How Hocus Pocus Helped Popularize Halloween Outside of the US (2023)

rigmarole(1993) may be a well-known staple of the current Halloween season, bringing spooky magic into homes around the world, but when writer-producer David Kirschner conceived it, there was nothing remotely like it. It was truly one of the first films to fully export America's colorful Fall Break around the world.

Originally a much darker story.Conceived as a bedtime story for the Kirschner daughters, the producer soon pitched the film to the studios as the quintessential Halloween movie. Lean on the original film title ofThe Halloween House, Kirschner even used Halloween decorations, such as a table covered in candy corn and the soon-to-be-infamous vacuum cleaner "broomstick" from the film hanging from the ceiling, for his speeches to executives.

Even so, its status as a Christmas classic has been something of a Halloween wonder ever since.rigmaroleit was initially perceived as a disappointment. Upon its release, it received mixed reviews and a poor reception at the box office. Nonetheless, the film found new life when it was released on VHS and quickly became a Halloween rental staple. And being a Disney film, its distribution was widespread, with the film attracting an ever-growing audience thanks to repeat broadcasts on the Disney Channel, ABC, and UK terrestrial channels in the run-up to the scare season. Year after year and generation after generation, the family film has become a cult movie.

Withthe nightmare before christmas,HokusPocusit ultimately helped promote and popularize American Halloween traditions around the world. That is how.

an american party

Early in the film, Max (Omri Katz) tells his high school class that "everyone here knows that Halloween was made up by the candy companies. It's a conspiracy." However, that cynicism is quickly dispelled when Allison (Vinessa Shaw), the girl at the table, replies, "Coincidentally, Halloween is based on the ancient festival called All Hallow's Eve. It's the one night of the year when the spirits of the dead can return to earth.

Allison and Max's first interaction brings to light two very important aspects of the Halloween we know and love today: its ancient origins and its modern celebrations. Today, Halloween is a worldwide celebration filled with distinctive imagery such as pumpkins carved into gourds, witches riding broomsticks with black cats, ghosts haunting moonlit cemeteries, and children in spooky robes visiting houses with bags full of candy. But while it has ancient origins in the mysterious Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced Sow-een), a harvest festival that marks the end of summer and ushers in the terrible nights of winter, as well as the folklore and customs of the In northern Europe, modern Halloween is largely an American invention.

Yes, Allison, the term Halloween is a shortened form of All Hallow's Eve, but All Hallow's Eve isn't that old: it's a medieval creation conceived as a precursor to All Saints' Day, a festival created in the Middle Ages to honor the saints As the West became Christianized, the Catholic Church found it easier to take the remaining pagan festivals as the harvest and repackage them in the name of the Lord.

The pagans probably celebrated the beginning of the winter season with a harvest festival, but also with a sense of impending doom, as many would die during the winter period. Therefore, it is a time to honor the dead and a time when darkness will bring all that swirls in the night.

When the Scottish and Irish descendants of the Celts immigrated to the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries, they brought with them their folk customs, which included celebrating All Hallows Eve (later shortened to Halloween) to preserve their culture. . Their parades included fortune-telling, mummies, dancing, poetry recitations, and candy, and America's melting pot proved fertile ground for such a superstitious celebration. American Halloween was born soon after, morphing into the 20th century celebration as we know it today.

Pumpkins, for example, are Native American. Before the infamous jack-o'-lantern dominated the season, turnips and other pumpkins and root vegetables native to Europe were carved into ghoulish faces said to represent the souls of the dead for All Hallows.

Trick-or-treating, meanwhile, has origins said to be linked to ancient Samhain and older folk traditions of puppeteers and craftsmen taking place on All Saints' Day in Scotland, Ireland and other rural UK communities. Usually mummies would go door to door singing a song or offering a dance (similar to modern Christmas carols) in exchange for a traditional cake called soul cake.

But trick-or-treating only became a national phenomenon after World War II (although the custom became regionally established long before that). And yes Max, candy companies have embraced this bizarre custom, bucking the trend and creating candy-sized bars of your favorite chocolate just for the occasion. Thanks to urban legends of the occult, candy quickly replaced homemade razors as well.

Local governments also encouraged the rise of costume parties and trick-or-treating, as they helped discourage young people from their more destructive habit of pranks or the devil's night of All Hallows' Eve, aspects of which are still they are associated with tp-ing front yards and eggs. - You can see the houses.

Hocus pocus and going global

In the UK, you might hear the older generation complaining about Halloween, complaining that "we never had that American stuff when I was young!" But while many of the customs come from Ireland, Scotland, and the Celtic nations, they are right. It took a few decades for elaborate costume parties and trick-or-treating to become commonplace outside of the United States.

If you were lucky enough to have the chance to trick-or-treat as a kid in the UK in the early 90s, you'd be even luckier if you found a few people willing to give you treats (unless you were). fortunate to grow up on a farm with a large population of children and adults eager to care for them!). Books and magazines related to the season were few and far between compared to today. I managed to create a little American book that looks like a little paper notebook full of early 80's Halloween party ideas, crafts and recipes that I carried with me like a bible.

No one adorned the fronts of houses behind maybe a carved pumpkin or two. While many people hosted a nightly bonfire party (with a major lack of health and safety) and decorated their homes for Christmas, such enthusiasm for Halloween was unacceptable. It was hailed as a silly party for kids and treated as such: kids' costumes were available but expensive, and adults weren't easy to come by unless you wanted to go all out and visit a party and costume store. , so most were improvised or a simple mask or witch hat and broomstick. The most common celebrations were small gothic neopagan "Samhain" parties for adults, gatherings of children with floating apples and spooky stories, or just a good movie marathon.

But in 1993,rigmarolecaptured the imagination of British children, presenting them with the perfect watch for Halloween and an effort to capture the season as the film had. We wanted what we saw on the screen: a true American scare fest with city-wide activities for adults and kids alike, and we've been striving for it ever since.

Everything that is Halloween today culminates in itrigmarole. It is set in the "Witch Town" of Salem, Massachusetts, a tourist destination known for the infamous Salem witch trials of the 1690s and which benefited from the revival of "witch culture" through the popularization of the Wiccan religion. The real Salem features "haunted places": houses decked out to the max with Halloween decorations, front yards with seven-foot-tall skeletons, fake tombstones, and more: pumpkins at the door, the usual trick-or-treating. ritual of giving and receiving candy (and stealing), a real haunted house, lots of costumes, witches, a black cat, a zombie, cemeteries and, of course, terrifying folklore (which turns out to be true). And after seeing Halloween in all its spooky glory on screen, could you blame us Brits for embracing such a morbid celebration? After all, we invented gothic!

Whilerigmarolehit theaters in the US at the minus-Halloween time of the year and fought for the attention of the likesJurassic ParkYLiberen a Willyat the summer box office, in the UK and Europe, the film hit theaters on Halloween.

As well as the publication to seerigmarole, 1993 was unofficially "The Year of Halloween". Before this landmark year, there was the trick or treat scene.ET(1982) who are very unfriendly to childrenHallowe'enSlasher movie franchises and a sprinkling of Halloween Christmas specials for TV shows. In 1993 television movies were released.the halloween treey Mary-Kate y Ashley OlsenDouble double work and trouble, plus another Disney project that might be too scary for kids,the nightmare before christmas. The latter mixed Halloween with Christmas and suggested that October 31 is a holiday worth sitting next to December 25.

The generation who were kids this Halloween-filled year, and those who would grow up watching movie reruns (mostly millennials) have taken it upon themselves to inject movie magic into Halloween each year and raise their own kids loving the movie too. season. vacation.

Since this is a Disney project,rigmarole(and of course,the nightmare before christmas) had a reach that many films would not, and could be exported to all corners of the world. But the beauty ofrigmaroleit's that it also contains adult humor that has helped keep its cult status alive. Not only is it a nostalgic and pleasurable ride, but you still enjoy the ride as an adult, which means those of us who loved it as kids are finding a whole new reason to enjoy camping in Salem nearly 30 years later. And we are the same generation that has been anticipating and watching the sequel.

Halloween expert Lisa Morton, author ofTrick or Treat: A Halloween TaleHe tells us, "Hocus Pocus has had a remarkable resurgence in recent years," thanks in large part to its 20th and 25th anniversaries, which reminded millennials of the movie's magic.

As author Christina Cauterucci wrote in her commentary titled "It's just not Halloween without Hocus Pocus2013: "Why is this movie that I only watched once or twice when I was in the target audience so much more fun to watch as an adult?" Like most kids movies these days (especially from Pixar),rigmaroleIt serves up a lot of adult humor that caught my eye in the early '90s."

Morten agrees.

when talking toThe geek, the author points out, “rigmaroleIt could also be one of those movies that has a special nostalgia for those who are of the right age. I watched it as an adult and really didn't like it (I agreed with most of the 1993 reviewers), but that's very often the case when adults watch movies intended for children. That's probably another part of its popularity: those who loved it as children are now adults and share it with their children."

In fact, the hype surrounding the sequel just goes to show how enduring the magic is.rigmaroleand perhaps thanks to the fact that its magic transcends the actual film, it has breathed life into a new generation of Halloween lovers who have cemented the festival's legitimacy.

for example easybutrigmarolea quick search for the millennial favoritebuzz, and you'll find endless quizzes, behind-the-scenes recaps, andhonorsArigmarole. There's even a quizUnlock these older millennials andrigmaroleLifers, from the young 'us.

A V club.published an article about the film's 20th anniversary, commenting, "It stands out from a number of other films of the time because it comes to terms with its silliness and then goes the extra mile to make sure the silliness is executed well." of the question. Who doesn't love a touch of good old-fashioned silliness when it's cold, dark and miserable outside?

Halloween: the holiday that is here to stay

Appears on the podcastPost mortem, writer-producer David Kirschner stated that "at the time [he was pitchingrigmarole] The Halloween industry was a nearly billion dollar industry and there were no family movies. Since then, it has become a $10 billion business.”

Of course it's not justrigmaroleThat's to blame for the globalization of Halloween, but its success as a movie has paralleled the popularity of Halloween across the pond. all the more successrigmarolethe more Halloween has been cemented as a cult film, the more Halloween has been cemented as a seasonal holiday along with Valentine's Day, Easter and Christmas.

2017,National Geographicpublished an article titled "Love It Or Hate It, Halloween Is Going Global' which read: 'Halloween is spreading like a zombie outbreak around the world' and reported that '46 per cent of UK consumers spent money on Halloween in 2016, disbursing a total of 310 million pounds sterling".statesman, Halloween has surpassed Guy Fawkes night in popularity when it comes to celebrating a thing or two in the UK and the drop in sales of firecrackers and the rise of Halloween party supplies in supermarkets have reflected this.

In 2020 UK spending had hit levels despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemica whopping £536 million, and last year peaked at £607m. Spending is estimated to reach £777m by 2023, three times more than in 2013, when £230m was spent. It is estimated that around £25 million was spent on pumpkins last year alone - that's a lot of money for a fake pumpkin that has nothing to do with Samhain!

Disney has said that Halloween has gained momentum in Japan thanks to its resort in Tokyo, while Germans are also fans of the festival, with celebrations among young people on the rise since the 1990s.

In recent years, retailers such as TK Maxx and Homesense (the UK equivalent of TJ Maxx and Home Goods) have seriously upgraded their Halloween housewares, and demand has increased dramatically as consumers shop for everything. , from large garden accessories to plates and candles already in June. .

Social media groups share the most sought after items by avid Halloween hunters and offer to help other shoppers rate their "wanted" pieces. Popular items this year includethe nightmare before christmaskitchen towels and of courserigmaroleCushion with the logo of the Sanderson Sisters Witch Museum. For those who love Halloween, these two cult 1993 children's movies shaped their understanding and love of Halloween and remain firm favorites after 29 years.

So it's no surprise that in 2018, the 25th anniversary of the Sanderson sisters' first resurrection, the movie's ratings skyrocketed. The teaser trailer forHocus pocus 2, which launched in July this year, has racked up 43.6 million views and despite scathing reviews, many people across the UK are clinging to it.rigmaroleParties to celebrate the release of the sequel.

These days we've been blessed with a slew of new Halloween-centric movies to enjoy every spooky season that captures the spirit of the season: from kid-friendly movies likeCasper(1995),corpse Bride(2005),Frankenweenie(2012),monster house(2006) yParanormann(2012) to activities for adults such astrick or treating(2007).

We've got costumes and homewares in supermarkets, Halloween-inspired clothing at ASOS and other major retailers, parties, graduations, movie marathons at local theaters and more. We finally managed to create it.rigmarole-Salem style in every town, in every city, in every country, and there's no sign of stopping. Whats Next? Halloween haunts Yorkshire and kids run wild in Somerset's pumpkin patches?! The pumpkin patches are already appearing... Ahh, wouldn't the Sanderson sisters be proud?