Practical Magic Cursed by Vengeful Witch Consultant

In 2023, the director of the 1998 film Practical Magic, Griffin Dunne, revealed the movie's eeriest subplot. Before filming began, Dunne hired a witch consultant to help make the film's rituals more authentic. The consultant was paid handsomely by the studio, but when producers later invited her to meet the film's stars, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, the gesture backfired.

The witch was reportedly offended and demanded a share of the film's profits and the rights to publish a Practical Magic cookbook. "You can't buy me off with a hotel," she told the producers, before leaving a chilling voicemail message that Dunne described as "a curse in some sort of tongue." The legal department quickly wrote the witch a check to make the issue go away.

Despite Dunne's efforts to contain the situation, whispers of the curse continued to circulate on set. When a crew member's elderly father suddenly died, some began to wonder if the witch's words had found their mark. Dunne tried to quiet the talk, but Bullock and Kidman were "fascinated by the situation" and couldn't resist bringing it up.

Dunne admitted that the energy on set during the exorcism scene was "electric" with a "heightened atmosphere." He felt they were "traveling into uncharted territory" as Nicole Kidman's character went into convulsions. In the end, the film was completed, but the director acknowledged that "it was just one of those little adventures that happen along the way" on most movies.