The Witches – Roald Dahl (1981)

The Witches by Roald Dahl, first published in 1983, is a deliciously dark children’s novel set in a world where witches are not fairy tale clichés but terrifyingly real predators hiding in plain sight. With Quentin Blake’s iconic illustrations and Dahl’s characteristic mix of whimsy and wickedness, this novel crafts a tale of suspense, transformation, and rebellion against evil. Known for its subversive take on classic children’s tropes, The Witches remains one of Dahl’s most enduring works.

Plot Summary

In a quiet world not too different from our own, where witches walk unnoticed among ordinary folk, a young boy’s life is shattered when his parents die in a sudden accident during a snowy Christmas holiday in Norway. He is taken in by his cigar-smoking, fiercely loving Grandmamma, a woman with no patience for nonsense and a mind sharpened by a lifetime of tales darker than most would dare to tell. Grandmamma knows things. Terrible things. The sort of things only a child who listens carefully can ever hope to survive.

From the warmth of her Oslo home, she shares secrets not found in books – witches are real. Not the kind with pointy hats and broomsticks, but real witches, who look like perfectly normal women. They hate children with a venom so fierce, so pure, it burns hotter than boiling oil. And they live among people, disguised, working ordinary jobs, plotting wicked deeds. Their gloves hide cat-like claws, their wigs cover itchy bald heads, and their shoes squeeze around wide, square feet with no toes. They have nostrils tuned like hound dogs and a scent for clean children that makes them sick with delight. It is a world where safety is an illusion and danger wears a smile.

The boy listens. He watches. And soon he sees. One day, while high in the branches of a conker tree behind his English home, he spots a strange woman in black gloves with gums as raw as steak offering him a green snake. Her voice scrapes like sandpaper and her smile stretches unnaturally wide. Terror climbs his spine faster than he can scale the tree. By the time Grandmamma calls him down, the woman is gone, but the truth remains – the witches are watching.

The summer holidays, promised to be filled with rowing boats and island picnics in Norway, are disrupted when Grandmamma falls gravely ill. Pneumonia, the doctor says. She recovers slowly but surely, though the trip to Norway is ruled out. Instead, they travel to the south coast of England, to a grand old hotel in Bournemouth, The Hotel Magnificent. It is full of sea breezes and old people, and for a boy with two white mice named William and Mary, it’s not all bad. He teaches the mice tricks, dreams of a White Mouse Circus, and dodges the scowling chambermaid and the bristly hotel manager Mr Stringer, who has no patience for rodents or children.

Then comes the moment when the ordinary peels back to reveal something rotten underneath. In a grand ballroom marked for a meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, the boy finds the perfect hidden spot behind a folding screen. There, in the dim stillness, he begins training his mice to walk tightropes. But soon, voices rise. Feet shuffle. Hats bob. And the room fills with a sea of fashionable ladies – each one wearing gloves.

The boy stays very still. Too still. What unfolds before his wide eyes defies everything he knows. With the doors locked and bolted, the ladies shed their disguises. Wigs come off to reveal raw, scabby scalps. Gloves are removed to unveil long, hooked claws. Shoes slide off wide, toe-less feet. They scratch, they sigh, they reveal their true selves – and they are all witches.

At the front of the room stands a figure unlike the others. Smaller, younger, seemingly elegant – until she removes her mask. Beneath it is a face so hideously decayed, so filled with evil, it freezes the room in silence. This is the Grand High Witch of All the World. Cruelty shines from her eyes like twin blades. Her voice rasps with rage as she condemns the witches of England for their laziness. One child a week, she says, is pitiful. Every child in the country must vanish – squashed, squirted, frittered away. And she has the means to do it.

From her purse, she reveals a small bottle – Formula 86 Delayed Action Mouse-Maker. A single drop turns a child into a mouse in minutes. But with the delayed formula, the change can happen hours later. Mix it into candy, give it to greedy children, and wait. At precisely nine o’clock the next day, children will sprout whiskers, tails, and shrink into squeaking panic. She demonstrates on Bruno Jenkins, a boy lured into the room with the promise of chocolate. Before their eyes, he becomes a plump brown mouse.

The hidden boy tries to flee, but he is caught. Held down by clawed hands, he is force-fed the formula. In moments, he too is transformed. Whiskers twitch, fur bristles, and the world grows enormous. Yet inside, his mind remains sharp, his courage unshaken.

He finds Bruno and together they scurry to Grandmamma’s room. He climbs the bed, tells his tale, and though her heart breaks, Grandmamma does not falter. They plot revenge.

That night, under the cover of fur and silence, the boy-mouse sneaks into the witches’ room. He carries a bottle of the very same formula and pours it into their soup pot, stewing in the hotel kitchen. As the witches dine later that evening, chaos erupts. Screams rise, clothes fall, tails whip through the air. The witches shrink and vanish in puffs of fur and confusion.

The Grand High Witch is among them, unrecognizable now, a tiny rodent scuttling in terror. Mr Stringer, the hotel manager, unaware of the truth, calls for mousetraps and buckets. The witches are no more.

Back in their room, the boy and Grandmamma know the job is not finished. Witches exist all over the world. With the formula in hand, addresses stolen from the Grand High Witch’s room, and courage sharper than any knife, they begin to plan. America. France. Germany. They will go where the witches go, and they will stop them. He may be small, but he is not powerless.

A mouse’s life may be short, but a witch-hunter’s legacy is long.

Main Characters

• The Boy (unnamed narrator) – A brave and curious young protagonist who, after the tragic death of his parents, lives with his wise and eccentric grandmother. Smart and daring, he becomes the key player in uncovering the witches’ plot. His transformation into a mouse does not dampen his spirit; rather, it strengthens his resolve and cunning in facing danger.
• Grandmamma – A fiercely protective, cigar-smoking Norwegian woman who is both caregiver and mentor to her grandson. Her deep knowledge of witches and her unyielding courage make her a formidable force. Her past experiences with witches and her missing thumb hint at a life of quiet heroism.
• The Grand High Witch – The terrifying leader of all witches, she disguises herself as a young, stylish woman but reveals a grotesque, monstrous form beneath her mask. Cunning, cruel, and commanding, she devises a plan to exterminate all children in England using a magical formula.
• Mr. Stringer – The stiff and officious hotel manager of the Hotel Magnificent, where much of the action takes place. His encounters with the protagonist add both tension and comic relief.
• Bruno Jenkins – A gluttonous boy who is lured and transformed into a mouse by the witches. Bruno serves as a foil to the narrator and offers moments of humor and exasperation.

Theme

• Childhood vs. Adulthood: A dominant theme is the disconnect between children and adults. Witches, symbolic of adult threats, masquerade as ordinary women, reinforcing a child’s view that the adult world can be deceptive and dangerous. The novel empowers children to be resourceful and independent, often portraying adults (excluding Grandmamma) as oblivious or ineffective.
• Identity and Transformation: Transformation is literal and metaphorical. The boy’s change into a mouse, rather than being a tragedy, becomes a symbol of resilience and adaptation. Identity, in Dahl’s world, is not confined to form – bravery, intelligence, and love remain intact despite physical change.
• The Nature of Evil: Dahl redefines evil not as something grandiose, but hidden, ordinary, and insidious. Witches appear charming and sophisticated, yet harbor monstrous intentions. This subtlety reflects a deeper fear – that evil could be lurking beneath any civilized surface.
• Power of Knowledge and Storytelling: Grandmamma’s stories serve not only as warnings but as tools of survival. Knowledge becomes a child’s greatest defense, emphasizing the transformative power of storytelling and inherited wisdom.

Writing Style and Tone

Roald Dahl’s prose in The Witches blends mischievous humor with macabre suspense, creating an atmosphere that is both whimsical and unsettling. He employs a conversational narrative voice, often addressing the reader directly, which enhances the intimacy and urgency of the tale. The use of vivid imagery and grotesque exaggeration paints the witches as monstrous figures while maintaining a playful, child-centric perspective.

Dahl’s tone is irreverent, bold, and unafraid to tread into dark territory, which sets it apart from more sanitized children’s literature. His narrative never condescends to the reader – children are treated as capable of understanding fear, death, and courage. The seamless mix of horror and hilarity, combined with Dahl’s inventive use of language and Quentin Blake’s quirky illustrations, gives The Witches a unique voice that continues to captivate readers of all ages.