Magic and the Supernatural - Lancaster University

Martina Rössler
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ambiguous meanings underlying the spirits’ communication. Especially during her
childhood years, Lisamarie finds herself unable to fully decipher the messages
which the spirits send and laments, ‘I wish the dead would just come out and say
what they mean instead of being so passive-aggressive about the whole thing.’ 5
Although the fear of misinterpreting the spirits’ messages and the horror of the
resulting consequences (sometimes death) never completely subside, Ma-ma-oo
also knows that monsters are not necessarily vile and obnoxious and encourages
the protagonist to explore the supernatural world with an open mind.
3. Tree Spirits
Lisamarie begins her ‘expedition’ into the spiritual world already as a toddler,
when she encounters a tree spirit in the guise of ‘a little, dark man with bright red
hair.’ 6 Unsure of how to interpret his apparition at first, Lisamarie slowly unravels
the mystery of the little man’s appearances and understands his prime significance
as the harbinger of misfortune – even death. It is Ma-ma-oo who informs the
eleven-year old girl of the tree spirits’ significance and Lisamarie eagerly absorbs
the information provided to her. From the moment of their first encounter at the
death site of a cruelly mistreated and maimed animal, the little man accompanies
the girl and later the young woman whenever danger is imminent. It is this
appearance prior to the potentially fatal incidents which Lisamarie detests, as she is
filled with guilt upon not being able to predict the actual destructive event nor its
time or place. Therefore, Lisamarie’s encounters with this spirit are most traumatic,
as they signify the advent of harm and fatality. Consequently, her ‘ability to see
and hear beyond the events of daily life is, ironically, both a gift and a curse.’ 7 The
little man appears prior to Uncle Mick’s death, Ma-ma-oo’s heart attack, and
Lisamarie’s rape, and attracts the girl’s anger and contempt because she is unable
to prevent these incidents.
While Lisamarie is filled with anger at the sudden appearances of the tree spirit,
it is not until several years after their first encounter that she discovers the spirit’s
true purpose:
He popped into the air behind me. I didn’t know he was there
until he touched my shoulder with a cold, wet hand. When I spun
around to smack him, he stared at me with wide, sad eyes. Even
after he disappeared, I could feel where his hand had touched me,
and I knew he’d been trying to comfort me. 8
The little man’s apparitions are thus endowed with a double meaning and his
visits are not necessarily meant to frighten the girl. Rather, the little man intends to
offer comfort to a young person who is often isolated and feels estranged from her
family and her surroundings through a complex crisis of identity. The little man
acts as a companion throughout Lisamarie’s childhood and adolescence, and even
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