‘The threat of the witch’s power remains in children’s eyes’
A so called ‘lost’ episode of Sesame Street that was deemed so scary that it had to be pulled from rotation whenever this beloved kids show was on aired on telly has recently resurfaced and found its way online.
The episode in question was first aired in 1976 and featured Margaret Hamilton – the actress famed for playing the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz – reprising her green-faced role to help spread a message to those on the street about the power of overcoming their fears after her beloved broom stick goes missing.
However, things didn’t exactly go to plan.
After its initial airing, the episode reportedly received numerous letters of complaint from concerned parents that were almost entirely negative, with many explaining that their kids were afraid of the episode and as a result, now too scared to continue watching the popular Children’s Television Workshop show.
According to the official Muppet Wikipedia page, these letters had parents detailing their kids terror at Hamilton’s witchy performance in quite visceral ways, with some saying that the episode had elicited “screams and tears” and others detailing how “the threat of the witch’s power remains in children’s eyes.”
Where’s Kermit when you need him, eh?
As a result, the show was pulled from future Sesame Street rotation, with the only way to access it being via special events following its installation into America’s Library of Congress archive.
However, thanks to the work of one intrepid Muppet fan, the episode – and Hamilton’s too-scary-for-kids’ telly – performance – can now be viewed online after it turned up in a Reddit thread.
Take a look below:
Sesame Street fans on Reddit were quick to discuss the episode that had been left unaccessible for decades.
“This is a very, very big deal, for Sesame Street fans, Wizard of Oz fans, and lost media hobbyists. A holy grail of lost media has been found!,” said one person, commenting on the impact of the find.
“Got to admit didn’t expect the seizure inducing visuals when the witch tries to get her broom back,” added another, reflecting on the show’s trippy aesthetic.
“As a kid I was terrified,” added a third, followed by another person who commented on the kind of scary nature of Sesame Street in in general: “I think I was creeped out but didn’t know it at the time.”
Do you think the show was worthy of banishment?
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