The Witches (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Charlie's grandmother takes him to the hotel after he encounters a witch at the market. She realizes the witch saw Charlie and may return for him, so she decides they need to hide. The hotel is a safe haven because her cousin Eston works there as executive chef, providing them with a secure place to stay away from the witches who are actively hunting children.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the grandmother tells Charlie the chilling story of her friend Alice, who was cursed by a witch and transformed into a chicken, showing that witches in the area are dangerous and active.

• grandmother
• hotel
• hiding
• witches
• safety

Witches have an extremely keen sense of smell that they use to hunt children. Charlie learns that witches can detect the distinct scent of children, which is how they locate their targets. This is why the witches are so dangerous and why Charlie must be extremely careful to stay hidden.

Foreshadowing: The witch at the market was able to find Charlie at the local market, demonstrating her ability to sense his presence.

• witches
• children
• smell
• hunting
• identification

Bruno unknowingly eats a chocolate bar that has been laced with the Grand High Witch's special potion. This chocolate was meant as a demonstration of the potion's effectiveness on children. After consuming it, Bruno immediately transforms into a mouse right in front of Charlie.

Foreshadowing: Charlie meets Bruno before entering the grand hall, and Bruno mentions his mother gave him a chocolate bar - this sets up his transformation.

• Bruno
• chocolate
• potion
• transformation
• witch

The Grand High Witch reveals her plan to turn all the world's children into mice using a special potion hidden inside confectionery. She demonstrates this by turning Bruno into a mouse and explains that once all children are transformed, adults will have no choice but to love the mice versions of their children.

Foreshadowing: The witches gather in secret to discuss their plot, showing they are organized and working together toward this goal.

• Grand High Witch
• plan
• children
• potion
• mice
• world domination

No, Daisy was not always a mouse. Charlie discovers that Daisy was originally a human girl named Mary who was also turned into a mouse by the Grand High Witch. Mary has been living as a mouse ever since, similar to how Charlie and Bruno would become mice.

Foreshadowing: The grandmother mentioned Alice being turned into a chicken, establishing that witches commonly transform humans into animals.

• Daisy
• Mary
• mouse
• transformation
• curse

Charlie, Bruno, and Mary devise a plan to steal the potion from the witches' kitchen and mix it into a large pot of pea soup being served at the witches' dinner. Charlie's grandmother helps by delivering the soup to the dining hall. When the witches eat the soup, they all transform into rats, except for the Grand High Witch who was not at dinner.

Foreshadowing: The three mice plan to use the potion against the witches after learning about its effects from Bruno's transformation.

• potion
• soup
• poison
• witches
• transformation
• plan

The Grand High Witch is killed by her own cat, Hades. After Charlie and the mice trick her into drinking her own potion, she begins transforming. As they escape, Hades attacks and kills her. The cat was previously kept in her room as a pet but turns on her during her transformation.

Foreshadowing: The grandmother notices the cat in the Grand High Witch's room earlier, and Charlie's grandmother liberates the cat right before the attack, suggesting the cat was waiting for an opportunity.

• Grand High Witch
• Hades
• cat
• death
• transformation

Charlie and Bruno do not change back because Charlie's grandmother is unable to create a cure from the potion. She tries to reverse the transformation but fails. Rather than remain trapped trying to find a solution, they decide to use the remaining potion against the witches instead.

Foreshadowing: When Charlie and his grandmother reunite after his transformation, they immediately discuss finding a cure, showing this is their initial priority.

• Charlie
• Bruno
• transformation
• cure
• potion
• human

Charlie and his grandmother steal the trunk filled with money because it belongs to the witches and represents resources that can support their new family. The money provides them with a means to live comfortably after the ordeal. Additionally, liberating the captive cat Hades from the trunk is part of freeing the creatures the witches had kept.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the grandmother is established as a practical character who takes action to protect her grandson, showing her willingness to act decisively against threats.

• trunk
• money
• grandmother
• theft
• witches

Bruno decides to stay with Charlie and his grandmother because he has no family left to return to. After being transformed into a mouse and losing his original family, he finds acceptance and belonging with Charlie, Mary, and their grandmother. They become a new family unit, with Bruno choosing to remain a mouse alongside his new family rather than face an uncertain future alone.

Foreshadowing: Charlie was already an orphan at the start of the story, establishing that found family is a central theme.

• Bruno
• family
• adoption
• mice
• home