The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
"The Witches of Worm" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is a contemporary realistic fiction novel that explores the emotional struggles of Jessica Porter, a lonely twelve-year-old girl living in San Francisco with her single mother. The story unfolds against a backdrop of shifting weather, reflecting Jessica's internal turmoil as she grapples with feelings of rejection from her best friend and neglect from her mother. In search of companionship, she discovers a strange newborn kitten, which she names Worm, in a cave on Blackberry Heights. As Jessica's bond with Worm deepens, she experiences unsettling changes, feeling as though the kitten is influencing her thoughts and leading her towards destructive behavior.
The narrative raises questions about the roots of Jessica's emotional pain, such as the impact of parental neglect versus the struggles of an imaginative child. It also touches upon themes of truth, deceit, and the search for understanding. The novel was published in the early 1970s, a period when children's literature began to confront societal issues like single-parent families and emotional distress, marking a shift from traditional narratives. Snyder’s work invites readers to consider the complexities of childhood emotions and the fine line between reality and perceived supernatural influences.
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The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
First published: 1972; illustrated
Type of work: Psychological realism
Themes: Emotions, family, and health and illness
Time of work: The 1970’s
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: San Francisco
Principal Characters:
Jessica Porter , a twelve-year-old only child living with her mother in an apartmentJoy Porter , an attractive, young, self-centered single parent who works as a secretaryBrandon Doyle , a neighbor and former playmate of Jessica, who plays the trumpetMrs. Fortune , an elderly woman who owns the apartment building, has several cats, and befriends JessicaMrs. Post , a former baby-sitter for JessicaWorm , the newborn, orphan kitten that Jessica adopts
The Story
The Witches of Worm is a contemporary realistic fiction novel that deals with the concerns of Jessica Porter, a disturbed, lonely child from a single-parent home. San Francisco, with its suddenly changing weather of chilling wind, poisonous fog, and rolling clouds, forms the backdrop for this story of emotional turmoil. The Regency Apartment House has been Jessica’s home for as long as she can remember, but during the last year, her neighborhood friendships and her relationship with her mother have deteriorated. Jessica, an avid reader and imaginative twelve-year-old, increasingly turns her emotions inward as the perceived rejection by her best friend, Brandon Doyle, and neglect by her attractive young mother, Joy, intensify.
To escape the unusual weather and oppressive loneliness of her apartment, Jessica climbs to Blackberry Heights, a flat hilltop overlooking the city. On the heights in a cave where Jessica once played pretend games with Brandon, she discovers a strangely colored newborn kitten. Although Jessica does not like cats, she takes the abandoned kitten to elderly Mrs. Fortune, owner of several cats and the Regency Apartment House. When the friendship between Brandon and Jessica was strong, they used to visit Mrs. Fortune to hear her strange tales of magic. Mrs. Fortune refuses to take the kitten but advises Jessica of its needs. Under Jessica’s care, the kitten, which she names Worm, thrives, but his behavior and appearance seem increasingly strange as Jessica’s relationship with the cat becomes more and more complex. She begins avoiding Worm as her loneliness, anger, and malicious deeds increase. Jessica hears voices that she attributes to Worm, telling her to lie and commit destructive acts. She believes Worm to be possessed.
Mrs. Post, her former sitter, catches Jessica in deceitful behavior and reports it to Joy, who arranges for Jessica to see the school psychologist, Mr. Weaver. Jessica believes that she has succeeded in fooling Mr. Weaver, but the howling demon voice still is not gone. Jessica decides to destroy Worm. Through the intervention of Mrs. Fortune, an exorcism is attempted, but Worm escapes from the apartment into a fierce storm. Brandon comes to Jessica’s assistance in finding the almost drowned Worm. Jessica, wet from the storm and in a highly emotional state, arrives home with Worm. Her mother calls a physician. Jessica later realizes that she must tell the truth about her deeds and is relieved to learn that she can cry and is therefore not a witch. She is glad, too, that Worm is not dead.
Context
The Witches of Worm was published in the early 1970’s at a time when a number of children’s novels were being written that described single-parent families and adult failings. The Civil Rights movement and social freedoms of the 1960’s came to be reflected in children’s novels of the following decade, when taboos restricting topics were swept away. The traditional approach of children’s literature, with its carefree view of childhood, was replaced by novels highlighting the problems of youth. Adults were shown as fallible; divorce and single-parent-family novels began to increase in number to reflect social reality.
Few stories, however, were published that dealt with the emotionally disturbed child. The Planet of Junior Brown (1971) by Virginia Hamilton, which appeared about the same time, does have some parallels to The Witches of Worm. An interesting aspect of the novel is the careful balance of evidence regarding the cause of Jessica’s emotional pain. How much of the problem may be the product of a lonely, intelligent, and imaginative child, and how much may be caused by parental neglect? Could Jessica have been under a demon’s control or did a psychologist recognize her problem and successfully intervene? Zilpha Snyder has left these questions for the reader to decide, just as was done in her earlier work, The Headless Cupid (1971), which also involves the occult.