3 of Mary Sanderson's Funniest Lines

Movies

'Hocus Pocus' is filled with quotable lines but it's Kathy Najimy's character, Mary Sanderson, who delivers some of the funniest lines in the Halloween movie.

Published on October 31, 2020

Hocus Pocus is full of quotes. The cult classic movie airs multiple times during Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween and has a pretty dark storyline. Evil witches attempt to suck the life out of every child in Salem, Massachusetts, on Allhallows Eve. Despite all the spooky happenings, humor’s never too far away. 

Mary Sanderson is the funny Sanderson sister

The Sanderson sisters, the evil witches who Max Dennison (Omri Katz) brings back from the dead when he lights the black flame candle, are Mary (Kathy Najimy), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Winifred “Winnie” (Bette Midler). 

Mary is characterized as being the funny sister. She provides comedic relief during scenes. Sarah and Winifred do too but they’re better known for being the ditzy sister and the smart sister, respectively. 

According to what Hocus Pocus director Kenny Ortega told Forbes in 2020, Najimy’s interest in doing the movie stemmed from her personal life. He recalled how producer Jeffrey Katzenberg told him because she had a young daughter at the time time, she wanted “to do something for her kid.” 

Hocus Pocus fit the bill as a family-friendly PG film and Najimy signed on. Her funny lines as Mary have provided fans of the movie with laughs since the film premiered on July 16, 1993. 

1. ‘Sisters, Satan has married Medusa’

One of the most memorable scenes in Hocus Pocus is when Mary, Winifred, and Sarah meet who they think is Satan. They happen upon a man (filmmaker Garry Marshall) passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. 

Dressed as the devil the man recognizes them thinking they’re simply adults dressed as the Sanderson sisters, not actually them. He invites his “three favorite witches” inside much to the annoyance of his wife, who is actually Marshall’s real-life sister, Penny Marshall.

“Sisters, Satan has married Medusa,” Mary said, noticing the wife’s hair curlers. “See the snakes in her hair.”

After all, the Sanderson sisters have been dead for hundreds of years and they’re discovering new things about modern life. 

2. ‘It’s the chocolate-covered finger of a man named Clark!’

Another one of Mary’s funniest lines happens in the same scene. When the devil’s wife comes downstairs only to see her husband slow-dancing with Sarah, she kicks them out.

But not before Mary makes a funny observation about their Halloween candy. She sees a Clark Bar and says, “It’s the chocolate-covered finger of a man named Clark!”

3. ‘Shish-ka-baby’

When the Sanderson sisters discover Dani Dennison (Thora Birch) at their house they start sizing her up. After a remark about her being so well fed Mary calls her “shish-ka-baby.” It’s a lesser known line from Hocus Pocus but it still lightens the scene considering they want to suck the life out of Dani.

Disney+ is streaming Hocus Pocus. It’s also airing during Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween.

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