Have you ever heard of the movie “Hocus Pocus”, first released in 1993? If you have, there is a new second part to the movie called “Hocus Pocus 2” that just came out. Stars playing in the new movie are Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy.

The basic plot line follows two young women who accidentally bring back the evil Sanderson Sisters to modern day Salem. The girls then must stop the Sanderson Sisters (aka Midler, Parker and Najimy) from wreaking havoc on all of humanity. The first “Hocus Pocus” followed a teenager named Max Dennison. After moving to Salem, Max explores an abandoned house with his sister Dani and their new friend, Allison. In their exploration, Max accidentally frees a coven of evil witches who used to live inside the abandoned house. The kids must steal the witches’ book of spells to stop them from becoming immortal.

The second movie, Hocus Pocus 2, came out on September 30, 2022, maintaining some of the original characters and introducing some new ones. For example, the witches are the same characters. Both movies are filled with Hocus Pocus puns lined with scary moments. They are loosely based off Salem, Massachusetts in the 1660s. Back in the 1660s, women were accused of doing witchcraft on other little girls, becoming a serious issue, so judges started coming into Salem to get the accused. They would have trials for the women that were accused, and if they were found guilty- by unjustified methods- they were hung.

The first trial took place in February of 1692, with the accused woman being found guilty and hung. According to the Boston Globe, 25 people died in the Salem Witch Trials. Nineteen of the 25 were hung. Despite the nasty past the movies are loosely based off of, they are becoming a kind of cult tradition that mixes Halloween Horror with good fun. You should go check it out if you haven’t already. It’s in theaters now!