Hocus Pocus

Spanish Title: El retorno de las brujas

French Title: Abracadabra

Airdate: July 16, 1993

Plot
In 1693, Thackery Binx, a teenage farmer living in Salem, Massachusetts, discovers his little sister Emily has been spirited away by the three Sanderson sisters, Winifred, Mary and Sarah, who intend to regain their youth by absorbing the life force of children through their witchcraft. Sneaking in the witches’ cottage, Binx’s attempt to save Emily fails when the sisters transform him into an immortal black cat and absorb Emily’s life force, regaining their youth. An angry mob led by Binx’s parents capture the sisters and prepare to hang them, but Winifred’s spell book casts a spell which will resurrect the sisters on All Hallows' Eve when a virgin lights their black-flamed candle. After the sisters die, Binx guards their cottage for the next three hundred years to prevent their return.

On October 31, 1993, teenager Max Dennison struggles to come to terms with moving from Los Angeles to Salem, although he quickly develops a crush on fellow student Allison. After his new shoes are stolen by bullies Jay and Ernie (“Ice”), Max is further frustrated when he has to take his mischievous little sister Dani trick-or-treating where he is humiliated further by Jay and Ernie, though she convinces him to give it a chance. Max and Dani meet Allison at her house, and when Dani strikes up interest in the Sandersons, the trio venture to their old cottage turned into a museum since shut down. Trying to prove the stories wrong, Max lights the candle, resurrecting the witches, who try to take Dani prisoner only for Max to fool them by igniting the building’s sprinkler system. Binx appears, instructing Max to steal Winifred’s spellbook. Realizing they have been had, the Sandersons give chase.

Confronting the children and Binx in a graveyard, the witches cannot land their brooms due to hallowed ground so Winifred summons Billy Butcherson from the dead, her former lover whom she poisoned after learning he had an affair with Sarah. Billy unenthusiastically follows Winifred’s orders and pursues the children and Binx across town with the witches not far behind whilst they explore the modern world, during which their brooms are taken by trick-or-treaters. The children venture to the town hall Halloween party which Max’s parents Dave and Jenny are attending. The Sandersons crash the party but perform "I Put a Spell on You" and enchant the adults to dance until they die. The children lure the witches to the high school where they trap them in a kiln and incinerate them.

However, the witches are revived and return home in despair, realising they were only revived for Halloween night and unless they kill more children they will turn to dust by the sunrise. The witches also take Jay and Ernie prisoner when they insult them. At the Dennison house, Max and Allison read the spellbook to find a possible spell to reverse Binx’s curse, only for an unseen light to fire from the book and alert the Sandersons to its location. The witches capture Dani, Binx, and the spellbook and fly back to their cottage, Sarah using a siren-like song to hypnotise the children of Salem into approaching the house. Using the Dennisons' truck, Max and Allison rescue Dani and Binx and flee to the graveyard. Despite having enough potion for one child and Jay or Ernie to use it on (and even Mary's and Sarah's pledges), Winifred makes it personal. Billy appears but turns on Winifred to aid the children and Binx, defending Dani around Billy’s grave and using salt as a weapon against the witches. Winifred captures Dani, with Binx trying to save her but is thrown to the ground and is wounded when he hits a rock.

Max manages to get a hold of Winifred's potion and threatens to smash it if Dani isn't given back to him. Winifred threatens to kill Dani if the potion is smashed. Max has no option but to drink the potion to save his sister. Winifred released Dani and grabs Max but he is much stronger than Dani and puts up a fight with Winifred who is on her broom. Struggling, Winifred calls to Mary and Sarah for help but Dani, Allison, and Billy manage to hold Mary back by pulling on the cable of her flying hoover. Sarah tried to help Mary but Dani, Allison and Billy suddenly let go of the cable causing Mary and Sarah to go flying up into the sky. Max manages to knock Winifred off of her broomstick and they both fall to the ground. Winifred grabs Max and begins to absorb his life force but she soon turns to stone because she is standing on hallowed ground. The sun rises causing Mary and Sarah to explode on their broomsticks and eventually Winnie who has already turned to stone. With the fight over, Billy returns to his grave and goes back to sleep. With the witches dead, the curse they put on Binx is broken and he dies from his injuries. His ghost appears to Max, Dani and Allison, thanking them for lighting the candle and stopping the Sanderson sisters. The ghost of Emily appears and with brother and sister finally reunited, they walk off together into the afterlife.

Meanwhile, Jay and Ice, who had been kidnapped and caged by the sisters, are singing Row, Row, Row Your Boat in their boredom. The eye of the book below them opens up and looks around for his dead mistresses. Shown as the credits roll, the adults and Max and Dani's parents are shown emerging from the Town Hall, covered in sweat and complimenting on how Salem knows how to throw a party, unaware they were uncontrollably dancing the night away.