Do you know the story of the witches of Salem?
I watched the Disney movie « Hocus Pocus » a few days ago. I recommend it to you: the story of the witches of Salem is told in a light and rather funny way. Of course, as the Disney audience are rather children (I obviously count big kids like you and me!) , the story ends … (alert spoiler!) OK !!! However, the true legend offers us a different version of the facts …
I’ve decided to tell you about it here … I’m going to use the first names from the Disney movie, since I’ve read many and many versions of this legend and the names differed from every time. I agreed with the Disney version!
Once upon a time, long ago, lived Thackery and Emilie Binx in a small town named Salem. Thackery was 15 years old, he was a very handsome young man. Emilie was her little sister, she was 8 years old and was very beautiful too. His face was so beautiful that it looked like an angel’s. On a moonlit night, Thackery was awakened by the laughter of her little sister in the distance. Panicked, he ran to his window to understand what was happening. He then saw the little girl follow a beautiful young woman who sang like a bird. Her song seemed to bewitching Emilie who would run after her while dancing. Thackery screamed, screamed to reason his sister who did not seem to hear him. He followed her to the mark where the young woman attracted him.
It was a small, remote house in the forest, covered with moss, terrifying. He looked out the window and saw his little sister sit on a chair in the middle of three young women. There were also other children present around her little sister and three women. These women all seemed to be in their twenties. They were sisters, although they were not alike in any way. The eldest, Winifred , wore curly red hair and tangled hair. Her teeth were very advanced and she spoke while rolling the ‘r’. It was without question the least beautiful of the three. Sarah , the youngest, was endowed with a beautiful, shiny blonde hair extremely well ordered. She had a beautiful voice, and she loved to sing. She was, by far, the most beautiful of the three. The third sister, Marie , had hair as dark as night. His face was very beautiful, like that of a doll with round cheeks. She was very covered and walked with a heavy step.
They had been in the city for a few months, and soon after moving in, the children mysteriously disappeared one by one, faster and faster … The truth is that Sarah hypnotized the children with her enchanting voice and the attracted to his house. When comfortably seated on chairs, witches aspired to their souls and youth. The children died immediately as the shock was severe.
Let’s go back to Thackery. The young man, seeing the dead children on the ground and his little sister about to be killed too, entered the house of the witches to save her sister quietly before speeding. At least, that was his plan … It was unfortunately not counting the exacerbated flair of Mary: when she felt the smell of Thackery, she warned her sisters on the field and the three witches began to look for the young man who was lurking behind a dresser. When he was discovered, he hurried on the witches and tried to defeat them. Unfortunately for him, the witches were very powerful and they decided to kill his sister in front of him and then punish him. They pondered a severe punishment and chose to turn him into an immortal black cat, designed to carry the weight of his guilt as well as the mourning of his sister for eternity.
In the early morning, parents living in Salem saw that their children were not in bed. So they went looking for them, flaming torches in their hands. It was not until the end of the morning that they discovered, beas, the frightening house of the three witches of Salem. They sentenced the sisters to the stake. Before dying, Winifred opened his grimoire and pronounced his words: « people of Salem! I’m not afraid to die, because I know that one Halloween night, at the full moon, we will be resurrected and we will take the souls of the children of Salem again, and you will not be able to do anything about it! « » A demonic laugh from the back of his throat, and the blood of the people of Salem. A few seconds later, the three sisters were hanged, and at the foot of the gallows, a black cat lurked meowing all his soul …
…
100 years later , a family moved to Salem a few weeks before Halloween. Max , the teenager, had promised his little sister Dani bring scooping treats on Halloween night. After walking around the neighborhood, the bag filled with treats, Max decided to walk a little further in the city, to the forest, to gently scare her little sister. However, he did not expect to find a house abandoned just a few steps from the entrance to the forest …
Why was not she inhabited? Why was she left there? Max of course wanted to visit the mysterious house on the field, despite the reluctance of her little sister. It is with an uncertain step that they made their way to the house of the witches of Salem …
When they arrived at the doorway, they heard a small voice, « Do not go into the house, or it will be over for you! Go on the field! » Guess who had just spoken …
A black cat approached them and blew as hard as he could. Dani, moved by the cat, questioned him « Is it you who just spoke my cat? » She screamed in fear when he replied, « yes, it’s me, and you should listen to me: go away as long as there’s still time! »
She turned to see the reaction of her brother, but he had disappeared: he had entered the house of witches !! When Dani and Thackery joined him to get him out, it was too late: Max’s coming into the house caused the witches to come back … The floor creaked, the furniture shook, the shutters snapped … And the witches magically appeared in the middle of the room. Mary’s first words were: « I feel … children! » « The sisters immediately went after Max and Emilie, hidden behind a chest of drawers. Sarah began to sing a very melodious song, and the children were immediately bewitched. The witches invited the children to sit on two chairs. Once they were well settled, they uttered a magic formula and absorbed the souls of the two children until they became hard as stone.
It is said that Thackery is still standing guard in front of the witches’ house to drive away the children attracted by Sarah’s song … Will he ever be delivered from his terrible curse?
See you soon !
Mary
