Why did a virgin have to light the candle? - Hocus Pocus (1993) Analysis by Enyjé Sandoz

I was irrevocably afraid of the 1993 Hocus Pocus movie. It dates back to nineteenish-twenty years ago. Little three-or-four-year-old me unsuspectingly tuning into a movie on Disney Channel that would result in nightmares for many years, specifically around Halloween time. Another movie that haunted me was the live-action film 101 Dalmatians — Glenn Close as Cruella de Vil shook me to my core at around the same age, appeared in a nightmare, and I have not watched the movie since.

As a lover of all things spooky (not at all into horror, gore, or paranormal) and all things witchy, though the witches I love tend to be good witches, such as the Power of 3 on Charmed (1998) or Twitches — I was intrigued by the three Sanderson sisters. The issue was I was terrified of them on a visceral level. In particular, Winifred was the one who pervaded my nightmares. Her long nails, big hair, and buck teeth were imprinted on my brain — a bit ironic considering I mainly sport long nails, and my hair is often a statement piece.

My young self did not retain the plot, but the fear it evoked stuck with me for decades. In 2021-ish (maybe even 2022), I declared my overcoming of fear related to this movie. In October of that year, I shakingly accessed Disney+ via my television. Instead of positioning myself in my usual comfy spot on my bed, I sat on the floor. Not even ten minutes later, I hurriedly turned the movie off — confused about how this was a children’s movie with nooses around the sisters’ necks, which I tweeted about. To mitigate my fear, I sought refuge in Legally Blonde. 

In 2022, with the release of Hocus Pocus 2, I figured the sequel would be nowhere near as scary as the first based on the trailers, pictures, and the fact that times are different: standards are different, there are various sensitives, and Disney far more catered towards (much) younger audiences than decades prior. Thus, with my mom, we watched Hocus Pocus 2 on a well-lit, sunny Sunday afternoon. To my surprise, I loved the movie and its messaging. Also, as suspected, it was not at all scary. They leaned more into the comedic aspects, as opposed to the spook. Even though I liked Hocus Pocus 2, I hadn’t reached the point of starving my fear when it came to Hocus Pocus. 

Each spooky season, I kept this resolution in mind; it grew stronger each year. I was determined to conquer this fear, as it was essential — no movie was going to bitch me. So, on August 28th of this year (in the afternoon, of course — my first time re-watching this movie was not going to be just before I went to bed), I sat in my desk chair and dove straight in. Not even twenty minutes into the movie, I had to restart it because I was distracted. The second time around, I was hooked. 

While the 3-year-old me found this movie petrifying and the paradigm of the scariest Halloween movie ever created (understandably), the 23-year-old me found it highly amusing and my newfound Halloween fave (though I can foresee myself watching this year-round). 

My newfound fondness for this movie inspired today’s blog post: “Why did a virgin have to light the candle?” Hocus Pocus (1993) Analysis by Enyjé Sandoz

For those who have not watched the movie, while the sisters (Winifred, Mary, and Sarah) were hung for accusations (they were guilty) of being responsible for the disappearance of Emily (a village girl who they inhaled her essence) and Thackery Binx (her older brother who Winifred cursed into an immortal, black cat) and performing witchcraft, Winifred vowed her and her sisters’ return when a virgin lights the Black Flame candle on Halloween night that falls on a full moon. 

Three hundred years later, an L.A. native moves to Salem, Massachusetts, right in time for Halloween. Max Denison (a 16-year-old boy) is a non-believer in Halloween (he finds it to be a ploy from candy companies) or the Sanderson sisters’ lore (just a bunch of hocus pocus). When trick-or-treating with his little sister (Dani), they stumble across a house. The house happens to belong to Max’s crush, Allison. Allison is a fan of witches (her mother used to run a museum at the Sanderson Sisters’ home). Max proposes to visit the house to impress Allison and “make a believer out of him.” While at the house, Max finds a lighter from the old gift shop. At first, he used it as a source of light. As Allison told the story of the sisters, Dani was terrified and wanted to leave (Binx had attacked Max to prevent him from lighting the candle), and Max (still a non-believer) decided to light the candle. The ground begins shaking, and a host of other spooky things result in two of my favorite lines of the movie:

Max: What happened?

Dani: A virgin lit the candle.

Throughout the movie, there is a constant mention of Max being a virgin. Not only was the running joke hilarious, but it made the thinking gears in my head shift, begging the question: why did a virgin have to light the candle?

In its most known sense, a virgin is a person who has never had sex before. Common associations with virgins or virginity are words like pure, innocent, virtuous, and untainted — of course, this is strongly contingent upon religious-based ideologies and a standard mainly held for women or young girls. However, in the movie, instead of centering the plot around a teenage girl’s virginity, it is focused on a teenage boy’s virtue, which is different within itself. 

While one can superficially assess the usage of a virgin or diminish it to a quick, easy joke that’ll get people laughing, when considering the associations (as mentioned above) to the word, it begins unveiling a thick tapestry to the interconnectedness between the belief of magic and children. 

Children are historically known to be tapped into realms that co-exist but are beyond the physical — the spiritual, ethereal, or whatever-you-want-to-call-it realm. It is said due to their lack of societal conditioning relating to their belief systems, there is no limit to what they deem true. Simple (and most commonly known) examples are Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Boogy Man, and other folktales told to them. 

In popular culture, children are portrayed as the believers of magic — whether it be fairies, trolls, or other mythical and mystical creatures and themes. It is the adults who have to be convinced of the existence of these things because, in their adult brains, those things are make-believe. It is not until the adults listen to their children and tap into their inner children that they begin to believe. It is then they realize that believing is not dependent upon seeing.

Hocus Pocus reintroduces this idea in a comedic, more mature way. While the Sanderson sisters aim to capture children to drain their life force to maintain their youth, the story unfolds from the vantage point of Max, a teenager. It is common for teenagers to be non-believers in witches and things of the sort. It is often a sign of maturity (by societal standards) when a young person ages out of their belief of certain things: Santa Claus, the monsters under the bed or in the closet, the Tooth Fairy — you get the picture. So, it was no surprise that Max did not believe in the tale. Also, Max was from Los Angeles, whereas Allison (and their other classmates and teacher) grew up in Salem (where the infamous Salem Witch Trials took place), so they were believers because it was what they learned about since they were small children. Dani, being a child, of course, still believed.

Winifred’s vow of a virgin bringing them back to life was symbolic— not meant to be taken in its literal sense. The word virgin was merely an euphemism for innocence, purity, and so on.  However, as mentioned before, the spotlight on Max being a virgin (in its literal sense) was also a comedic edge to the movie, which should not be diminished either because it was certainly entertaining. 

For one, it would take someone with a child-like wonder to believe in the existence of witches and witchcraft — good or evil. Secondly, it would require a child-like curiosity to light the Black Flame candle despite knowing its ramifications. It’s very much a “having to touch the stove to see if it’s hot” sort of thing.

To continue, Sarah’s song, which is equivalent to a siren’s song luring in sailors, can be assumed to only be heard by children (because of their belief), as at the beginning of the movie, the adults (such as Thackery Binx’s parents) would have heard the call, as opposed to the other young boy having to summon the elders. 

Moreover, once cursed, Thackery Binx still could talk but was only heard by children. At the beginning of the movie, after the villagers hung the Sanderson sisters, Thackery clawed at his father’s leg. Though he was talking, it was received as him meowing. His father dismissed him, referring to him as a beast. Even though he demanded the sisters to confess to Thackery’s whereabouts, it is probable to assume he would not have believed them. Winifred’s cheeky response of cat’s got my tongue, was a dead giveaway, but it went over his head. Interestingly enough, while the adults would not have believed in the sisters’ magic, they were still motivated by their fear of evil, which is religiously motivated. On one hand, there’s no such thing as a witch, but on the other hand, there’s still a fear that exists. The beginning of the movie takes place in October of 1693, just a few months after the Salem Witch Trials ended in May of 1963, which was a string of accusations and executions that were based on suspicion of witchcraft and fear. The religious tones are even noted (beyond the wooden crosses they bore) in Thackery’s father's dismissal of Thackery. Black cats are historically associated with evil or a bad omen (as well as associated with witchcraft), so it is no surprise he would refer to him as a beast. 

Other examples of the dissonance between an adult’s belief system and a child’s is when Max, Dani, Allison, and Binx find their parents at the party to tell them about the witches. Despite their children’s assurance of having all of their faculties and not being in a candy-induced high, their parents still did not believe them, even after seeing the witches for themselves. Their parents' disbelief made them susceptible to Winifred’s magic of unstoppable dancing, and it was not until the sisters vanished that the spell broke. 

Furthermore, the overall plot of the evil witches needing the souls of children to bask in the vanity of their pursuit of youth (common lore) speaks to the concept of a virgin (or someone innocent and pure) being the one to bring about their return. They seek innocence and purity because it is revitalizing and potent. If vitality and potency were not a factor, why is it that witches never go after a young woman or anyone else, for that matter? It is because children are viewed as untainted and unadulterated.

Hocus Pocus has certainly put a spell on me. What was once my greatest (literal) nightmare turned into an enthrallment. Sometimes, I seek to shut off my brain and simply consume, as thinking can be tiresome, but I love combining entertainment with historical elements, metaphysics, and deciphering the deeper meaning.

Hocus Pocus is the perfect batch of a witch’s brew to stimulate my curiosities while also laughing. As another iconic Halloween witchy movie once said, “I've always said the movies could teach us about life.” - Aggie Cromwell, Halloweentown (1998). 

Wishing all of my fellow witchy girls and guys, wizards, and other magical beings a Happy Halloween!

My journey to loving Hocus Pocus:

My journey to loving Hocus Pocus! 🖤

A thread:— Enyjé Sandoz (@writtenbyenyje) October 18, 2024