- “Go to Hell!"
"Oh, I've been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely!” - ―Winifred's answer to Billy's insult
Winifred Sanderson (referred to as Winnie by her sisters) is the main antagonist in Disney's 1993 film, Hocus Pocus and the 2022 sequel Hocus Pocus 2. Just like Sarah and Mary, Winifred was a witch who lived during the time of the Salem Witch Trials and wished to stay young forever. She was later brought back from the dead by Max Dennison, and begun to terrorize the town in hopes of kidnapping children and stealing their souls to keep herself from dying once more.
Background[]
Winifred and her two younger sisters live in a cottage on the outskirts of Salem in the late 1600s. According to legend, she sold her soul, and possibly the souls of her sisters, to Satan in exchange for magical powers. He allegedly gave her an invaluable spellbook that could magically change its contents to suit any situation. However, in truth Winifred and her sisters were witches at birth. After losing their parents, the sisters fled into the woods, where they encountered a mysterious Witch Mother. Sensing the magic within Winifred, she realized these children she had encountered were nothing like she ever saw before. As sixteen is the moment a witch's power comes in, the Witch Mother gifted them the spellbook instead of the devil.
Another inconsistency in the Sanderson Sisters' origin is Winifred's relationship to William "Billy" Butcherson. She allegedly enjoyed a relationship with him when she was a young woman. In truth, Winifred and Billy only shared one kiss. It convinced her the two of them were soulmates. When she discovered him cheating on her with her sister Sarah, she flew into a jealous rage. Winifred fatally poisoned him, sewing his mouth shut with a dull needle so that he could not reveal her secrets even in death.
Personality[]
Winifred is highly intelligent, dramatic, sadistic, cruel, smart, temperamental, clever, and evil, which makes her all the more deadly if one isn't careful. Extremely vain, she is deeply offended whenever she is called ugly and swiftly punishes anyone who dares do so. When she caught her lover, Billy Butcherson, cheating on her with her beautiful sister Sarah, she flew into a jealous rage and poisoned him, sewing his lips shut with a dull needle for good measure.
As the eldest of her sisters, she is their leader, though she probably would be anyway due to her cunning and competence, traits which her sisters lack. She is also shown to be much more smarter, clever, and observant than her younger sisters. Mary is her right-hand witch and compliments Winnie constantly, but Sarah's air-headed idiocy in particular frequently exasperates Winnie to no end. However, she tolerates them either because her idolized mother asked her to, or because they each have invaluable, unique powers necessary for her plans. Her own unique power is electrokinesis, which can easily and painfully subdue pesky older siblings who get in her way.
If there is one thing she truly loves in the world, it is her beloved spellbook. Given to her by the Devil himself and able to magically change its contents to fit the situation, it is a priceless treasure that she absolutely adores. She is at her most caring, her most kind when she speaks to her book.
Her spellbook helps her find the perfect spells and potions to cause misfortune to others, be it painfully transforming her victims into other creatures or brewing a potion to suck away their life force. She enjoys harming others with wicked glee and even when facing execution, her sarcastic, cruel sense of humor remains unfazed.
Series  | ||
|---|---|---|
|