“What’s the matter? I have to be a witch, I have to be a mortal, I have to be a teenager and I have to be a girl all at the same time!” So laments Sabrina Spellman (Melissa Joan Hart) of having to navigate her newly-discovered supernatural powers on top of the normal trials and tribulations of everyday high school life in an early episode of “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” Such is the crux of the ‘90s fantasy/comedy sitcom, which was adapted for the small screen from the Archie Comics series of the same name by writer/showrunner Nell Scovell. A self-proclaimed “weird kid,” Scovell sought to “create a show that my teenage self would have watched.” And she succeeded.
Audiences quickly fell in love with the eponymous teen witch with a heart of gold (not to mention the most stylish hair!) upon its September 27, 1996 debut and the series soon became a mainstay of ABC’s coveted TGIF lineup, popular with kids and adults alike. Though it eventually moved to the WB network for its final three seasons, where it suffered low ratings before going off the air in 2003, it remains beloved today. Currently streaming on both Hulu and Paramount Plus, stalwart fans went wild when news of the show’s 25th anniversary and a faux reboot announcement hit social media last week.
And now, the bewitching Victorian where Sabrina lived with her 600-year-old aunts, Zelda (Beth Broderick) and Hilda Spellman (Caroline Rhea), and their pet, Salem (voiced by Nick Bakay), a warlock “sentenced to 100 years as a cat” after attempting world domination, is for sale – just in time for Halloween! And this is no black magic! Offered for a spellbinding $1,950,000, the listing is being handled by Century 21 Action Plus Realty.
Though “Sabrina” is set in Massachusetts, Scovell’s home state as well as the site of the infamous Salem witch trials, Spellman Manor, as it is often referred to, is actually located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Purported to be at 133 Collins Rd. in the fictional town of Westbridge, the decidedly New England-style property can be found at 64 E. Main St. in Freehold, a charming bedroom community situated about 50 miles south of Manhattan. (Please remember this is a private building. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.)
Of choosing the Queen Anne-style abode for the show, Nell told NJ Advance Media, “Victorian seemed appropriate for witches.” Indeed, when it comes to productions of an otherworldly nature, Victorians are almost always pegged to star.
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