Practical Magic - Differences From The Novel

Differences From The Novel

• Sally lives with her husband Michael in the aunts' home until he dies. She then moves to New York to raise her children.
• Gillian does not show up until Sally's children are 16 and 13 (they are much younger in the film)
• Jimmy Angelov (Jimmy Hawkins in the book) is already dead in Gillian's car when she arrives at Sally's. Sally never meets him and she is not responsible for his death.
• Jimmy's death is accidental: Gillian begins slipping nightshade into his drinks so he will stop beating her at night. She believes it accumulated in his blood and he died spontaneously. In the film, Sally poisons him while he holds them hostage on the road.
• The aunts virtually disappear from the book until the end when they return to get rid of Jimmy's ghost.
• The book delves in-depth into the lives of the teenage sisters Antonia and Kylie and their up and down relationship.
• Gary Hallet plays a minor role in the book. He is not, however, a manifestation of a spell by Sally to never fall in love (as in the film).
• Sally works for the school district, she does not own her own store.
• In the book, Gillian does not get possessed by Jimmy Angelov. He simply wreaks havoc on Sally's house and taunts Kylie (who has psychic powers and can see him).
• Gillian meets a local biology teacher named Ben Fry and marries him.