The Sanderson Sisters are the child-hungry antagonists of Hocus Pocus — but a secret plot to kill her sisters might make Winifred Sanderson the most sinister of the three. Winifred Sanderson (Bette Midler), Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker) are a trio of sister witches who have haunted Salem with their dark magic for over 300 years. The Sanderson Sisters seem like a witch's dream team, so what evidence in Hocus Pocus points to Winifred wanting to kill her sisters? Here is the entire theory, explained.
The Sanderson Sisters have only one goal on their mind; eternal youth. In 1693, the sisters hatch a plot to regain their youth and live forever. Using a potion from Winifred's spellbook, they planned to lure all of the children of Salem to their cottage in the woods in order to consume their life force. Though their original plan is thwarted by Thackery Binx after consuming only one child — his sister, Emily — they're given a second chance when they're resurrected 300 years later. Their second attempt goes even worse than the first, as the sisters are defeated by the sunrise. However, Winifred might have had a few more victims than just the local kids in mind.
The theory that Winifred was planning to kill her sisters was proposed on a 2017 Reddit post in r/FanTheories by Reddit user ValNTine. The theory proposes that Winifred had no intention of sharing immortality with her sisters, instead intending to keep all of the life force for herself. Evidence throughout the movie supports the theory that Winifred was hoping to see her burdensome sisters dead.
Winifred's Real Plan In Hocus Pocus Explained
The Sanderson Sisters' original plan required the power of all three sisters in order to be successful — Mary has the ability to sniff out children, Sarah lures them with her Edgar Allen Poe-style song, and Winifred concocts the potion that would allow them to consume the life force of Salem's children. Even during their first attempt, there is evidence that Winifred plans to keep the life force all to herself, guaranteeing only her own immortality. After having to wait 300 years for a second chance, Winifred isn't beating around the bush — she planned to consume all of the life force on her own, securing her immortality while ridding herself of her sisters once and for all. Winifred is just keeping her sisters around for as long as their abilities are useful — once she had the potion made and the children lured in, Winifred had no more purpose for the other Sanderson sisters, and she had no intention of them seeing eternity, let alone surviving past sunrise. Consuming Dani's life force would have been enough to allow Winifred to survive past Halloween night; then, she could make enough of the life potion to devour the children of Salem in peace.
Why Winifred Would Kill Her Sisters In Hocus Pocus
While they're a power trio, it's no secret that Winifred doesn't think highly of her sisters. Mary and Sarah are more on the dimwitted side than Winifred, who excels at magic and spellwork. She is also incredibly selfish and narcissistic, concerned only with her own well-being. Winifred refers to her sisters as her "curse" multiple times throughout the film and doesn't hold back on her insults towards them. In Hocus Pocus, Winifred sees her sisters as nothing more than a burden on her life. She even tells Max that he was "a fool to give up thy life for thy sister's," revealing that she doesn't feel much sisterly love for Sarah and Mary — which isn't much of a surprise from a woman who was prepared to devour children for her own personal gain. It's also possible that the spell never could have sustained all three sisters in the first place; if Winifred planned to consume every single child in Salem to assure her immortality, could the same amount of children assure all three of them immortality? Winifred was already manipulating her sisters to gain what she wanted — one more lie wouldn't make much more of a difference.
Winifred has a reason to have a personal vendetta against her sister, Sarah. Before Billy Butcherson's resurrection in Hocus Pocus, Thackery explains that Billy had once been Winifred's lover — until he had an affair with Sarah, that is. In retaliation, she poisoned Billy and sewed his lips closed, as she'd always been "the jealous type." If Winifred was angry enough to murder Billy for his indiscretion, it isn't a stretch to believe she'd be angry enough to plot revenge against her sister for her role in the affair.
Why The Hocus Pocus Theory Works — All Evidence
There is ample evidence throughout the movie that supports this theory — and some of it is straight from Winifred's mouth. There are multiple times in Hocus Pocus when Winifred refers to herself exclusively when discussing her plan for immortality and consuming the life force of the children. When brewing the potion to steal Emily's life force, Winifred announces that "her life will be mine." Mary compliments Winifred on her newfound youth, but Winifred counters the compliment by stating that she "shall be a sprig forever once I suck the lives out of all the children of Salem." With the hangman's noose around her neck, Winifred left a curse upon Salem but again revealed that her plan for immortality was only for herself and not for her sisters. During her curse, she declared that all three sisters would return, but that "the lives of all the children of Salem shall be mine." Even upon their return in Hocus Pocus, Winifred's words reveal her true intentions when she tells Dani that "the lives of all thy little friends will be mine. And I shall be young and beautiful again forever." A few of the slip-ups are corrected, which could cause them to be easily brushed off in the name of comedy, but they also reveal that Winifred had no intentions of taking her sisters with her — all by her own word.
Some of the evidence of Winifred's plans lie in her actions, as well. The first time the sisters create the life potion, they all add a bit of their "tongue" — or their spit — to the brewing potion, which allowed them all to consume Emily's life force while holding hands. Upon making her second batch, however, only Winifred adds her tongue, which means the spell would only work for her in Hocus Pocus. When she is forced to drink from Max after he consumed the life potion, neither sister is close enough — nor are they holding hands — which makes it highly unlikely that they could benefit from the spell. With sunrise quickly approaching, Winifred has no concern whether either sister gets enough life source to survive; throughout Hocus Pocus, she's only concerned about herself. When the Sanderson Sisters are confronted with the terrifying "black river," Winifred pushes Sarah out into the road, virtually sacrificing her sister to test if it was safe enough to cross. Whether her sisters were unfortunate casualties or intentional victims, Winifred was prepared to spend eternity without the curse of her sisters on her back. Dani summed it up best in Hocus Pocus when she delivered her scathing remark to Winifred; Winifred did sell her soul, and it made her very ugly indeed.