Good Witch of the North
Profile
Title	Good Witch of the North
Gender	Female
Species	Witch
Residence	Gillikin Country
Affiliation	Gillikins
First Appearance	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Good Witch of the North is the elderly Ruler of the Gillikin Country, a position she acquired after overthrowing Mombi (the erstwhile Wicked Witch of the North). She wears a magical white pointed hat and a sparkling white gown. She is mild-mannered and extremely kind, and is thus loved not only by her subjects, the Gillikins, but also by other people in Oz, such as the Munchkins.

The gentle Good Witch of the North always stands against the oppression and subjugation of people. Although Mombi was no match for her, the Good Witch admits that she was not as powerful as the Wicked Witch of the East, or else she would have freed the Munchkins from the Wicked Witch's reign, the same way she freed the Gillikins from Mombi's clutches.

History

The decline of Mombi the Wicked Witch of the North's power began when she was deposed as Ruler of the Gillikins by the Good Witch of the North. (Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz)

As the new Ruler of the Gillikins, the Good Witch of the North forbade any other witch to live in the Gillikin Country, thus minimising potential future threats. Mombi herself was compelled to be nothing more than a lowly wizardess. (The Marvelous Land of Oz)

The Good Witch of the North was summoned to the Munchkin Country when Dorothy Gale's falling house killed the Wicked Witch of the East. The Good Witch warmly welcomed Dorothy to Oz, and gave her the dead Wicked Witch's magical Silver Shoes. When Dorothy asked her how to return home again, the Good Witch consulted her magical white cap, which could be turned into a slate that provided magical advice. Dorothy was advised to follow the Yellow Brick Road and travel to the Emerald City to seek the aid of the Wizard of Oz. The Good Witch of the North couldn't accompany Dorothy on her journey, but placed a special kiss on the girl's forehead that would protect her from evil-doers. "No one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch of the North", the Good Witch assured Dorothy, and indeed the kiss protected her from the Winged Monkeys and the Wicked Witch of the West. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

The Good Witch of the North was one of the many guests who attended Princess Ozma's birthday party. She amused the other attendees by transforming ten stones into ten birds, the ten birds into ten lambs, and the ten lambs into ten little girls, who gave a pretty dance and were then transformed back into ten stones once again. (The Road to Oz)

Book Appearances

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (first appearance)
• The Road to Oz
• The Giant Horse of Oz

Background

The name of the Good Witch of the North in L. Frank Baum's own stage version of The Wizard of Oz is Locasta, although she was not identified by name in Baum's books.

The 1939 movie

In the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, the Good Witch of the North is called Glinda, which is the name of the Good Witch of the South in the Oz novels. In the movie, the Good Witch of the North, portrayed by Billie Burke, is young and beautiful, and in addition to meeting Dorothy on her arrival in Oz, she also supervises her progress on her journey to the Wizard and helps her find her way back to Kansas at the end of the story. The movie makes no reference to the Good Witch of the South.

The two witches were combined for the sake of the film to save time. This was often done in many movie versions - combining the elements of two popular book characters to shorten lengthy novels.

Later works

She is a significant but highly-altered player in Ruth Plumly Thompson's book, The Giant Horse of Oz. Thompson calls her "Tattypoo ", but portrays her as the bewitched form of a beautiful young Munchkin queen named Orin.

In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's Magic Land series, the Witch's name is Villina. When the Wicked Witch of the East tried (in that continuity) to exterminate the humanity by means of a magical hurricane, Villina changed the spell so that it only affected one house (which, as her magical book said, was always empty during storms), and dropped it upon the Wicked Witch. Her magical slate is changed into a tiny book which transforms into a giant tome when blown upon, and, in addition to the divination qualities, also functions as an encyclopedia. In The Seven Underground Kings, it is mentioned that when the Four Witches had a dispute over the rulership of the country, her possessing such an unusual  book was enough to convince the Wicked Witches to settle the matter peacefully. She appears in two books after the first one (although in one of them she appears off stage, and it is narrated to the main characters). She has the power to teleport to any place within the Magic Land. In The Yellow Fog, an evil witch considers fighting Villina, but reconsiders after it is pointed out to her such an elusive enemy is impossible to defeat.

In the 1982 anime film she wears a red hat and a blue dress and is the same size as the Gillikens and a blonde dorothy.

In the 1986 anime series she wears all orange and is larger than the Gilliken munchkins and brunette Dorothy.

Gregory Maguire's 1995 revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and the musical Wicked (based on the book), follow the model of the 1939 movie in giving the name "Glinda" to the character who grows up to become The Good Witch of the North. See the article on Glinda for more information on this character.

In William F. Brown and Charlie Smalls's The Wiz, the Good Witch of the North is named "Addaperle" in the stage version and "Miss One" (played by Thelma Carpenter) in the 1978 film version. Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, is a separate character in both stage and film versions.

In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Glinda and the Good Witch of the North are again separate characters (and the Good Witch of the North has the name Tattypoo), although they are both played by Miss Piggy (as are the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wicked Witch of the East).

The Good Witch of the North is Locasta again in David Hardenbrook's novel The Unknown Witches of Oz (2000).

In The Wizard of Oz: Dark Witch Rising by Mike LaMontagne, the Good Witch of the North is named Lillian. She is only mentioned by name briefly in the first book, Rainbow's Emissary, but she becomes a significant player in Witch Hunt, the second book and Paradise Lost, the third book in the series.