October 2022 | Page 80

CASTING A SPELL ON

HOCUS POCUS HAS MORE recently become a cult classic since it was released in 1993 , and Rhode Island recently got in on the lights , camera and action . The sequel , Hocus Pocus 2 , cast a spell on the Ocean State by magically transforming its cities and towns last fall into Salem , Massachusetts , for filming many scenes in the movie , which will be released on Disney + Sept . 30 . The original film follows the
Sanderson sisters , witches including
Winifred ( Bette Midler ), Sarah ( Sarah Jessica Parker ) and Mary ( Kathy Najimy ), who were resurrected from 1693 by several teens . Hocus Pocus 2 takes place twenty-nine years after the original — the movie ’ s tagline is “ We ’ re back , witches !” — when three high school students accidentally conjure the Sanderson sisters to present-day times in Salem ( which is eerily similar to the historic architecture in Rhode Island ), and they must try to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc
78 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l OCTOBER 2022