A Texas mother is urging parents to keep their children from watching Hocus Pocus 2, claiming that the film can “unleash hell” in one’s “home”.
During a recent interview with KWTX, Jamie Gooch issued a warning about the plot of the Disney + film, which is a sequel of the fan-favourite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus.
“A worst case scenario is: you unleash hell on your kids and in your home,” she said. “The whole movie is based on witches harvesting children for blood sacrifices.”
Similar to the plot of Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2 is centred on a group of women trying to stop three witches from kidnapping and harming the children of Salem, Massachusetts, after accidentally being brought back to life.
Gooch emphasised her concern about the film to KWTX and said viewers are unaware of what can come into their homes “through [their] TV screen”.
“Do not watch this film,” she continued. “Everybody thinks it’s fake and innocent, but they could be casting any type of spell that they want to, anything could be coming through that TV screen into your home.”
She went on to say she loves keeping her home “safe,” which is why she and her husband remain focused on “what [they’re] bringing” into it.
“I love creating a safe environment for my family and friends to come into, I believe everything starts here, it all starts at home,” she explained to KWTX. “So beware--and be aware--of what we’re bringing into our homes and our everyday lives, my husband and our children should be experiencing something different here in our home than they’re experiencing out in the world.”
The mother of three told the outlet her family hasn’t celebrated Halloween for “about four or five years,” because “it grieves me, the thought of exposing our kids to darkness.”
Gooch added that the response to her beliefs has been “wonderful in a sense that a lot of people agreed with me in that they already knew, there were some that didn’t understand, but it was welcomed.”
She emphasised that if people didn’t agree with her “that’s fine,” but for her, as a “Christian,” she claimed that she was “held at a higher standard”.
This interview comes after Gooch shared a now-private and viral Facebook post, in which she encouraged mothers to think about what was happening in Hocus Pocus 2. In the Facebook post, shared via Mediaite, Gooch said that she felt a “strong conviction” to “share a word” with mothers, urging them to think about the “films” that they allow in their homes.
“As Mothers and wives WE are the gatekeepers of our homes. Meaning whatever we allow in has a rightful place to reside and grow there because WE have given it permission,” she wrote. “What is actually happening when we watch these films? What are we subjecting our minds to? What are we welcoming into the homes of our families? I say all of this because I too have fallen into the trap a time or two, and the spiritual warfare I had to endure because of my own ignorance I wish on no one.”
Hocus Pocus 2 features Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy, reprising their roles as the Sanderson Sisters.
During an interview withCBS This Morning this week, Parker described the movie franchise’s fan base and recalled how it’s “become so diverse” over the years, following Hocus Pocus’ release in 1993.
“What is so wonderful and feels so good is that the audience has become so diverse for this,” she said. People have integrated this into their lives, families and children and babysitters and grandparents and the LGBTQ-plus community. It’s just remarkable.”
The Independent has contacted Gooch for comment.
