I like to consider myself a bit of an expert when it comes to Halloween . It’s well and good to be scared, but sometimes it’s great to get a dose of childhood and nostalgia with your Halloween haunts!
There’s no other movie that delivers on both of these fronts better than Hocus Pocus . As a fun way to celebrate this incredible film, I’ve managed to piece together these 10+ Hocus POcus mistakes fans didn’t catch.
1. Why are the kids in school on a Sunday?
The film takes place in the year 1993. A quick Google search will show you that Halloween 1993 fell on a Sunday .
So what the heck are all of these kids doing at school?
While we’re on the subject, there wasn’t a full moon on Halloween in 1993, either.
Full moons on October 31st are incredibly rare. There hasn’t been one on Halloween since 1944.
As fate would have it, Halloween 2020 is going to not only be a full moon but a blue moon as well.
2. How could Winifred have heard Max?
In one of the best title-drops in movie history, Max exclaims to Allison and Dani “It’s just a bunch of Hocus Pocus .”
But he said that line before the Sanderson sisters were brought back from the dead!
3. Are the Sanderson sister’s cloaks bewitched?
When the Sanderson sisters first kidnap Emily at the beginning of the movie, pay attention to their hoods.
They each have them up to start the scene, but by the end, the hoods are all down — even though no one is seen lowering it.
4. Where’d Mrs. Dennison’s ring go?
Want to try something that’s guaranteed to give you a laugh? Try and keep track of the number of times that you see Max’s mom’s wedding-ring disappear and reappear from her left hand.
It’s most noticeable in the party scene.
5. Isn’t she supposed to be dead?
Sadly, Thackery can’t rescue Emily in time, and the Sanderson sisters are able to suck the life force from her.
If you look closely, you can see Emily move her legs and fidget in the chair.
6. That’s not the same note.
During the first classroom scene, Max boldly presents Allison with his phone number written on a piece of paper.
As you can see, it’s written on a blank piece of folded binder paper — remember that.
Is it just me or does that fold look completely different?
It’s clear that the handwriting isn’t the same, either.
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Look at the letter ‘M’ in both pictures: you’ll notice how one looks almost arch-like, while the other loops down in the middle.
7. Witch’s don’t get dental work.
You wouldn’t want to be caught anywhere near a dentist’s chair in the 1600s.
Near the beginning of the movie, right before the Sanderson sisters are hanged, Sarah Jessica Parker smiles with her mouth wide open.
If you look closely, you’ll see her fillings.
8. Ernie’s hat is an odd fashion choice.
Take a look at what Ernie — oops! I mean take a look at what ‘Ice’ is wearing, right before Mary comes up and sniffs his shoes.
That leather bucket hat is hard to miss.
But as soon as the camera cuts down to Mary, and then back up to Ernie, his hat is nowhere to be seen!
Where did it go? The camera cut happens in a flash and he wouldn’t have had time to take it off his head.
Witchcraft, perhaps?
9. Are Max’s clothes water-proof?
When Max sets off the sprinkler system (aka “The burning rain of death”), he manages to soak himself in the process from head to toe.
As you can see, he didn’t really have much of a choice.
But the next time we see him, as he attempts to light Winifred’s book on fire, he’s bone-dry.
Even his hair is combed and done! Did Max use the book to conjure a hairdryer along the way?
Maybe it’s a deleted scene that never made it off the cutting room floor?
10. Is it curly or straight?
Pay attention to Sarah Sanderson’s long-flowing blond hair. At various times throughout the movie, it appears curly. Other times, it’s poker-straight.
I suppose she is a witch, so changing her hair magically may very well be possible. We just never see it.
11. What’s a TTC logo doing in Salem?
Take a look at the sign on the bus wall, see that small red logo? That’s the emblem for the TTC or the Toronto Transit Commission .
How the heck did a bus from north of the border make it all the way to Salem?
