The Boggart
Encyclopedia
The Boggart is a children's novel by Susan Cooper
published in 1993 by Macmillan
. The book was nominated for a Young Reader's Choice Award (Grade 4-8) in 1996.
It tells the tale of a family from Canada
, the Volniks, who inherit a castle in Scotland
. They soon discover that together with the castle they also seem to have inherited a mischievous spirit, a boggart
.
has lived in Castle Keep since ages past, wreaking havoc upon the MacDevons who've lived there. His job, as far as he's concerned, is to keep life "interesting" for his beloved family. He's been too busy filching apples, knotting shoelaces, and trashing the kitchen to pay much attention to the march of history. But when the last MacDevon dies, the boggart has to come to terms with a new set of owners: the Volnik family from Toronto
, who have no intention of inhabiting the drafty tumbledown castle that they've inherited from their great-uncle MacDevon. The sulking boggart is most displeased to find himself mistakenly shipped to Canada inside an antique desk destined for Emily Volnik's room. But once out and about, he is fascinated by this new world of peanut butter, pizza, and electric gizmos. Filching oatcakes quickly becomes a thing of the past as the boggart finds all sorts of new ways he can drive this modern family crazy. Possessing the t.v. set? No problem. Booby-trapping the house for Halloween? Well, if kids can do it, boggarts can do it. The traffic lights in downtown Toronto? Wouldn't they look prettier if they were another color? But when the boggart's pranks send Emily to the hospital, she and her brother Jessup must find a way to pry the boggart out of his new home and send him back to the castle where he belongs.
Back in Scotland
, the mail carrier swears his van is haunted when he delivers Tommy's Christmas package all the way from Canada
. And the video game that Tommy finds inside seems to have a mind of its own! When Tommy crashes into the black hole himself, the boggart bursts forth from his own computer, home at last and free. The happy boggart returns to Castle Keep, ready to welcome its new owners with a whole host of boggart tricks.
manifestations: not a boggart
, but a poltergeist
. Although Emily is fond of the boggart, she needs to get him back to Scotland before she is institutionalized by the villain, Dr. Stigmore.
Jessup Volnik is Emily's ten-year-old brother who prides himself on having the IQ of a genius
. Jessup is an avid computer
programmer who spends most of his time with the "Gang of Five," a posse of older kids who also are into programming. Jessup and his gang are developing a video game called Black Hole, which becomes very important to the story. Jessup also plays ice hockey
, a sport that the boggart becomes involuntarily involved in.
Tommy Cameronis a person who has known the boggart for years as a frequent nuisance at his family's general store in Port Appin, Scotland. Tommy grudgingly befriends Emily and Jessup when they come breezing into his hometown to look over Castle Keep, but he does not tell them about the boggart in their family's castle. Tommy sends Emily and Jessup a few postcard
s after they leave Scotland
, and he becomes an invaluable resource when they need someone to explain what a boggart is and how to deal with it. Thirteen-year-old Tommy is also a computer whiz, and it is with his help that the boggart is finally shipped back home to his beloved Scottish castle.
Maggie Volnik is Emily and Jessup's mother. She is, unfortunately, a very highly-strung woman, and the sight of the boggart flinging furniture out the window or levitating expensive wine glasses in her antique shop sends her into near-hysterics. Maggie is apt to blame the children for the chaos that is taking over their house, and she is easily convinced by the evil Dr. Stigmore that Emily needs to be institutionalized.
Robert Volnik is Emily and Jessup's father. He is a theater producer at the Chervil Playhouse, and takes a more laid-back view of the world than Mrs. Volnik. Although Mr. Volnik also suspects the children are to blame for most of the pranks, he is very sympathetic when the boggart's experiment with traffic lights lands Emily in the hospital. He refuses to allow anyone to take Emily away, and he has no patience with the tabloid reporters who want to spotlight the spooky goings-on at his theater.
Dr. William Stigmore is the story's only villain, a parapsychologist who gets on Emily and Jessup's nerves the moment he enters their mother's store. Dr. Stigmore earns himself the nickname of "That Creep" when he is rude to the children, condescending to their mother, and walks off with the antique that Emily really wanted for herself. He is shopping in the store when the boggart starts playing with the merchandise—he blames the flying glasses and dancing dolls on a poltergeist
. Dr. Stigmore sneaks into Emily's hospital room while she is in the hospital and tries to get her to tell him about the "paranormal" events going on around her. When Emily refuses to cooperate, Dr. Stigmore tries to have her transferred to his personal care ward. Fortunately, Maggie discovers that Dr. Stigmore is exploiting Emily's so-called "poltergeist
" to make himself famous on a tabloid show, and promises that she will never let him near her family again.
Mr. Maconochie is the MacDevon family lawyer who helps the Volniks inherit and later sell Castle Keep. Mr. Maconochie is so upset at the idea of the little castle being abandoned that he decides to sell his law practice and buy the castle himself. At the end of the story, he is safely ensconced in his new home—which he has updated with central heating and electric lights—with his new tweeds in the closet, his new puppy curled in the hall, and his little grandnephews asleep in their beds. The boggart cannot believe his good fortune to have in his castle not only a kindly old man, but small children to play with and a dog to tease, and sews their shirtsleeves closed to welcome them properly!
.
Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
published in 1993 by Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
. The book was nominated for a Young Reader's Choice Award (Grade 4-8) in 1996.
It tells the tale of a family from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Volniks, who inherit a castle in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. They soon discover that together with the castle they also seem to have inherited a mischievous spirit, a boggart
Boggart
In Englishfolklore, a boggart is a household fairy which causes things to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee...
.
Plot summary
An timeless spirit of mischief, the boggartBoggart
In Englishfolklore, a boggart is a household fairy which causes things to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee...
has lived in Castle Keep since ages past, wreaking havoc upon the MacDevons who've lived there. His job, as far as he's concerned, is to keep life "interesting" for his beloved family. He's been too busy filching apples, knotting shoelaces, and trashing the kitchen to pay much attention to the march of history. But when the last MacDevon dies, the boggart has to come to terms with a new set of owners: the Volnik family from Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, who have no intention of inhabiting the drafty tumbledown castle that they've inherited from their great-uncle MacDevon. The sulking boggart is most displeased to find himself mistakenly shipped to Canada inside an antique desk destined for Emily Volnik's room. But once out and about, he is fascinated by this new world of peanut butter, pizza, and electric gizmos. Filching oatcakes quickly becomes a thing of the past as the boggart finds all sorts of new ways he can drive this modern family crazy. Possessing the t.v. set? No problem. Booby-trapping the house for Halloween? Well, if kids can do it, boggarts can do it. The traffic lights in downtown Toronto? Wouldn't they look prettier if they were another color? But when the boggart's pranks send Emily to the hospital, she and her brother Jessup must find a way to pry the boggart out of his new home and send him back to the castle where he belongs.
Back in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the mail carrier swears his van is haunted when he delivers Tommy's Christmas package all the way from Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. And the video game that Tommy finds inside seems to have a mind of its own! When Tommy crashes into the black hole himself, the boggart bursts forth from his own computer, home at last and free. The happy boggart returns to Castle Keep, ready to welcome its new owners with a whole host of boggart tricks.
Characters
Emily Volnikis the twelve-year-old girl years who first discovers the boggart. She is cheerful, adventurous, and resourceful; of all the family, she is most interested in their Scottish heritage and lobbiest hardest to keep the castle, or at least as many of the furnishings as the family can. As far as the adults are concerned, the boggart's pranks are Emily's fault, since she is channeling her "adolescent anger" into paranormalParanormal
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...
manifestations: not a boggart
Boggart
In Englishfolklore, a boggart is a household fairy which causes things to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee...
, but a poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
. Although Emily is fond of the boggart, she needs to get him back to Scotland before she is institutionalized by the villain, Dr. Stigmore.
Jessup Volnik is Emily's ten-year-old brother who prides himself on having the IQ of a genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
. Jessup is an avid computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
programmer who spends most of his time with the "Gang of Five," a posse of older kids who also are into programming. Jessup and his gang are developing a video game called Black Hole, which becomes very important to the story. Jessup also plays ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, a sport that the boggart becomes involuntarily involved in.
Tommy Cameronis a person who has known the boggart for years as a frequent nuisance at his family's general store in Port Appin, Scotland. Tommy grudgingly befriends Emily and Jessup when they come breezing into his hometown to look over Castle Keep, but he does not tell them about the boggart in their family's castle. Tommy sends Emily and Jessup a few postcard
Postcard
A postcard or post card is a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard intended for writing and mailing without an envelope....
s after they leave Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, and he becomes an invaluable resource when they need someone to explain what a boggart is and how to deal with it. Thirteen-year-old Tommy is also a computer whiz, and it is with his help that the boggart is finally shipped back home to his beloved Scottish castle.
Maggie Volnik is Emily and Jessup's mother. She is, unfortunately, a very highly-strung woman, and the sight of the boggart flinging furniture out the window or levitating expensive wine glasses in her antique shop sends her into near-hysterics. Maggie is apt to blame the children for the chaos that is taking over their house, and she is easily convinced by the evil Dr. Stigmore that Emily needs to be institutionalized.
Robert Volnik is Emily and Jessup's father. He is a theater producer at the Chervil Playhouse, and takes a more laid-back view of the world than Mrs. Volnik. Although Mr. Volnik also suspects the children are to blame for most of the pranks, he is very sympathetic when the boggart's experiment with traffic lights lands Emily in the hospital. He refuses to allow anyone to take Emily away, and he has no patience with the tabloid reporters who want to spotlight the spooky goings-on at his theater.
Dr. William Stigmore is the story's only villain, a parapsychologist who gets on Emily and Jessup's nerves the moment he enters their mother's store. Dr. Stigmore earns himself the nickname of "That Creep" when he is rude to the children, condescending to their mother, and walks off with the antique that Emily really wanted for herself. He is shopping in the store when the boggart starts playing with the merchandise—he blames the flying glasses and dancing dolls on a poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
. Dr. Stigmore sneaks into Emily's hospital room while she is in the hospital and tries to get her to tell him about the "paranormal" events going on around her. When Emily refuses to cooperate, Dr. Stigmore tries to have her transferred to his personal care ward. Fortunately, Maggie discovers that Dr. Stigmore is exploiting Emily's so-called "poltergeist
Poltergeist
A poltergeist is a paranormal phenomenon which consists of events alluding to the manifestation of an imperceptible entity. Such manifestation typically includes inanimate objects moving or being thrown about, sentient noises and, on some occasions, physical attacks on those witnessing the...
" to make himself famous on a tabloid show, and promises that she will never let him near her family again.
Mr. Maconochie is the MacDevon family lawyer who helps the Volniks inherit and later sell Castle Keep. Mr. Maconochie is so upset at the idea of the little castle being abandoned that he decides to sell his law practice and buy the castle himself. At the end of the story, he is safely ensconced in his new home—which he has updated with central heating and electric lights—with his new tweeds in the closet, his new puppy curled in the hall, and his little grandnephews asleep in their beds. The boggart cannot believe his good fortune to have in his castle not only a kindly old man, but small children to play with and a dog to tease, and sews their shirtsleeves closed to welcome them properly!
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A live-action feature film based on The Boggart is in said to be in production with a target date of 2011. The film may be directed by Brian HensonBrian Henson
Brian Henson is an Academy Award-winning puppeteer, director, producer, and technician. The son of puppeteers Jane and Jim Henson, Brian was born in New York City, New York....
.