An awesomely creepy book from Snyder, who I love for her unique treatment of the supernatural; always leaving it realistic, ambigious, and not always totally evil.

Jessica feels abandoned; her glamourous mother is gone most of the time, her (former) best friend seems to have forgotten her, and she spends most of her days alone, bothered only by the nosy landlady.

Then Jessica finds Worm, a tiny black kitten, in a cave on a stormy night. He doesn't behave anything like a normal kitten; he wails, he has piercing yellow eyes, and he frightens Jessica in a way she doesn't understand.

And then she starts hearing him in her head. Is Worm really evil; a witch's cat sent to turn her into someone terrible? Why is Jessica suddenly playing cruel pranks and lying to her mother? And why is she so unable to resist Worm? Is he really the demon...or is Jessica the witch?

Creepy in an utterly psychological way, the interplay between Worm's supposed evil nature and Jessica's own mental state is fascinating. In the end, it will take a unorthodox exorcism, a reconciliation with her best friend, and a chilling climax chase to reveal the true natures of both Jessica and Worm. A great read for supernatural fans that's appropriately scary but still has a warm ending.

A creepy book for younger readers with plenty of topics for discussion. It's hard to believe it's nearly 50-years-old, the only clue is the fact the kids still use the library!

As a life long lover of cats I couldn't abide Jessica's actions towards Worm. Having a character hope a kitten dies during the night so they don't have to deal with it is not the way to win me over. Worm's aloof manner towards Jessica was easily understandable and I couldn't help but wonder how awful she had been prier to the start of the story considering how most of the other characters behaved towards her as well.
On a better note Zilpha's writing was quite good. She managed to make me forget I was reading a children's novel, something most other authors have failed to do. I feel had I not been so focused on Jessica being an all around brat I would have loved this story.
While I won't be revisiting The Witches of Worm I might give some of Zilpha's other works a go.

I found this book to be entertaining, and it was a very quick read. I thought the mix of the semi-supernatural elements in with mainly realistic fiction elements made for a good story. The writing was pretty strong as well. However, I thought the story lacked depth...it just seemed a little 'one-note' to me. I also had a hard time deciding whether I liked the main character or not. I wavered back and forth (nearly through the whole book!) between feeling slightly sorry for her and feeling disdain for her actions--ended up feeling mildly sympathetic towards her in the end. Overall though, I did like this Newbery Honor book, but it will definitely not be included in my top picks for children's novels.

Really good and quite creepy. It is ambiguous as written whether the cat is evil or it’s all in her head..... really well-done. The most striking thing from a modern perspective is just how thoroughly *alone* the main character is, and in that her selfish mother thinks nothing of going out and leaving her alone at night all the time. You would never see that now! :)

"To be caught, so inescapably caught, was so shattering that for a moment Jessica felt terrified-lost and hopeless. She backed away, putting her hands up in front of her face, palms outward. She had done that for years, whenever she was badly frightened. When she was very small, she had often awakened with her hands before her eyes-to ward off the terror of the dream about the empty room." (PG. 78)

Buddy read with @Beverly. I feel like there wasn't much to discuss except to say this was a weird one and very short, which is fine by me.

So like I stated above this was a weird read. I'm not sure what to feel about it and not exactly sure how it ended. I was left with more questions than answers.... I think this is a fun imaginative read for YA and many from broken homes could relate to Jessica, the main character. Her mom, Joy, is a the typical beauty that got married, divorced, and pregnant too young and resents her child so she drinks a lot and meets randos that turn into short term boyfriends but mean more to her than Jessica, often leaving her to go party or a date. Mom of the year award!

Besides the background story it was also a tale of witchery and a demented cat, also ugly and mean and evil sounding.

Great story for Halloween and I am curious of Snyder's other works. 'The Velvet Room' is on sale for up to $2000 online (paperback!) and $90 on the cheap. So if you have this copy hold on to it tight! She is a hard to find classic.

i read this as a kid and should reread it as an adult. most books for kids aren't nearly so sinister.

I suggest reading Joe's review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - if you want a better plot synopsis.

Essentially, Jessica becomes convinced that her kitten Worm is a witch's cat, and he is getting inside her head, making her do bad things.

This is honestly a very good book, and the author certainly deserved the Newberry Award. It is a troubling look at a disturbed girl's life, and I think it works better as a book for adults, rather than children. Snyder's scenes between mother and daughter are particularly well written, simmering with tension and mistrust.

I just didn't like the book. Normally I'm fine with unlikable characters, but I could not stand Jessica. I know that I'm meant to feel sorry for her, but she was a brat long before she started blaming her problems on her cat. She is bossy and overbearing with friends, or ex-friends, I should say, and lashes out at people who try to help her. I know, I know . . . I should sympathize; she has no father figure, and her mother is awful, but I don't care. I didn't like her, and I didn't like reading about her.

It's been interesting reading reviews about this book. Most of them say that it was "creepy" or "scary" or "spooky." I was genuinely surprised to see that.

Please keep in mind that I get scared VERY EASILY. I do not watch horror movies and I can only read certain types of "scary" books. I had to stop watching Criminal Minds because I was literally starting to think that everyone was a serial killer.

I did not find this book "scary" at all. I found it pretty stupid and boring. Jessica is a psychopath. She hurts people and animals and doesn't seem to give two hoots in hell about how her actions affect others. On the other hand, I found her relationship with Brandon disgusting. That was the most disturbing part to me. He is obviously an abuser in training and she is wildly dependent on him. It was gross.

I didn't like how cruel Jessica was to her poor cat. I don't have animals, nor do I want any, but I do not support abusing them. Jessica's mom is neglectful and is causing her daughter psychological trauma that Jessica is obviously incapable of dealing with. This book had all kinds of messed up aspects, but I still couldn't care about it. It was a waste of time for me to read and I haven't thought about it since I finished until I came to write this review. It's a very forgettable book.

I'm also glad to finish all of Snyder's Newbery books. I don't like how the Newbery committee keeps picking the same authors over and over again. It seems lazy on their part. I lost gazillions of brain cells reading all of Virginia Hamilton's books on the list. (TG Snyder is much better than her.)

I thought it was interesting book... Is it because I like scary kind of mystery?For example like crime and scary story?Even though I hate scary story, when I am reading it I love scary kind of book...This book wasn't scary at all... Maybe it was sort of childish or.... I don't know...I don't like this book!

I really think old book is not my style book...But I love Anne series and some of it but I didn't like this book...

Still interesting book...(I didn't get last part..)

It's such a treat to reread a childhood favorite and find it not only stands up to your memories, but also resonates on a deeper level that you can appreciate as an adult. When I was 10, I loved this book as a story of a young girl who becomes possessed by a "witch's cat." Now, I realize Jessica is a sad and neglected child, deeply lonely and troubled, projecting her unpleasant emotions and vindictive behavior onto a cat that she mistreats much as her mother mistreats her. When she meets with the school counselor, the made-up story she tells him reveals deep abandonment issues to an adult reader, that I'm sure I missed as a kid. The Salem Witch Trials are evoked to great success, as Jessica comes to recognize the parallels between herself and Ann Putnam: both blaming their actions on supernatural forces instead of their own wicked intentions.

Written in 1970, Witches of Worm introduces us to a very different kind of middle-grade. In this short book, Jessica is a twelve-year-old girl who “rescues” a cat she names Worm, only to discover the decision may lead to her own demise.

Maybe people who read this in the seventies wouldn’t have realized that the lead character of Witches of Worm, Jessica, is actually well on her way to becoming a sociopath. Seriously, this girl has some issues. She can lie well and displace the blame just as easily. Not to mention she says some pretty creepy stuff to Worm – threatening to abuse him, to stop feeding him, pinning the blame on him for all her silly, childish pranks. There are several incidences where she’s physically cruel to Worm, and also a mention of how she beats a dog with a stick and her friend Brandon had to stop her. And overall, she’s angry and bitter. If it hadn’t been for her regret at the end, I’d say she was definitely going to lead a very dark life.

However, she’s also very young and doesn’t exactly have the best role model in her life, as her mother is never around and when she is, she tries to be manipulative and emotional.

This story isn’t really about witchcraft or magic, like I originally thought it might be given the title. But it does make you wonder about the different devils in everyone, and how many are able to shove aside the guilt for their mistakes onto someone else. Really, that’s what this book is about. In it, Jessica does a lot of bad things – pull pranks on her paranoid landlord’s wife, shrink her mother’s dress on purpose, shove Brandon’s trumpet out a high window and break it. She then convinces herself that her creepy-looking cat is the culprit behind her evil acts. But really, she’s just messed up. A messed up kid, but messed up nevertheless.

It’s also rather about forgiveness in a way.

I was intrigued by this story and all its weird interactions. I don’t really read stuff written this long ago unless it’s a “classic.” Or at least not kid’s books. So I give it a four because the plot really hooked me.