In 1993, a generation of Disney nerds was permanently traumatized by Hocus Pocus, a movie that fostered a lot of unhealthy expectations about how much you should expect your cat to care about you.

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The movie started out as an underperformer, but found an audience with enough speed and momentum that it basically skipped straight past “cult classic” status, instead becoming a family friendly Halloween tradition. If you want to watch Bette Midler chew scenery through giant rat teeth, hear Doug Jones shout epithets through half an inch of zombie makeup, or watch a dead child go to heaven, Hocus Pocus is pretty much the gold standard.

Hocus Pocus could have been an entirely different movie

All of which makes it strange to think that it could have been a completely different movie. While a lot of the broad strokes of the story reportedly started out as a story concocted by Child’s Play producer David Kirschner, work on the project didn’t really start until Critters 2 screenwriter Mick Garris sold Disney a script in 1984. The title: Disney’s Halloween House.

The title wouldn’t end up being the only thing to go. Not only was the original script a decidedly darker affair, it was also written with an entirely different lead performer in mind. Originally, the part of the film’s main witch was designed for Cloris Leachman, the star of Young Frankenstein and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In fact, to hear it told in a conversation with Mick Garris on the Post Mortem podcast recorded for the movie’s 25th anniversary,the film didn’t really find its feet until Midler stepped in and expressed interest. Additionally, Leonardo DiCaprio was approached to play the part of Max, and Rosie O’Donnell was asked to play Mary Sandserson, adding a little bit of that Flintstones: The Movie magic to the proceedings.