The movie begins on October 31, 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts. The town is haunted by three witches, siblings Winifred, Sarah and Mary, who kidnap a young girl named Emily Binx to suck out her lifeforce to regain their youth. Successfully achieving their goal, the sisters are attacked by Emily's older brother Thackery Binx who saw them luring Emily to their house and punish him by cursing and transforming him into an immortal black cat to live with the guilt of not being able to save Emily. The town's citizens arrest the witches to hang them, but Winifred uses her spellbook to ensure their return from beyond the grave when a virgin lights the Black-Flamed Candle in their home. The three witches are hanged and Binx chooses to live his immortal life guarding the house so no one will resurrect them.
Three hundred years later, on Halloween of 1993, Max, his little sister Dani, and love interest Allison investigate the now urban legend of the witches. Max goofs around in the house and lights the candle as a joke and ends up bringing the witches back to life. The three immediately plan to suck out Dani's life, but Max fools them with the modern day's technology, escaping with the spellbook and Binx, who can still talk despite being a cat. Retreating to a cemetery, the kids are quickly confronted by the witches who are unable to touch the ground due to the cemetery's hallowed ground. Winifred instead summons Billy Butcherson, her undead and unfaithful lover, to capture the kids and retrieve her book. Billy had an affair with Sarah, and in return, Winifred poisoned him and stitch his mouth shut. Escaping across town, the kids find their parents at city hall at a Halloween party. The witches follow, Winifred entertaining the audience with her own rendition of I Put A Spell On You, bewitching the adults to literally dance until they die.
