
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One male teen asks another male teen: “Do you want to look in windows and watch babes undress?”
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One witch is portrayed as very sexually promiscuous, and her breasts are always overflowing from the top of her dress.
Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
Since Hocus Pocus 2 is a sequel, much of the content from the first movie is repeated in the second movie. However, Hocus Pocus 2 dives even deeper into the demonic realm by focusing on three modern-day teen girls who form a witch’s coven by the end of the movie after one of them surprisingly becomes a witch with powers on her 16th birthday.
According to MovieGuide, one mother said the movie “unleashes hell on your kids and in your home. The whole movie is based on witches harvesting children for blood sacrifices.”
In addition, the second movie begins by taking stabs at the church and the Puritan faith. The Sanderson Sisters, as young children, proudly defy the authority of the church and make the pastor out to be a wretched man. The sisters set the minister’s house on fire as an act of revenge and take joy in doing so.
Here are more problematic things to consider about Hocus Pocus 2:
Demonic content
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A mother witch is introduced as the giver of all magic power.
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Numerous spells and incantations are spoken throughout the film including the most powerful Magicae Maxima spell which transfers all the power to one witch.
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Crystals are included, and angelica leaves are burned to lift curses.
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The forbidden woods are considered sacred ground.
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The witches consider themselves idols who are being worshiped by both children and adults.
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Bursts of light and shaking ground indicate magic powers being transferred between realms.
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Comments are made, such as: “Say hello to Satan for me!” “Holy Lucifer …!”
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The witches describe themselves as “passionate partners in unholy mischief.”
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The witches take pride in being “stone-cold sinners.”
Sexual Content -
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A young child asks, “What is a virgin?”
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The school secretary appears to be transgender.
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A transgender youth is included in a group of friends.
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Real-life drag queens have roles in the movie.
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Two men are shown cuddled on the couch together eating popcorn and watching a movie.
It’s also important to note that both movies include profanity and multiple uses of God’s name in vain.
So with all that in mind, my prayer is that our hearts, as parents and most importantly, as believers, will be convicted by what the world sees as mere entertainment. While it may be entertaining, it’s dangerous, and we are giving evil a stronghold in our lives and in our families when we excuse and ignore the schemes of Satan.
Scripture clearly warns against this. I encourage you to read Deuteronomy 18:10-13; Galatians 5:19-21; and Revelation 21:8.
“All of these biblical passages – and more besides – show us, beyond all reasonable doubt, that God wants us to avoid completely witchcraft and sorcery,” said MovieGuide publisher and founder Ted Baehr.
Scripture also tells us:
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV).
We must resist the Devil, even when he comes disguised as the comical Sanderson Sisters who are doing nothing but a little “harmless” hocus pocus.
