The episode opens with a strong gust of wind blowing through Sesame Street; a broom falls from the sky in front of Mr. Hooper's shop and David (North Calloway) picks it up. Then the Witch peeks out from around the corner. "I know I'm not in Oz anymore," she says — a joke clearly intended for parents watching with their kids.

Cue the witch who tries to get the broom back from David and runs into the many puppet residents of Sesame Street. She threatens to turn Big Bird into feather dust and catches Oscar's eye when she hides behind his junkyard. (Even the Wicked Witch can light up like a schoolgirl when the strapping young Grouch calls her beautiful.)

In the end, the Witch disguises herself as a sweet, normal-looking old lady (ie the real Margaret Hamilton). David, catching on to the deception, makes her say "please" before returning the broom.

So yeah, it's not exactly a scary story, although the witch is confusing at times, Hamilton plays the role like she just stepped off the set of The Wizard of Oz; she even pulls out her witchy bub a few times. That, apparently, was enough to make the children scream and cry, causing their parents to write letters of complaint. If angry parents can bring Optimus Prime back to lifethey can defeat the Wicked Witch of the West.

Hamilton, so famous for scaring young children, was a teacher before becoming an actor - which may actually help explain why she was so good at scaring children. Given her background in education, it also makes sense that she would want to guest star on Sesame Street. She previously appeared on an episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood which was about teaching kids that acting is fictional and that someone playing an evil character doesn't make them an evil person. Interviewed by Mr.

"Sometimes, Mr. it would be as scary as it sometimes seems to be, but when you understand it and realize that it's just pretending, and that anyone can do it, you can do it.

To put the message in terms that children can fully understand, Hamilton mentioned that she dressed up as a witch for Halloween when she was a child. The excuse for her appearance is never dropped during the Witch of Sesame Street's appearance, so children who don't realize however that the acting is "just pretend" that their terror is not subsided. After the episode was pulled from the air, kids had to wait to meet Miss Hamilton's Wicked Witch until they were old enough to watch The Wizard of Oz.