Halloween season in Chicago is about to get off to a fantastically witchy start. On Saturday, Irving Park Cemetery on the Northwest Side will host a free screening of the 1993 cult classic film, Hocus Pocus. The film stars the legendary Bette Midler, a pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker and a pre-American Beauty Thora Birch. The premise: Three witches are resurrected by an angsty teenage boy on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts; mischief and high jinks ensue.
This isn't the first time a local cemetery has hosted a movie screening this year. In August, Bohemian National Cemetery hosted a screening of Sinister 2, but seats filled up early and hundreds of people were turned away. That event was a bit controversial, as some community members thought gathering to watch a horror flick in a graveyard was a bit disrespectful.
Some of those critics ought to be silenced for this screening, though. Halloween is rapidly approaching, and there will be both a full moon and a lunar eclipse on Sunday night, which is a surefire sign that most of Chicago's witches, ghosts, ghouls, mummies, demons and vampires will be out in full force this weekend. Everyone knows such evil beings can't step foot on hallowed ground, so it only makes sense to ride out the night in a cemetery.
Zombies, however, could become an issue.
Irving Park Cemetery is located at 7777 W Irving Park Road. Gates will open at 6:30pm and the film will start at 7:30pm.
