The Magic Box
Encyclopedia
The Magic Box is a fictional magic shop in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, created by Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

. It is located in Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...

 and was last owned and operated by Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...

, and served as the primary headquarters of the Scooby Gang for seasons five and six.

Ownership history

The shop went through a series of owners, many of whom met grisly deaths at the hands of Sunnydale's demonic residents.

A magic shop in the same location as the Magic Box, at 5124 Maple Court, first appeared in season 3, at which time it was known as "Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet". By the beginning of season 5, its name had been changed to "The Magic Box". Another magic shop, in a different location, was shown in the season 2 episode "Passion
Passion (Buffy episode)
"Passion" is episode 17 of season 2 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Learning that Angelus, with murderous intent, is circling closer to her friends and family, Buffy feverishly seeks ways to protect them...

", from which Jenny Calendar
Jenny Calendar
Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School...

 purchased an Orb of Thesulah as a means of storing Angel's soul during a spell she was seeking to cast to restore the vampire's soul.

In the episode "Real Me
Real Me (Buffy episode)
"Real Me" is the second episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Buffy trains and works on her strength with the help of Giles and some crystals. She practices a handstand on a block of wood, but falls when her sister, Dawn, knocks over the crystals. In the...

" in season 5, Giles bought the shop, after spending a year unemployed following the destruction of Sunnydale High, and the death of the Magic Box's previous owner. Giles moved his book collection to the shop, and it became the Scooby Gang's meeting place and source of knowledge, much as the library had been in the first three seasons. It remained their main meeting place until its destruction at the end of season 6 ("Grave
Grave (Buffy episode)
"Grave" is the sixth season finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode is the second highest rated Buffy episode ever to air in the U.K., Sky One aired the episode which reached 1.22 million viewers on its original airing....

").

Other personnel

Soon, Anya
Anya Jenkins
Anya is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She also appears in the comic book series based on the television show. Portrayed by Emma Caulfield, the character appears as a guest star in the third and fourth seasons of the show before...

 revealed herself to be a genius at retail and became Giles's assistant manager ("No Place Like Home
No Place Like Home (Buffy episode)
"No Place Like Home" is the fifth episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:Two months ago, several monks rushed to perform a ritual while a powerful force of some sort threatened their lives...

"). When Giles returned to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Anya became the shop's manager while Giles stayed on only as a silent partner ("Tabula Rasa").

For a brief period, Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...

 also worked part time for The Magic Shop ("Life Serial"), but after a spell cast by Jonathan
Jonathan Levinson
Jonathan Levinson is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Danny Strong.-Character history:Jonathan was born in 1981 and raised in Sunnydale, California...

 caused her to experience a time loop she found she was not cut out for such employment and walked out.

Unofficially, Buffy's sister, Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...

, and her friends Xander
Xander Harris
Alexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as in numerous items in the series Expanded Universe, such as comic books, tie-in novels and video games...

, Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...

, Tara
Tara Maclay
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson from the fourth to the sixth season until the character's death. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love...

, and others also helped out in the shop from time to time. The Magic Box was also the headquarters at which they met to research vampires, demons, witches, and other supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...

 and paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...

 phenomena after the old high school and its library were destroyed. In the season 6 episode "Older and Far Away", it was revealed that Dawn had stolen a number of items from the shop. This kleptomania had earlier included Dawn's theft of a magic pendant used to summon the demon Sweet ("Once More, with Feeling").

Description

The Magic Box had a full basement, which was used to store excess stock, and a loft in which many of the esoteric volumes from the Sunnydale High School library
Sunnydale High School library
The Sunnydale High School library is a fictional location on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, central to the show's first three seasons....

 were kept after they'd been removed from the library in preparation for its detonation as a means of killing the demonic mayor Richard Wilkins ("Graduation Day
Graduation Day (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
"Graduation Day" is the season finale of the WB Television Network's third season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, consisting of the twenty-first and twenty-second episodes. They are also the fifty-fifth and fifty-sixth episodes of the show overall...

").

The shop itself displayed merchandise on tables, on shelves and racks, and inside glass counters. A room behind the shop was reserved as a training area for Buffy, where she could practice hand-to-hand combat and martial arts techniques and tactics (first introduced in "Out of My Mind
Out of My Mind (Buffy episode)
"Out of My Mind" is the fourth episode of season 5 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:At the cemetery, Buffy stalks her vampire prey, killing several new vampires with a little unwanted help from both Riley and Spike. Riley demonstrates quite a bit of enthusiasm and new...

"). It was equipped with a punching bag, a pommel horse
Pommel horse
The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, modern pommel horses have a metal body covered with foam rubber and leather, with plastic handles .- History :The pommel...

, tumbling mats, protective pads, and other paraphernalia and included an armory of various weapons.

Merchandise

In addition to the Orb of Thesulah, the following merchandise was available for sale at The Magic Box:
  • Chicken Feet
  • Skink root ("Lovers Walk
    Lovers Walk
    "Lovers Walk" is episode 8 of season 3 of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing in a Series.- Plot synopsis :...

    ")
  • Essence of rose thorn ("Lovers Walk")
  • Canary's feathers ("Lovers Walk")
  • Essence of violet ("Lovers Walk")
  • Cloves ("Lovers Walk")
  • Set of runic tablets ("Lovers Walk")
  • Rats' eyes ("Lovers Walk")
  • Holy water ("Lovers Walk")
  • Unicorn statue ("Real Me")
  • Salamander Eyes ("No Place Like Home")
  • Essence of Slug candles ("Life Serial")
  • Eyeballs in honey ("Life Serial")
  • Dagger of Lex ("Life Serial")
  • Petrified hamster ("Life Serial")
  • Mummy's hand ("Life Serial")
  • Mandrake Root ("All the Way")
  • Burba Weed ("All The Way")
  • Green Egg
    Green Egg
    Green Egg is a Neopagan magazine published by the Church of All Worlds from 1968 through 1976 and 1988 through 2000, and restarted in 2007. It was created and edited for most of its existence by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart....

    Magazine ("Triangle")


A wide variety of other magical paraphernalia was also available, including candles, crystal balls and love potions, along with presumably non-magical items such as history books and jewelry.

Destruction

The Magic Box was destroyed in season six, when "Dark Willow" sucked its magical contents dry in "Villains
Villains (Buffy episode)
"Villains" is the 20th episode of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.- Plot summary :An ambulance arrives at the Summers' house to treat the wounded Buffy. Upstairs, the distraught Willow calls upon Osiris to bring the murdered Tara back to life, but the god cannot, because...

", and then fought first with Buffy, then with Giles. During the battle, the Magic Box was reduced to rubble ("Grave
Grave (Buffy episode)
"Grave" is the sixth season finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode is the second highest rated Buffy episode ever to air in the U.K., Sky One aired the episode which reached 1.22 million viewers on its original airing....

").

The Magic Box is seen once more in season seven when Anya is emptying out the wreckage ("Same Time, Same Place
Same Time, Same Place (Buffy episode)
"Same Time, Same Place" is the third episode of the seventh and final season of the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:...

").
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