Ashtyn Britt
abritt@lc.edu

Hocus Pocus, Disney’s favorite witchy movie, is twenty five years old this year! The original movie starred Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Omri Katz. Twenty five years ago, these very talented actors told the story of Max Dennison accidentally releasing the wrath of the three Sanderson Sisters onto the world and having to find a way to defeat them before the sun rises once the evil witches kidnap Max’s little sister Dani.

While at first glance this spooky tale seems to be merely scary, it is in fact also family friendly and very funny! This movie has remained a cult classic since its first airing and twenty five years later, it still holds up fabulously!

In fact, this movie is still so well beloved, that Disney recently released a book version of the movie, including the long-anticipated sequel! This book, written by A. W. Jantha, takes place in the modern day of Halloween night in Oct. 2018 and follows three new protagonists.

The first protagonist is Poppy Dennison, the teenaged daughter of Max Dennison and his wife Alison Dennison, who was Max’s love interest that he’d met twenty five years earlier. Also featured is Travis Reese, her skeptical best friend that provides a unique flair in this book that I instantly adored! Also featured is Isabella Richards, a high achiever at school who has caught Poppy’s eye. When the three sneak to the old Sanderson house on Halloween, they accidentally bring the infamous evil Sanderson Sisters back!

This book offers many things for modern day Hocus Pocus fans to enjoy including clever homages to the original, a glimpse to our favorite characters in their adult lives, a lesbian love story, and even a secret fourth Sanderson Sister! For anyone looking for a book to get them into the spirit of this most beautiful time of the year, this is the book for you! This book can be requested in the school library or bought online.