Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus is one of those movies I thought was great as a child, not so much as an adult. However, it is a Halloween movie and appropriate for this blog. :) Anyway the story begins on October 31, 1693 when a young boy by the name of Thackery Binx realizes that the evil Sanderson Sisters have lured his younger sister away in order to kill her and retain their youth through her. He tries to stop them, but is turned into an immortal cat for his trouble. They succeed in killing Emily Binx, but the townspeople catch them and hang them. Before dying, the eldest sister Winifred curses the town saying that when a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle on All Hallow's Eve they will rise from the grave.

Three hundred years later, a perfectly modern boy named Max lights the candle in order to a. impress the girl named Allison, and b. prove all the silly superstition is just that, superstition. Imagine his surprise when the Sanderson Sisters come back from the grave in order to kill them all. Max must then team up with Allison, his younger sister Dani, and Binx the cat in order to stop the Sanderson Sisters from completing their evil plan.

A fun fact is that the actor who plays Thackery Banks grew up to play Agent Timothy McGee on NCIS.

Twitches

The film Twitches is based on a popular junior series of the same name. I've never read them. Disney has also made a sequel that I have yet to watch

            The story follows two magical sisters Cameryn/Apolla and Alex/Artemis who were born on Halloween and brought into our world when a shadow creature killed their father and started taking over their land. To keep them safe, they were separated and never knew the other one existed until their 21st birthday. They meet and notice that not only do they look a lot alike and have magical memories of their homeland, but can do magic whenever they're together. They have to return to their homeland, Coventry and save it from the dark shadows of their infancy, a task that only they are qualified to do. This is a Disney film, so you know that everyone lives happily ever after. A fun fact is that the sisters are played by real life twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry.

Halloweentown

So I decided that since this is the month of October I would showcase some items that are great for All Hallow's Eve. That is why the following review is about the Disney Channel Original Movies about Halloweentown.

According to the plot line of the first movie, centuries ago witches, vampires, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night moved to the enchanted world of Halloweentown where they could live in peace away from the mortals who feared them. The story follows the life of Marnie Piper and her family. Marnie and her siblings Sophie and Dylan are half witch and half mortal. Their mother, Gwen Cromwell, fell in love with their mortal father and is trying to raise them up to be normal human beings not telling them about their magical heritage.

All this changes when their grandmother Aggie comes for a visit on Halloween, the only time the portal opens between the two worlds. Aggie tells Gwen that some evil has begun to plague Halloweentown and that she needs Gwen's help to stop it. Gwen refuses, but Marnie overhears them talking about really being witches and she, Dylan, and Sophie go to Halloweentown to help their grandma.

The second movie, Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge,  takes place after the first where the three siblings are now being trained in their magical heritage and have to stop another threat from turning humans into monsters and the residents of Halloweentown from being turned into extremely boring versions of humans.

The third movie, Halloweentown High,  follows their adventures in high school and the "monsters" that come over from Hallowentown as foreign exchange students. This one is not as good as the previous two movies and I would not actually suggest it.

The last movie is Return to Halloweentown and is about Dylan and Marnie's stint in Witch University. I actually haven't seen this one so I cannot give you an accurate review.

All of these movies are available on DVD.

A Night in the Lonesome October

He was the most notorious serial killer of all time, and he was never caught. It's only recently that they think that they know who did it, and I say how can you possibly know after over a century? His exploits have been depicted in various murder mysteries and even an episode of the Original Star Trek. I'm talking of course about Jack the Ripper, the terror of Whitechapel in the latter part of the 19th century, and in A Night in the Lonesome October, you want Jack to win.
That's right, this legendary killer is the protagonist of our story, or rather his dog is. The book takes place entirely in the month of October where a group of strange individuals have come together to play the Great Game. The final skirmish takes place on All Hallows Eve when the door that separates our world from a world of ancient gods shall be opened. There are two factions in this "game", those who want to open the door to the gods and the other who want the door to remain closed. Jack is in the latter category. So basically if Jack is caught, the world shall end as we know it. Along with Jack the Ripper, a score of other familiar characters flit through the page of this book. We have Dracula, Frankenstein and his monster, Sherlock Holmes and Watson, a witch, and a wolfman. The added fun of having the book told entirely through the perspective of Jack's dog just adds to the delight. A fun Halloween tale for any reader!