Manual of Witchcraft & Alchemy
TITLE: Manual of Witchcraft & Alchemy AUTHOR: Unknown, possibly the Devil ORIGIN: Hocus Pocus (movie directed by Kenny Ortega, 1993) This cursed spellbook is said to have been given to Winifred Sanderson in return for her soul, and possibly the souls of her sisters, Sarah and Mary. Contained within are instructions for many types of black magic, such as the transformation of a human being into an animal, resurrection of the dead, the summoning of demons, a variety of excruciating punishments, and a potion that allows the drinker to extend one's own life and youth by consuming the life energy of children. It displays some level of animation and awareness, and thus should be handled with extreme caution. We are informed by a reliable cat that no good can come of it. (From the collection of Winifred Sanderson, donated by Max Dennison.) I. Reference — Spellbooks and grimoires (evil) — Demonic pacts II. Reference — Cookbooks — Potions and elixirs III. Cursed objects — Semi-autonomous — Bound in human flesh
A couple of days late for Halloween, I suppose, but I had to include this one anyway. This is a picture of the actual prop, taken from a Halloween event back in 2016 at Hollywood's El Capitan theater that showcased a variety of props, costumes, and concept art from both Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas. The book is never called by its title in the movie, but it is indeed called Manual of Witchcraft and Alchemy, based on the title page that’s seen at least once. It also includes two Latin phrases: "Divus Jacobus diabolicis praestigiis ante magum sistitur," which translates to "St. James is arrested before the magician by diabolical delusions," and "Idem impetravit a deo ut magus a demonibus discerperetur," which means "Hence he obtained from God that the magician should be torn to pieces by demons." It turns out that these are the captions of two different 1565 engravings designed by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder, entitled "St. James and the Magician Hermogenes" and "The Fall of the Magician Hermogenes," respectively. The former is reportedly the earliest known depiction of a witch riding a broomstick, but other than that I can't imagine what these phrases could have to do with the spellbook in-universe, so I assume the prop designers picked them out as just some impressive-looking, witch-related Latin sentences.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of title page:
Original prop:
