Sarah Jessica Parker’s real connection to the Salem witch trials explained

While Sarah Jessica Parker plays the fictional Sarah Sanderson in Disney Hocus Pocus franchise, the actress has a real-life connection to the Salem witch trials. Premiered in July 1993, Hocus Pocus was a notorious bomb on release – likely due to the dubious decision to release a Halloween movie in the summer. However, thanks to home video and repeat viewings on television, young millennials fell in love with Hocus PocusAnd the movie became a cult classic. In 2022, a sequel, titled Hocus Pocus 2 is released for streaming on Disney+.

Hocus Pocus 2 See the return of the notorious Sanderson sisters from the first film. In the movie, Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah (Parker) Sanderson are three witches who were hanged during the Salem witch trials. However, they are resurrected 300 years later when teenager Max Dennison (Omri Katz) lights the Black Flame candle. Although they were the villains of the film, The Sanderson sisters became the most celebrated Hocus Pocus characters, especially the fascinating Sarah. And the fact that Parker is actually connected to the Salem witch trials adds even more magic to the film’s legacy.

Hocus Pocus’ Sarah Jessica Parker Is Actually the Descendant of an Accused Witch

Parker’s ancestor, Esther Elwell, was found guilty of “various acts of witchcraft”

In the premiere episode of the documentary series Who do you think you are? USA, Sarah Jessica Parker learns that one of her ancestors, Esther Elwell, was found guilty of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.. The trials saw the death of at least 25 people, mostly women, who were targeted for a variety of reasons, mostly personal or political, leading up to a widespread witch hunt.

Esther Elwell, who married into the English Elwell family who had emigrated to the United States, and two other women were accused of kidnapping and killing Mary Fitch, the sister of a church deacon (via History of Massachusetts). However, unlike the US Hocus PocusSanderson Sister, Elwell is not executed. This is because she was arrested in November 1962, a month after the court that tried accused witches was dissolved. Elwell lived to be 82, and died in her hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

SJP is in total shock over the popularity of Hocus Pocus

Bette Midler was the one who realized the demand for Hocus Pocus 2

Just as she was surprised to learn that she had an ancestor involved in the Salem Witch Trials, Sarah Jessica Parker was shocked that fans were clamoring for a Hocus Pocus Sequel almost 30 years after the original appeared. Although the 1993 film bombed, Parker’s career continued to soar, and she became far more famous for her culture-defining role as Carrie Bradshaw, the protagonist of Sex and the City. Parker absolutely credits her co-star Bette Midler for getting the ball rolling Hocus Pocus 2Telling Vanity Fair,

In all honesty, I haven’t thought much about a sequel for the past 28 years… I haven’t been involved in the conversations. When I found out it was going to happen, I was in shock. Beth was the person who imagined this idea for years and thought it would all happen. She couldn’t stop herself from this idea, and I admire her so much that she believed and fought for a continuation. The lesson is, listen to the divine Miss M. She knows what works and how to get it done.

Midler saw the potential for Hocus Pocus 2 When she began to notice a heavy presence of Hocus Pocus Merchandise a decade after the movie’s release in 1993 – she even bought herself a Winifred Sanderson costume online. And, as Parker said, Midler was right. In 2019, a sequel was Greenlit, which led to the return of the Sanderson sisters. Midler said of the three actresses’ reunion,

It was a very strange experience… the dynamic between the three of us was exactly the same as it had been nearly 30 years ago. It was like time had never passed. We immediately fell into our old characters. It is as if these characters have lived with us all this time. It’s so funny.

Will SJP return for a Hocus Pocus 3?

The third Hocus Pocus is announced in 2023

fans of Hocus Pocus have a lot to be happy about because in June 2023, Sean Bailey, then president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed that Hocus Pocus 3 is happening. It’s really exciting, considering the humble beginnings of the original film, but the whole thing really hinges on the beating heart of the franchise, the Sanderson sisters. luckily, All three actresses have expressed a desire to come back. Again, Sarah Jessica Parker quotes Bette Midler, aka “The divine Miss M“As her reason for returning (via Extra):

I hitch my car to her forehead. If she wants to do a third… no one says no to the divine Miss M.

As in the first Hocus Pocus film, the Sanderson sisters were defeated in the sequel. However, these Hocus Pocus 2 Post-credits scene reveals that another Black Flame Candle exists. So, with Sarah Jessica ParkerBette Midler, and Kathy Najimy on board – or broom – the Sanderson sisters will fly in again Hocus Pocus 3.