Enid Nightshade
Encyclopedia
Enid Nightshade is a fictional character
from The Worst Witch
books by Jill Murphy
. She is best known for being a wild practical joker and is best friends with Mildred Hubble
and Maud Moonshine and, like Mildred and Maud, has a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow and Drusilla Paddock.
where she transfers to Miss Cackle's Academy in the Summer Term of Mildred's first year. She is described as having "hair the colour of milky tea" worn in a thick plait
secured by a black hair ribbon
and, despite not being fat, "there seemed to be an awful lot of her". Much to the chagrin of both Maud and Miss Hardbroom, Mildred is assigned by Miss Cackle to look after Enid. This causes Maud to break off her friendship with Mildred and go off in a jealous
huff. Enid, at first, appears to be dull and boring but turns out to be a wild practical joker. Throughout the second book, she gets Mildred into trouble without owning up, such as deliberately singing out of tune in a chanting lesson with Miss Bat and making Mildred burst out laughing, turning her black cat
into a monkey
, and putting a spell on Mildred's pole, causing her to soar through the air and land into Miss Hardbroom's study. Enid matures at the end of the book where she actually becomes friends with both Mildred and Maud. In all the other books, Enid mainly acts as a voice-of-reason to Mildred.
, Enid was played by British
actress Jessica Fox
. In the TV series, Enid's physical appearance is largely changed. In the books she is taller than Mildred, but in the TV series she is smaller than Mildred. Her milky tea-coloured hair is changed to dark-coloured (though she keeps the plait) and she has smaller limbs. Her joky personality is still intact, where she is seen playing several pranks on people, such as in the episode "The Great Outdoors" where she sends several forms of bad weather
to Ethel and Drusilla. In the episode "Alarms and Diversions" where she sends a mini tornado
into Ethel's room, in the episode "The Millennium Bug" where she tried to fool Amanda Honeydew that an axe
had a mind of its own to prevent her from buying the castle
, and in the episode "The Hair Witch Project" where she made restoring the flavour to chewed bubblegum
her Third Year Witch Project (after the chewed bubblegum was tested by Mildred it was blown into a huge bubble where it drifted down the corridor and burst into Miss Drill's face). Despite her eccentric nature, Enid is normally a very true friend.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch
The Worst Witch is a series of children's novels written and illustrated by Jill Murphy and published by Puffin Books. The first book was published in 1974. They have become some of the most outstandingly successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and have sold more than 4 million copies....
books by Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy
Jill Murphy is a London-born English children's author, best known for The Worst Witch series and the Large Family picture books...
. She is best known for being a wild practical joker and is best friends with Mildred Hubble
Mildred Hubble (The Worst Witch)
Mildred Hubble is a major character in The Worst Witch children's book series by Jill Murphy. She is the main protagonist in all the books. She is friends with Maud Moonshine and Enid Nightshade and has a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow and Drusilla Paddock....
and Maud Moonshine and, like Mildred and Maud, has a strong rivalry with Ethel Hallow and Drusilla Paddock.
Enid Nightshade in the books
Enid first appears in the second book of the series, The Worst Witch Strikes AgainThe Worst Witch Strikes Again
The Worst Witch Strikes Again is the second novel in The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy. The book was published in 1980 and features a new character, Enid Nightshade...
where she transfers to Miss Cackle's Academy in the Summer Term of Mildred's first year. She is described as having "hair the colour of milky tea" worn in a thick plait
Plait
A plait may refer to:* Plait, also called a braid, intertwined strands of, for example, textile or hair* Plait, now called a pleat, a fold of fabric, used in clothing and upholstery* Plait , a fold in the columella of a gastropod mollusc...
secured by a black hair ribbon
Ribbon
A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily for binding and tying. Cloth ribbons, most commonly silk, are often used in connection with clothing, but are also applied for innumerable useful, ornamental and symbolic purposes...
and, despite not being fat, "there seemed to be an awful lot of her". Much to the chagrin of both Maud and Miss Hardbroom, Mildred is assigned by Miss Cackle to look after Enid. This causes Maud to break off her friendship with Mildred and go off in a jealous
JEALOUS
"Jealous" is the first single by Dir En Grey and was released on May 10, 1998. The music videos of the title track and the B-side "Unknown･･･Despair･･･a Lost" are featured on the VHS Mousou Toukakugeki. A piano-vocal duet version of "Jealous" was later included on the "[KR] Cube" single...
huff. Enid, at first, appears to be dull and boring but turns out to be a wild practical joker. Throughout the second book, she gets Mildred into trouble without owning up, such as deliberately singing out of tune in a chanting lesson with Miss Bat and making Mildred burst out laughing, turning her black cat
Black cat
A black cat is a feline with black fur. It is not a particular breed of cat and may be mixed or of a specific breed. The Bombay, known for its sleek black fur, is an example of a black cat. The all-black pigmentation is equally prevalent in both male and female cats...
into a monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
, and putting a spell on Mildred's pole, causing her to soar through the air and land into Miss Hardbroom's study. Enid matures at the end of the book where she actually becomes friends with both Mildred and Maud. In all the other books, Enid mainly acts as a voice-of-reason to Mildred.
Enid Nightshade in the TV series
In The Worst WitchThe Worst Witch (TV series)
The Worst Witch is a British ITV television series about a group of young witches at a Magic Academy. The series stars Georgina Sherrington and Felicity Jones, and is based on The Worst Witch books by Jill Murphy. It aired for a total of 3 series between 1998 and 2001 before being followed by...
, Enid was played by British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actress Jessica Fox
Jessica Fox
Jessica Fox is an English actress. She is most notable for playing young witch Enid Nightshade in the CITV show The Worst Witch, whom she began playing in the late 1990s...
. In the TV series, Enid's physical appearance is largely changed. In the books she is taller than Mildred, but in the TV series she is smaller than Mildred. Her milky tea-coloured hair is changed to dark-coloured (though she keeps the plait) and she has smaller limbs. Her joky personality is still intact, where she is seen playing several pranks on people, such as in the episode "The Great Outdoors" where she sends several forms of bad weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
to Ethel and Drusilla. In the episode "Alarms and Diversions" where she sends a mini tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
into Ethel's room, in the episode "The Millennium Bug" where she tried to fool Amanda Honeydew that an axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
had a mind of its own to prevent her from buying the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, and in the episode "The Hair Witch Project" where she made restoring the flavour to chewed bubblegum
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is a type of elastic chewing gum, designed to be blown out of the mouth as a bubble.-History:In 1928, Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. One recipe was found to be less sticky than regular chewing gum,...
her Third Year Witch Project (after the chewed bubblegum was tested by Mildred it was blown into a huge bubble where it drifted down the corridor and burst into Miss Drill's face). Despite her eccentric nature, Enid is normally a very true friend.
See also
- List of major characters in "The Worst Witch" series
- The Worst WitchThe Worst WitchThe Worst Witch is a series of children's novels written and illustrated by Jill Murphy and published by Puffin Books. The first book was published in 1974. They have become some of the most outstandingly successful titles on the Young Puffin paperback list and have sold more than 4 million copies....