Who Was Sally Before She Died? - Nightmare Before Christmas Theory

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Now sure Sally is a kind, caring, and thoughtful citizen of Halloween Town. She fits in well and adores the work that they all do, but she’s not a traditional monster. In a town filled with ghosts, horrible clowns that can rip off their faces, and walking hanging trees, Sally is different because she was created by a resident of Halloween Town. She was brought to life by Dr. Finkelstein to serve him.

In reality I think Sally’s mind came from someone who was trying to get their footing in the world before her life was cut short. That’s why she fought so hard to have some autonomy, respect, and appreciation in Halloween Town. I think Sally’s soul came from a young woman who always looked at the world with wonder and wanted to contribute to it which was why she wanted to help Jack as much as she could.

Sally’s brain was originally in someone who wanted to be free, to explore everything there was to offer, and to eventually find love, and she found that after she died, was buried, and somehow ended up in the spookiest holiday town of them all.

Have a magical day, fun people!

[IsaacCarlson]

Happy Halloween! Subscribe to get us to a million subscribers by next Halloween! I hope have a great spooky day! 🎃🎃

[kayleej]

That last bit of explanation about her being a young woman seeing the beauty in the world and looking for love really fits the theory floating around that Sally is somehow also Emily from the Corpse Bride and that makes me happy

[labelledamedumanor]

I always suspected that Sally was more like a daughter than a potential wife where Dr. Finkelstein was concerned. Regarding Sally herself, the scene where she walks through the snow suggests that was the time period she originally died (a.k.a. in winter), any possible cause of death would be linked to freezing weather.

[blankspace]

What's interesting about Jack and Sally is that they seem to be the only people in Halloween town who want change. Everyone else seems pretty content with their lives and roles to play. Halloween town seems to exist in a limbo state where everything is in a perpetual state of death and decay. Nothing changes at all. I think Jack and Sally are meant to rule Halloween because Halloween is a holiday about change and inverting the status quo. It's about the creepy and scary parts of life suddenly being celebrated, a night where anyone can put on a costume and be anything they want. But when this is your entire existence even that becomes stagnant. Jack and Sally are meant to be because they both want to try other roles out for a change. A pumpkin king trading his crown for a Santa hat to bring joy instead of terror. A lowly ragdoll tricking her master to be her own boss for a while.

[deijimonster]

I’ll be honest and say that I really dislike the theory about all of the Halloween town residents being dead and that they were human before they ended up in Halloween town. I always thought that the residents were physical manifestations of human fears and supernatural beliefs that embody the spirit of Halloween. If all of the holiday worlds are physical manifestations of holidays, why is Halloween town different?

[lauracatania]

I’m going to add my own completely unprovable theory. The reason why Dr. Finklestein seems like Sally’s father is because he WAS her father. Neither remembers their human life or the connection. I’m thinking that the Dr. lost his wife, perhaps with the birth of his daughter, and is constantly trying to “find” her by building a bride. In life he experimented with electricity or lightening. As she grew his sweet, uncanny daughter became his assistant. She died during an experiment (lightening strike or maybe poison?). Her father was a broken man and saw himself as a monster. When he died he came to Halloween town as the mad scientist with no memory of the past but still “gives birth” to his daughter.

[caprae]

I have a theory that Sally is actually a witch from the Salem witch trials era being hanged and the Dr. Finding her chopped corpse in the grave yard her being a witch could explain her more supernatural abilities with alchemy and potion brewing and having short glimpses of the future but that's what I think 🤔.

[OurKindofEntertainment]

The thing about no bones, blood, muscle or tissue has been the source of confusion for many fans during the scene where Oogie tickles her foot and it 'appears' as if Sally is ticklish 😂 Either she is/was or she was simply egging Oogie on during her attempted rescue of Santa lol

[j.schlagg]

It could be that Sally was originally from another Holiday or Time Period. She has the skills needed for a Witch during the first Thanksgiving, and the compassion that someone from Christmas Town would have. On top of the fact that she subconsciously knows about Snow, those two colder Holidays make loads of sense.

[fallond]

I always thought the beautiful thing about sally was that she’s so much *more* than the sum of her parts. This feels like trying to assign logic to a supernatural entity.

[thewitchwannabe]

I like the idea that Jack and Sally were sweethearts when they were alive, but got separated when Jack was drafted in the revolutionary war and never got to see each other again. Only to be reunited in Halloween town after Jack came back as the Pumpkin king by the spirit of Halloween and Sally was made out of mostly the body of her past life.

[PandorasPath]

Added theory : I think being stuffed with leaves (instead of blood or bones) may have emphasized her abilities to be an alchemist in nature and also aid her skills as a herbalist. Allowing her to make the potions that she is knowledgeable about. 🌿🍃

[ModelMadonna]

I think Sally was an apothecary or a daughter of one, which would explain her knowledge of herbs, potions, and even cooking.

[stevethecat]

Frankenstein in Hotel Transylvania had same abilities as Sally.
Anfd why were human bodies from the real world buried in a magical Parnell dimension .

[dennisfarabee]

Sally is the younger sister of Emily (Corpse Bride). Curious and devoted to her sister Sally follows Emily into the woods. Where she discovered by evil lord Barkis who hacks her to bits with a sword. Her remains are found and taken to Halloween town where Dr. Finkelstein sews her together and restores her to life. He wants her for his daughter.

[MS-rsod]

Why is it that Tim Burton’s characters are always so similar? Emily and Sally are very much alike, as are Victor from Frankenweenie and Victor from Corpse Bride. Even Victor from the Corpse Bride has a dog he loves named Scraps which isn’t Sparky, but it’s so similar you can’t deny there’s probably some correlation between them. Tim Burton is so intelligent and creative

[ViewerOnline]

I don't think so, I think Sally was first born/made in Halloweentown and didn't have a previous life. The "pieces" he used weren't "her". It's kind of like organ transplants. She may have "inherited" some traits from her parts, but she's not those parts. Like the Frankenstein monster.

[nightxore]

I think Sally was a normal person living between 1600-1800 who was accused of being a witch because of her knowledge on potions and her visions and so dismembered which is why her body often falls apart and then Finklestein found her and put her back together and he told Sally that he created her so she owes him

[padenable]

About Sally being comfortable with snow; snow has been falling in October for years beyond count, Jack probably isn't familiar with it because he more than likely spends most, if not all, of his time concocting plans for Halloween. Seriously, it seems to me like the dude doesn't get out much, by his own choice, of course.

[shyla]

Sally is a sweet Halloweentown character