Lost 'Scary' Episode Of 'Sesame Street' Surfaces On Social Media

One episode of “Sesame Street” was allegedly removed from syndication after it was deemed to be too scary for children.

The episode features Margaret Hamilton, who reprises her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.” Much of the plot is also the same, although the Wicked Witch is looking for a stolen broomstick instead of a pair of ruby red slippers.

However, the lost episode has since surfaced on social media sites like YouTube and Reddit. You can scroll down to watch the lost episode below!

The description for the video reads:

“Only aired once in the mid 70s, it was deemed too scary for children and shelved. A small clip was released in 2019 at a Jim Henson exhibit, but the full footage has finally been found.”

Throughout the episode, Hamilton terrorized David, played by Northern Calloway, while she’s trying to retrieve her lost broomstick. At the end of the episode, Hamilton poses as an old woman to retrieve his broomstick before flying away.

However, as she’s flying, she says “This is glorious” and takes her hands off the broom. “Look,” she says. “No hands!” However, as she lets go, the broom falls, and David, Big Bird, and co. retrieve the broomstick once again.

According to the Muppet fan archive Muppet Wiki, the lost episode aired on February 10, 1976. The Wiki page says that the point of the episode was to teach children the importance of overcoming their fears and “the value of planning by creating and implementing methods of retrieving the broom.”

However, NBC News reported that at least one viewer wasn’t a fan of the show. In 1976, a viewer named Rebecca allegedly wrote to the network to complain. “I wish you wouldn’t put that witch on ‘Sesame Street’ anymore because ... I have been dreaming [of] that witch,” Rebecca complained at the time.

According to the AV Club, many parents called in to complain about the episode and it was never aired on television again. AV Club noted that several versions of the episode have popped up from time to time on social media, but were usually removed due to copyright or were extremely low quality. The outlet also notes that, despite it being removed from syndication, it has been preserved in the Library of Congress.

However, many fans have nothing but love for the episode today.

Many users commented on the new video, which was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday and was still up as of Monday morning.

“People forget the type of exposure kids had to ‘scary things’ then compared to today,” one user commented. “She was a real life villain, and one of the only kid friendly movies kids could watch. I agree that this was just such a great loss to be gone for so long, especially for Margaret Hamilton. Such a legend.”

“Margaret Hamilton…. I love her so much and miss her desperately,” another user wrote. “I love how 40 years later she was still able to play the wicked witch as incredible as she always was.”

“This episode scared me beyond belief when I was 5,” another user shared. “I would anxiously watch the start of each episode after seeing this one, to make sure it wasn't the ‘witch one’ again. Of course I never saw it again, and at some point convinced myself it was a nightmare. After doing an internet search for it a few years ago, I saw the articles about it and felt vindicated that I wasn't crazy. Thanks for uploading this! I hope it is allowed to stay!”

“I can see why they cut this episode - I can only imagine the nightmares this would cause,” another user commented. “Why they thought that giant, yellow bird wouldn't scare kids is beyond me.”