WITCH HUNT

Another phenomenon has hit the world of kid’s publishing, and like every such phenomenon, somebody’s trying to get it banned as bad for kids.

This time, the culprit is the enormously popular series of books by J.K Rowling concerning the adventures of a student wizard named Harry Potter. Harry, orphaned at a young age, is sent to live with a set of awful relatives who treat him like dirt, until he discovers that he’s actually the son of powerful wizards and is sent to study at Hogwarts, a boarding school for junior magicians.

The books are enormously popular. At one point the three "Harry Potter" books that were out in hardback and a paperback version of the first book held the top spots simultaneously on The New York Times best-seller lists. And now the fourth book is out. Titled "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", it had been kept under wraps so tight that the Department of Energy is studying the security arrangements for adaptation to our nuclear missile program. This past Saturday, "Goblet of Fire" was released with an initial print run of 5.3 MILLION copies. (Most children’s books are considered big releases at half a million). By the time you read this, copies should be flying off the shelves like they were on broomsticks.

Naturally, the Mrs. Grundys of the world can’t abide for anything to be this popular with kids. After all, if kids like something this much, Satan must naturally be involved. Several religious groups have engaged in a lot of huffing and puffing about how the Harry Potter books promote the occult. A group of South Carolina parents appeared before that state’s Board of Education to denounce the books as "evil". One group, called "Family Friendly Libraries" has called for the removal of the Potter books from school libraries because the reference to "magic potions" brewed up by the young wizards is supposedly an endorsement of drug use. FFL goes on to say: "To suggest to any child (especially underprivileged ones like Harry) that there is a way to escape the unhappy, real-life world they live in and retreat into a mystical fantasy world to find happiness is totally irresponsible and deceitful. To then suggest that the world of the occult (witchcraft) can be the power that can make it all happen is in fact evil and ultimately a lie."

At first, I admit, I jeered. I scoffed. But hey, that’s what I do. Then I thought, maybe there are subtle anti-Christian, pro-occult messages in children’s literature. I decided to see for myself. So I sat down at the kid’s bookshelf and started to read. What I saw horrified me. Good people, there are witches EVERYWHERE.

"The Cat in the Hat": this Satanic little tract could serve as the blueprint for the Columbines of tomorrow. It encourages children to disobey their parents, wreck the house, and engage in unsavory activity with talking felines. And we all know who cats hang out with, don’t we? That’s right: WITCHES!

"Where the Wild Things Are": A young boy dresses up like an animal, threatens his mother with cannibalism ("I’ll EAT YOU UP!") and then attempts to evade proper discipline for this transgression by escaping to a magical wood filled with demonic creatures who dance in the moonlight in a "wild rumpus". We all know who likes to dance in the woods in the moonlight, don’t we? That’s right: WITCHES!

"Peter Pan" : a pedophile in tight trousers entices innocent children away from their parents by giving them "magic dust" that lets them "fly" to "Never-Never Land." Could the promotion of drug use BE any clearer? And he hangs around with fairies, too. Who else do we know that takes magic potions and flies without a plane? That’s right, friends: WITCHES!

"Goodnight Moon": What children’s book could be more innocent than this? Hah! Shows how much you know. We all know who really likes the moon, don’t we? That’s right: WITCHES!

But seriously folks, "Harry Potter" and similar works attract kids, not because of an underlying message of witchcraft or the occult, but because they offer a fantasy of escape. What kid HASN’T fantasized that he’s actually descended from nobility, or wizards, or even space aliens, rather than those clueless goobers guffawing over "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" reruns in the living room? Who WOULDN’T rather study wizardry and battle trolls than do the multiplication tables again? Despite all our rosy pronouncements about childhood, being a kid can be a pretty dreary affair sometimes, and other times it gets downright scary.

A little escape can be a good thing. Let them have it. Better yet, get a little escape of your own and go there with them by reading the books with your kids.

COPYRIGHT 2000 BY JERRY D. RHOADES, JR.