Banned Sesame Street Episode: The Wicked Witch’s Scary Appearance

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Sesame Street is a beloved and long-running TV show famous for being educational, entertaining, and family-friendly. Surprisingly, one episode was actually pulled from the air because it was considered too frightening for young viewers. Created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, the show uses a mix of puppets, cartoons, funny sketches, and real people to teach children.

First airing in 1969 on PBS, Sesame Street is widely considered a classic and has long been celebrated for its educational content, positive messages, and beloved characters like Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster. Despite its generally cheerful nature, one particular episode was actually banned due to its frightening and depressing content.

Sesame Street’s “Episode 847” Starred The Wizard of Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West

A memorable, but infamous, episode of Sesame Street aired in 1976. Episode 847 featured a surprising guest appearance: Margaret Hamilton, reprising her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. The scene begins with David catching a broom on a windy day, and the wind immediately stops, leading to the Witch’s unexpected arrival on Sesame Street.

It seems the broom actually belongs to the witch, and she wants it returned. She’s asking David to give it back, but he’s refusing until she shows him some respect.

The story then shows the witch trying to retrieve her broom, causing chaos in Hooper’s Store with indoor rain and even threatening to magically transform David and Big Bird. Eventually, after a lot of trouble, she finally manages to ask for the broom politely and is able to leave with it.

So, there’s this part where the Wicked Witch’s broom is supposed to stay gone, but it somehow ends up back on Sesame Street – and David catches it! He just breaks down, saying he can’t handle going through that scary experience again. The weird thing is, the whole episode was meant to help kids deal with their fears, but it totally backfired and people were upset about it right away. It’s a shame, because the intention was good, but it just didn’t land well.

Why Sesame Street’s “Episode 847” Was Banned (& Where You Can Watch It)

Following the first broadcast of “Episode 847,” many parents wrote to express their concern about the episode’s frightening content and how it upset their children. Numerous kids were scared of the witch featured in the episode and didn’t want to continue watching Sesame Street. Because of negative feedback from test screenings, the episode was pulled off the air and wasn’t shown again until 2019.

The episode gained renewed attention when the Museum of the Moving Image featured it during their 50th-anniversary celebration of Sesame Street. It was then preserved in the Library of Congress, but access for individual viewers was short-lived.

In 2022, an episode surfaced online on Reddit, though it’s unclear how it was obtained. This led the American Archive of Public Broadcasting to briefly stop private viewings and attempt to remove the episode from various websites. Currently, it’s impossible to find and watch the Sesame Street episode featuring the Wicked Witch of the West.

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2025-11-22 21:38