The Boggart (1993)

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One of the books I read in fifth grade, The Boggart always stuck with me for whatever reason. I can't say what it is, but the story was good and I liked the Boggart character. ( )

Nice story - interesting characters, including the Boggart who is nicely alien. Chance and circumstance play a large part in events; and a lovely happy ending. I'd read it before, I noted, but I didn't remember any of it. ( )

Boggart - an ancient, mischievous spirit, solitary and sly.

The Vonik family, Emily, her 10 year-old-computer-nerd brother Jessup, parents Maggie and Robert live in Toronto, Canada. When a cable arrives from Scotland informing them of Robert's inheritance of Castle Keep from a distant uncle, the Voniks take a trip to find out exactly what this inheritance is.

The family arrives to find Castle Keep is a small, deteriorating structure on its own small island in the Western Highlands of Scotland. They fall in love with the area and the life, but do have to return to Toronto. Rober is the artistic director of the Chervil Playhouse and Maggie owns Old Stuff, an antiques shop.

The family brings back some furniture item for themselves and some to sell in Maggie's shop. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Boggart has also come to Toronto. Seems he fell asleep in a desk that is to go in Emily's room.

When the Boggart awakes, he finds that Toronto is nothing like the world he has lived in for the many centuries of his life. This new world is scary and yet there are many delightful things. He sets about pulling his old tricks to amuse the Voniks, but finds that the world he is now in has no clue to what and who he is.

Will the Boggart stay forever in Toronto, or will he be able to return to Scotland and Castle Keep?

This was a fast read for me, but I took my time just to enjoy it. I found I cringed at some of the pranks the Boggart played, knowing they wouldn't go over well, and yet I wished I could have seen them. ( )

Susan Cooper, most famous for her heavily mythic 'Dark is Rising Sequence', returns to light-hearted storytelling.

It's a simple story about a Canadian family that suddenly inherits a castle in Scotland. After going over to see it, and taking home some mementos, they accidentally bring home a boggart. Most of the adults refuse to believe that anything supernatural is going on, and a psychiatrist interested in poltergeist phenomena makes for a funny villain.

It's a quick read, some laughs, and a little outdated thanks to the computer and video-game technology references, but still worth checking out. I remember their being a sequel with the Loch Ness Monster too.

Boggart

Next: 'The Boggart and the Monster' ( )