The Wicked One: A Story of Suspense

by Mollie Hunter

Incessantly tormented by the Grollican, a creature of the Otherworld, Colin Grant and his family flee to America from their native Highlands of Scotland.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Maureen Mollie Hunter McIlwraith was a Scottish author. She wrote under the name Mollie Hunter. Mollie Hunter is one of the most popular and influential twentieth-century Scottish writers of fiction for children and young adults. Her work, which includes fantasy, historical fiction, and realism, has been widely praised and has won many awards and honors, such as the Carnegie Medal, the Phoenix Award, a Boston Globe - Horn Book Honor Award, and the Scottish Arts Council Award.

There has also been great interest in Hunter's views about writing fiction, and she has published two collections of essays and speeches on the subject. Hunter's portrait hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and her papers and manuscripts are preserved in the Scottish National Library.

Her books have been as popular in the United States as in the United Kingdom, and most are still in print. Critic Peter Hollindale has gone so far as to assert that Hunter "is by general consent Scotland's most distinguished modern children's writer."

Reviews

[Kristian Shellman]

I read it when I was 12. I still have fond memories of being frightened in my bed reading this book before I would go to sleep.

[GreyIC]

A book from my childhood, the name of which I couldn't quite remember, that my wife was able to find for me. Still a good long form fairy tale 40 years later!

[Bec D]

This is a story about a family cursed by a grollian, an otherworldly creature who attaches itself and fixates onto the father, Colin. It’s akin to a long-form fairy tale. The writing is great.