''Escape to Witch Mountain'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel written by

Alexander Key Alexander Hill Key (September 21, 1904 – July 25, 1979) was an American science fiction writer who primarily wrote children's literature. Early life Key was born in 1904 in LaPlatte, Maryland. His parents, Alexander Hill and Charlotte ...

in 1968.Was "Escape to Witch Mountain" based on Zenna Henderson's "People" stories?
/ref> It was adapted for film by Disney as ''

Escape to Witch Mountain ''Escape to Witch Mountain'' is a science fiction novel written by Alexander Key in 1968. It was adapted for film by Disney as '' Escape to Witch Mountain'' in 1975 which spawned the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. The novel was illustrated by ...

'' in 1975 which spawned the ''Witch Mountain'' franchise. The novel was illustrated by Leon B. Wisdom, Jr. and originally published in 1968 by the Westminster Press in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Plot

Tony and Tia are

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

teenagers Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

who have

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

abilities. Tony possesses the ability of

telekinesis Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...

, which he can access most readily through playing music, particularly his harmonica. Tia's strengths include the ability to unlock any door by touch and communicate with animals. Both siblings can communicate via

ultrasonic Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies fr ...

speech audible only to each other; but Tia cannot speak normally and is regarded as strange because of this. It is later revealed that Tia is not unusual in this respect, but Tony is; few of their kind have the ability to speak out loud. After their foster guardian, Mrs. Malone, dies, they are placed by

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

in a

juvenile detention In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

home under grim, unwholesome conditions, where Tia befriends a black cat, Winkie. Both have suppressed memories of their past, but discover a clue in an old road map hidden along with a cache of money in Tia's "star box", a leather purse-like box with a double-star design on it. In a chance encounter with a nun who is an art teacher, the nun reveals that she once received a letter on stationery with an identical design. The writer, a

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

resident with "a name like Caroway, or Garroway, or Hideaway" sought information on students who had "unusual aptitudes." When a man named Lucas Deranian, claiming to be the brother of their deceased father, shows up at the detention center to take custody of them, they instinctively know he is not their uncle and has ulterior motives. Unfortunately, when they attempt to reach the nun, they find that she has died. With the assistance of an inner-city Roman Catholic priest, Father O'Day, the pair run away, following the map's route leading towards the

. As their memories begin to return, they realize that they are actually of extraterrestrial origin, their people having come to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

because their own

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

was drifting towards one of its two suns. Their

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

was shot down over

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, resulting in the deaths of all but Tony, Tia, and Uncle Bené - a non-relative, but one of their own people, who rescued the children from Soviet captivity. The book ties this event to the Hungarian Uprising in 1956. Through a series of hardships, Tony and Tia find their way to their own people, who adopted the name Castaway. When the teenagers' would-be captor, Deranian (who O'Day earlier in the novel had likened to the devil), attempts to interrogate Father O'Day, the priest speaks to the effect that God is capable of creating many worlds and many peoples; that there are "mysteries far beyond eranian'snarrow dreaming." As with most of Alexander Key's stories, the embattled

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

s find that most of the people they meet are untrustworthy, greedy, and hateful — making the decency of the few all the more poignant. O'Day puts himself in danger in order to help Tony and Tia, but he does so willingly, because their battle presents O'Day with an opportunity to fight the agents of evil, which is what he knows is his purpose in life and will deliver meaning to his life.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Escape To Witch Mountain 1968 American novels Novels about orphans 1968 science fiction novels Children's science fiction novels American science fiction novels American novels adapted into films Witch Mountain (franchise)

Plot

See also

References

External links