FILM · 1993 · USA
Hocus Pocus
20 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
20 Interesting Facts About Hocus Pocus
Interesting Facts (15)
- #001
- #002
The devil's dog ("Ralph") was Kathy Najimy's own dog.
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- #006
Rhythm and Hues, which created the CGI Thackery Binx, went to great lengths to make his facial features look like a real cat's. The studio found them, especially his teeth, too realistic and felt he could be too scary and sinister. To make him look friendlier, Rhythm and Hues made his teeth smaller and less pointed.
- #007
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- #009
Several scenes appear in various original trailers that are not in the released version of the film. These include Mary and Sarah pushing Winnifred into the school swimming pool, the witches surrounded by trick-or-treaters reaching out their hands, the witches meeting Billy only to complain about his "foul stench," Mary and Winnifred going through the school's lockers, and Mary snacking in a grocery store and being dragged out by Winifred.
- #010
- #011
Contrary to widespread rumors, the song Sarah Sanderson sings from the sky was not written by Edgar Allan Poe and does not carry the style or meter he would have used. It was written specifically for the film by Brock Walsh and composed by James Horner. It is the only music in the film not composed by John Debney.
- #012
Disney bought the script in 1984 and kept the project in development for eight years. The original title was "Disney's Halloween House," and it was meant to be much darker and scarier. Rumors spread online that Disney at one point considered turning the film into a made-for-TV movie, but these were not confirmed by the cast and crew.
- #013
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- #015
In a 2020 interview with Ethan Alter, Bette Midler said she wrote part of her own version of "I Put A Spell On You," which the Sanderson Sisters sing at the adults' party. "I wrote some of it. 'He's a bad one' — that was somebody else's line that had to do with 'you better be superstitious,' and then I wrote 'he's a bad one!' — 'I'm the worst of all the witches that work!' That was my line."
Behind the Scenes (2)
- #016
During a 20th-anniversary screening of Hocus Pocus, Doug Jones revealed that the moths that come out of his mouth at the end of the film were real, not CGI. In a 2018 interview with Bloody Disgusting, makeup and special effects designer Tony Gardner said the actor wore a "mouth rig," a latex pocket attached to prosthetics that blocked Jones's throat so the moths could emerge: "There was a little hole in the very back of the pocket so Doug could cough a little air through it… An animal handler would place a few moths into the pocket with tweezers. Then the stitches would be glued and closed." Gardner added, "We'd get out of frame so they could roll as quickly as possible."
- #017
Because of the film's length and the variety of tricks Binx performs, several cats were used on the set of Hocus Pocus. Humane Hollywood reported that the crew chose which cat would appear in each scene based on the animal's skills and personality. Even so, the animal performances required training and creativity. According to Humane Hollywood, "When the kids first encounter Binx in the witches' house, Binx jumps on Max, startling him, and Max falls to the ground. To achieve this scene, one trainer released the cat while a second trainer called it via a bell hidden in the actor's clothing." In some scenes, an animatronic was used in place of a real cat.
Deeper Meaning (3)
- #018
The city of Salem, MA used the film as the theme of the opening ceremony of its 2018 Haunted Happenings, timed to coincide with the film's 25th anniversary. The local National Park Service office made a doll of Winifred dressed in one of its uniforms, while the Saltonstall School built a float based on Thackery.
- #019
- #020
A sequel book released in 2018 revealed the fates of Jay and Ernie: they were eventually rescued, and one boy became the principal of the local high school. The other became a park ranger so he could join search and rescue operations to help people who are lost and stranded, since he knew firsthand what that felt like.
Related pages
- Ernest Scared Stupid — Hocus Pocus comes up in the facts on that page
- Hubie Halloween — Hocus Pocus comes up in the facts on that page
- Baby Driver — Hocus Pocus comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- IMDb
Information from external sources is independently selected, consolidated and edited by Arka Evren. Sources are listed for verification and further reading. Encyclopedia text is used under its licence (CC BY-SA). How we work