10 Bad Portrayals of Witches and Pagans in Movies and TV

'Hocus Pocus' (1993)

Of the film "Hocus Pocus," one observer wrote: "The awful film with Bette Midler, 'Hocus Pocus'--that's just silly." Another reader wrote: "First and foremost, ["Hocus Pocus"] portrays witches as immortal, purely evil beings. And then there's the fateful spell: 'If a virgin lights this particular candle, the witches will return.' . . . it reinforces the idea that the magic witches do is selfish, unnatural, nonsensical (why a virgin, particularly?), and extremely harmful to others."