Good Witch of the North
Encyclopedia
The Good Witch of the North is a fictional character in the Land of Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...

, created by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

. She is the elderly and mild-mannered Ruler of the Gillikin Country. Her only significant appearance in Baum's work is in Chapter 2 of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

(1900), in which she introduces Dorothy to Oz and sends her to meet the Wizard, after placing a protective kiss on her forehead. She makes a brief cameo appearance at Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...

's birthday party in The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...

(1909), but is otherwise only mentioned elsewhere in the series.

L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 presented her as an extremely kind and gentle character who stood against the oppression and subjugation of people. She became the Ruler of the Gillikin Country
Gillikin Country
The Gillikin Country is the northern division of L. Frank Baum's land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color purple worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings.-Elements in Gillikin Country:...

 in the North after freeing the Gillikins from the clutches of Mombi
Mombi
Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...

, the erstwhile Wicked Witch of the North. However, the character's kindness and magnanimity of spirit was not confined to her own domain, and she was loved not only by her own subjects but also by other people in Oz, such as the Munchkin
Munchkin
The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...

s. Although she wasn't as powerful as the Wicked Witch of the East
Wicked Witch of the East
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....

 and was hence unable to depose her the way she deposed Mombi, the Good Witch of the North was nonetheless exceedingly sensitive to the plight of the enslaved Munchkins, who regarded her as their friend.

She is a significant though highly-altered player in Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...

's The Giant Horse of Oz
The Giant Horse of Oz
The Giant Horse of Oz is the twenty-second in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the eighth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was Illustrated by John R...

(1928), in which she was called Tattypoo; however, Ruth Plumly Thompson books do not have the authority of L. Frank Baum's, since Baum himself never endorsed Thompson as his successor. Thus, Thompson's depiction of the Good Witch of the North cannot be considered truly canonical at all.

Her role was significantly expanded in the 1902 musical extravaganza
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...

, in which L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 named her Locasta. The character was more famously conflated with that of Glinda, The Good Witch of the South, for the 1939 film version
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

.

The classic books

In the original novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

, the Good Witch of the North is summoned to the Munchkin Country
Munchkin Country
Munchkin Country is the Eastern region in the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In Wizard it was originally called "the land of Munchkins", and "Munchkin Country" in all subsequent Oz books...

 when Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

's falling house kills the Wicked Witch of the East
Wicked Witch of the East
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....

. She arrives at the site of the Wicked Witch's death with three Munchkins and is the only one brave enough to speak to Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

, who, having killed the Witch of the East, is believed to be a powerful sorceress. She welcomes Dorothy to the Land of the Munchkins, points out the body of the dead witch and then introduces herself as the Witch of the North. Having been told that all witches are evil, Dorothy is initially frightened of her, but she assures Dorothy that she is a good witch who is much loved by her people. She also mentions that she is not as powerful as the Witch of the East had been, or she would have liberated the Munchkins from slavery herself. Using a magic slate formed from her hat, she advises Dorothy to travel to the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

 to seek the aid of the powerful Wizard of Oz
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...

 in returning to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. She kisses Dorothy on the forehead, a magical act that serves to protect Dorothy on the journey, because "no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch of the North". This statement is proven to be correct later in the book, when the sight of the shining mark left by the kiss prevents Dorothy from being harmed by the Winged Monkeys
Winged monkeys
Winged monkeys are characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, of enough impact between the books and the 1939 movie to have taken their own place in popular culture, regularly referenced in comedic or ironic situations as a source of evil or fear.-Details:In the original Oz novels, these were...

 or the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

. The sight of this mark is also one of the factors which convinces the Wizard to admit Dorothy to his presence.

At the beginning of The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...

, it is revealed that the Good Witch of the North had banned the practice of magic by any other witch in Gillikin Country (thereby minimizing potential future threats). The Gillikin Country
Gillikin Country
The Gillikin Country is the northern division of L. Frank Baum's land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color purple worn by most of the local inhabitants as well as the color of their surroundings.-Elements in Gillikin Country:...

 had once been under the power of Mombi
Mombi
Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...

, but she was overpowered and routed by the Good Witch of the North, as revealed in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World; and How with the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka the Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse, They Finally Reached the Wonderful Land of Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L....

. Thus, the Wicked Witch of the North was forced to be no more than a lowly wizardess, under the Good Witch of the North's rule.

In Baum's fifth Oz book, The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz
The Road to Oz: In Which Is Related How Dorothy Gale of Kansas, The Shaggy Man, Button Bright, and Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter Met on an Enchanted Road and Followed it All the Way to the Marvelous Land of Oz. is the fifth of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz books...

, the Witch of the North is one of the many guests who attend Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...

's birthday party. She amuses the attendees by transforming ten stones into ten birds, the ten birds into ten lambs, and the ten lambs into ten little girls, who gave a pretty dance and were then transformed back into ten stones once again.

The name of the Good Witch of the North in Baum's own stage version of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...

is Locasta.

The 1939 movie

In the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...

, the Good Witch of the North is called Glinda, which is the name of the Good Witch of the South in the Oz novels. In the movie, Glinda the Good Witch of the North, portrayed by Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...

, is relatively young and beautiful (though Burke was 54 at the time), and in addition to meeting Dorothy on her arrival in Oz, she also supervises her progress on her journey to the Wizard and helps her find her way back to Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 at the end of the story. She wears a pink
Pink
Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....

 gown
Gown
A gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century ; later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.A long, loosely-fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th...

 with a matching crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

 and carries a long magic wand with a glittering star
Star
A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 on the tip. The movie makes no reference to the Good Witch of the South.

The two witches were combined for the sake of the film to save time. This was often done in many movie versions - combining the elements of two popular book characters to shorten lengthy novels.

Later works

In The Giant Horse of Oz
The Giant Horse of Oz
The Giant Horse of Oz is the twenty-second in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the eighth written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was Illustrated by John R...

, Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...

 names the Good Witch of the North "Tattypoo"; as the story unfolds, Tattypoo turns out to be the bewitched form of a beautiful Munchkin queen named Orin. Orin had originally been kidnapped by the former Wicked Witch of the North, Mombi
Mombi
Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...

, who was in love with her husband, King Cheeriobed of the Ozure Isles. In order to remove her rival, Mombi kidnapped Orin soon after the birth of her son, Prince Philador. She then transformed Orin into an old witch who had no recollection of her former life as Queen of the Ozure Isles. Eventually, as Tattypoo, Orin was able to displace Mombi as the ruler of the Gillikins. After being restored to her real self, twenty five years later, Orin loses the magical powers she acquired as the Good Witch of the North. She returns to her husband and son and resumes her life as Queen of the Ozure Isles, no longer wishing to rule the Gillikin Country. At the end of the book, Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...

 proclaims Jo King and Queen Hyacinth from a Gillikin province named Up Town as the new rulers of the Gillikins.

In 2000, Dave Hardenbrook published The Unknown Witches of Oz
The Unknown Witches of Oz
The Unknown Witches of Oz: Locasta and the Three Adepts is a 2000 novel written by Dave Hardenbrook, with illustrations by Kerry Rouleau. As its title indicates, the book is an entry in the long-running series of books about the Land of Oz, written by L...

, with Locasta, the Good Witch of the North, as the main protagonist. Dave Hardenbrook wished to reconcile L. Frank Baum's original version of the character with Ruth Plumly Thompson's version. In Hardenbrook's novel, Locasta and Queen Orin were "switched" by Mombi, the same way Mombi "switched" herself with the maid Jellia Jamb in L. Frank Baum's novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...

. Locasta, the true Good Witch of the North, was lost in the Great Outside World, while the enchanted Queen Orin took her title under the name of Tattypoo. Hardenbrook's novel outlines Locasta's return to the Land of Oz.

In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov
Alexander Melentyevich Volkov was a Soviet novelist and mathematician.He wrote several historical novels, but is mostly remembered for a series of children's books based on L...

's Magic Land series, the Witch's name is Villina. When the Wicked Witch of the East
Wicked Witch of the East
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....

 tried (in that continuity) to exterminate the humanity by means of a magical hurricane, Villina changed the spell so that it only affected one house (which, as her magical book said, was always empty during storms), and dropped it upon the Wicked Witch. Her magical slate is changed into a tiny book which transforms into a giant tome when blown upon, and, in addition to the divination qualities, also functions as an encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....

. She appears in two books after the first one (although in one of them she appears off stage, and it is narrated to the main characters).

Both Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...

's 1995 revisionist
Revisionism (fictional)
In fiction, revisionism is the retelling of a story or type of story with substantial alterations in character or environment, to "revise" the view shown in the original work. Unlike most usages of the term revisionism, this is not generally considered pejorative...

 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...

and the musical Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...

(based on the book), follow the model of the 1939 movie in giving the name "Glinda" to the character who grows up to become The Good Witch of the North. See the article on Glinda the Good Witch for more information on this character.

In William F. Brown
William F. Brown
William F. Brown was an American welding engineer, professional engineer and magnetic pulse welding expert.- Life and career :...

 and Charlie Smalls
Charlie Smalls
Charlie Smalls was an African-American composer and songwriter, best known for writing the music for the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz....

's The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...

, the Good Witch of the North is named "Addaperle" in the stage version and "Miss One" (played by Thelma Carpenter
Thelma Carpenter
Thelma Carpenter was a jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie The Wiz.-Career:...

) in the 1978 film version. Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, is a separate character in both stage and film versions.

In the 1982 anime film
The Wizard of Oz (1982 film)
is a 1982 Japanese anime feature film directed by Fumihiko Takayama, from a screenplay by Yoshimitsu Banno and Akira Miyazaki, which is based on the 1900 children's novel by L...

, The Good Witch of the North is again the grandmotherly figure of the novel. In the American version, she is voiced by an unbilled Elizabeth Hanna
Elizabeth Hanna
Elizabeth Hanna is a Canadian film and television actress, most notable for her voice acting work in animated films. She later complemented her voice acting skills by becoming a Speech-Language Pathologist.-Early history:...

, who also played the Wicked Witch of the West. While appearing very young, Glinda (Wendy Thatcher) refers to the Good Witch of the North as her sister.

In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is a 2005 musical telefilm directed by Kirk Thatcher and starring Ashanti and The Muppets. The film was produced by Bill Barretta and written by Debra Frank, Steve L. Hayes, Tom Martin, and Adam F...

, Glinda and the Good Witch of the North are again separate characters (and the Good Witch of the North has the name Tattypoo), although they are both played by Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....

 (as are the two Wicked Witches).

The VeggieTales
VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...

episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's
The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's is the 33rd episode in the VeggieTales series, and was released on DVD on October 6, 2007 in Christian Bookstores and on October 9, 2007 in other stores. It is based on the parable from the Bible, The Prodigal Son, and a parody of The Wizard of Oz film adaptation...

from Big Idea Productions contains Madame Blueberry as "Splenda
Splenda
Splenda is the commercial name and registered trade mark of a sucralose-based artificial sweetener derived from sugar, owned by the British company Tate & Lyle. Sucralose was discovered by Tate & Lyle and researchers at Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, in 1976...

the Sweet But Non-Fattening Fairy" ( brand name for a sugar substitute ) replacing both of the two Good Witches.
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