Magic Box

⤷ Note: This article is about the magic shop. For the RPG book, see The Magic Box.

“Your one-stop spot to shop for all your occult needs.”

―Magic Box logo^[src]

Magic Box, previously known as Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet,^[1] was a magic shop located on Maple Court in Sunnydale, between the shops Book Stew! and April Fool. The shop was last owned and operated by Rupert Giles,^[2][3] when the place had served as the primary headquarters for the Scooby Gang.^[4]

History[]

Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet[]

By 1998, the shop had an unidentified woman as clerk, who Spike killed in his search for a love spell.^[5] In 1999, the shop was known as Uncle Bob's Magic Cabinet. At the time, Willow Rosenberg was able to wake up the owner in order to shop supplies for a protection spell.^[1] Months later, Xander bought at Uncle Bob's ingredients to perform a Breath of the Entropics ritual.^[6]

Magic Box[]

By late 2000, the shop had changed its name to "Magic Box." Harmony Gang killed the owner, Mr. Bogarty, and robbed a book on Slayers and an unicorn statue.^[2]

With the owner's death, Rupert Giles bought the shop due to its high profit margins.^[2] Soon after opening, Anya Jenkins became a full time employee after demonstrating her knowledge of mystical artifacts and business management.^[7] The Magic Box operated as the Scoobies' headquarters,^[4] succeeding Rupert Giles's apartment^[8] and the Sunnydale High School library.^[9]

When Giles went away to England for a week, Anya and Willow were made in charge of the shop. Willow used the shop's supplies to her advantage when she tried to create a simulated sunlight spell. Though, her arguing with Anya messed up the ritual, conjuring a troll in the process.^[10] Anya became the Magic Box's co-owner before Giles returned to England.^[11] For a brief period, Buffy Summers also worked part time for the magic shop,^[12] but found that she was not cut out for such employment.^[13]

A training room for Buffy and Giles's sessions was placed in an unused space towards the back of the building. The Magic Box also contained a trapdoor which led to the sewers.^[14] The Magic Box's phone number was (805) 555-8966.^[15] The business hours were 10am to 9pm during Monday through Thursday, 10am to 12pm on Friday and Saturday, while closed on Sundays.^[16]

The Magic Box was damaged and closed^[17] in 2001, when Willow, corrupted by grief and magic, fought with Buffy and Giles within it, after draining the magic from its collection of dark magic books.^[3] The building was finally destroyed in 2003, along with all Sunnydale.^[18]

Merchandise[]

A wide variety of magical paraphernalia was available for sale at the Magic Box, including candles, incense, runic artifacts, potions, death charms etc., along with presumably non-magical items such as history books, jewelry, lollipops for children etc.^[15] The following merchandise was also available:

Books and magazines[]

Artifacts and ingredients[]

Off-limits area[]

The store holds a large number of artifacts and books that are very dangerous, very dark or a combination of both. It included books on resurrection spells,^[23] as well as the Darkest Magick, which contained powerful dark magic and was used by Willow in combination with a dagger also stored there.^[24] She became dark with magic when she absorbed the content of these books in the following year.^[25]

Prominent events[]

1998[]

• Willow bought magic ingredients so she could concoct a delusting spell to stop her attraction to Xander.^[5]
• Spike, coming to buy a love spell for Drusilla, drained the clerk.^[5]
• Buffy, Spike, and Angel fought against Lenny and a vampire gang.^[5]

1999[]

• Buffy bought magic ingredients for Giles, who was temporary blinded by Willow.^[26]

2000[]

• Harmony and her gang killed Mr. Bogarty so Giles bought the shop.^[2]
• Organizing the shop, Giles was attacked by Toth, who was after the Slayer.^[8]
• Giles opened the shop under his new administration.^[7]
• Anya was hired.^[7]
• Tara was visited by her family, who later menaced her in order to get her to return home with them.^[27]
• Accidentally invisible because of Tara's spell, Lei-ach demons attacked under Glory's order.^[27]
• Glory bought magic ingredients for the Sobekian transmogrification spell.^[7]
• The Spawn of Sobek detected Dawn was the Key.^[7]
• Buffy broke off her relationship with Riley Finn in the training room.^[20]

2001[]

• Anya and Willow accidentally freed Olaf from a crystal.^[10]
• The Watchers Council occupied the shop to evaluate Buffy and the Scoobies.^[19]
• Giles was reestablished as a Watcher and Quentin Travers revealed that Glory was a god.^[19]
• With Spike's help, Dawn broke into the shop and found out she was the Key.^[16]
• Dawn committed a series of thefts.^[23][13][4]
• As the Scooby Gang prepared for their battle against Glory, Xander asked Anya to marry him.^[28]
• The Trio installed a mini-camera in a skull to spy on the Slayer.^[12][29]
• Temporarily employed, Buffy was locked in a temporal buckle provoked by the Trio. She was doomed to repeat the sale of a mummy hand.^[12]
• During Halloween 2002, Xander and Anya announced their engagement.^[13]
• Temporarily amnesic while under Willow's spell, the Scooby Gang was attacked by Teeth and his vampire minions.^[14]
• Anya and Xander discovered that an invisible Buffy was "fading away."^[30]

2002[]

• Anya and Spike drunk together then had sex on the shop's table.^[29]
• Outside the shop, an angry Xander tried to stake Spike. Spike then revealed he had also been sleeping with Buffy.^[29]
• Willow absorbed magic from the books,^[25] then also from Giles after his return.^[3]
• Willow destroyed the Magic Box while fighting Giles.^[3]
• After her return from England, Willow met Anya outside the closed shop.^[17]

Areas[]

Entrance

Second floor, off-limits area

Front desk and cash register

Interior view

Interior view

Back training room

Door to storage room/basement

Basement/storage room

Behind the scenes[]

• While the products behind the counter are always out of focus, on-set pictures reveal they have labels inspired by characters and the staff, with names such as "Gellar Gems" (after Sarah Michelle Gellar), "Eye of Noxon" (after Marti Noxon), "Zanderliscious" (after Xander), and "Dru's Drink" (after Drusilla).

Fanmade floorplan

Appearances[]

Canonical[]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Other[]

References[]