The Midnight Folk

"The Midnight Folk" is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield first published in 1927. It is about a boy, Kay Harker, who sets out to discover what became of a fortune stolen from his sea-faring great grandfather Aston Tirrold Harker. The treasure is also sought by a coven of witches who are also seeking it for their own ends. Kay's Governess Sylvia Daisy Pouncer is a member of the coven. The witches are led or guided by the wizard Abner Brown.

Kay Harker is aided in his quest by various talking animals, most notably Nibbins the cat, who used to be a witch's cat but has reformed. One of the other household cats, Greymalkin, takes its name from the witch's familiar in the opening scene of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

Kay Harker experiences various adventures - sailing on the high seas, swimming with mermaids, flying on broomsticks. At one point in the novel he manages to see into the past.

The Midnight Folk is written as one piece. There are no chapter divisions. Division within the text is obtained by moving from prose to verse or even song in some places.

There is a sequel, "The Box of Delights", which features the same villains -- the evil wizard (and jewel thief) Abner Brown and Sylvia Daisy Pouncer. Kay's guardian in that book, Caroline Louisa, first appears in the Midnight Folk as one of a number of supernatural characters who come to his aid.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

There was a BBC radio version of the book made in 1958 and broadcast on Children's Hour that year. Patricia Hayes played Kay Harker and the narrator was David Davis.

A new two-part production was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Sundays 10th and 17th December 2006, repeated on the following Saturdays.