Hocus Pocus: The Nightmare Before Halloweentown

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE

SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, 1994...

BINX
Something was wrong. Thackery Binx could feel it with every ounce of his being. He turned to his little sister nervously.

"Do not say it, Thackery Binx," Emily said firmly. "There is no need. I sense it as well."

Thackery sighed. "I must investigate, Emily."

"Not alone. I shall come with thee."

He couldn't argue. He'd promised Emily he would never leave her again. Together, they headed to the place he despised the most.

It was odd being there in his human form again. Thackery had spent more time as a cat than a human thanks to the hex the Sanderson Sisters placed on him in 1693.

What he saw made his eyes widen in concern. Winifred's spell book was awake, and glowing, which meant that someone had opened it.

"Book!" A voice Thackery knew all too well bellowed. It was Winifred Sanderson, but she sounded very far away. He almost didn't hear her.

"What is happening, brother?" Emily asked nervously.

"They are awakening somehow, yet the black flame candle had not been lit... I do not understand it," Thackery replied. A horrible thought occurred to him then. "Dani..." He mumbled. "We must warn them, Emily! Dani, Max, and Allison are in terrible danger."

DANI

The night was perfect. Dani Dennison was dressed as Wendy Darling, and true to form, she had held her big brother to a deal he'd made exactly one year before. As they approached Allison's house so they could rescue her from the boring party her parents threw every year, Dani giggled again at the sight of Max's Peter Pan costume, complete with tights.

To his credit, Max wasn't complaining yet. Their adventure the previous Halloween had reminded Max how much he loved Dani and how much he liked spending time with her even when she was tormenting him, so he was trying not to whine.

Dani excitedly ran up to the door of the big white mansion and rang the doorbell. Allison Watts opened the door and immediately pulled Dani into a tight hug. Despite the trauma of the previous Halloween, Allison still loved the legends of Salem and had dressed up as a witch. She looked beautiful in a long, dark purple dress and black witch's hat with dark purple trim, and she wore a necklace that looked like some sort of amethyst talisman.

"Nice tights," Allison teased Max. "You guys look great!"

Max rolled his eyes. "I made a promise," he reminded her before giving his girlfriend a kiss.

"Let's go before my parents notice," Allison said, closing the door.

They started trick-or-treating, scoring pretty big at the houses in the wealthy neighborhood. Dani was grinning from ear to ear as she thought about the sugar rush she'd have for the next month or so.

Suddenly, as Max and Allison were busy making goofy eyes at each other, Dani saw the shadow of a cat watching her.

"Binx?" She asked. Then, she shook her head. Binx was gone. He'd died, and his soul had been reunited with his sister. It couldn't be him.

"Dani," Binx's familiar voice called.

Dani's eyes widened in shock as she spotted his transparent human form. "Binx! It is you!" She flung her arms around him, but they went right through him. Dani didn't care; she was just excited to see him.

"I missed you so much, Binx," she said.

"I missed you, too, Dani," he replied.

Emily showed herself then, smiling sadly. "Hi, Emily," Dani greeted her. "What are you guys doing here? Is it because it's Halloween?"