Norman Babcock

Norman Babcock is the main character of ParaNorman. He is a medium with the ability to speak to the dead, and uses this ability to stop the curse of a witch's ghost, who turns out to be the ghost of Norman's distant relative, Agatha Prenderghast.

He is voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Biography[]

Norman was born with the ability to see and speak to the dead, a trait inherited from his mother's side of the family. One of the ghosts he spoke to the most was his dead grandmother. Unfortunately, no one believed he was telling the truth, and was constantly bullied because of this, mainly by Alvin and his friends. He was also an outcast in his family, with Norman's father believing his uncle Mr. Prenderghast was putting ideas into his head.

Norman, during rehearsals for an upcoming school play detailing the trial and hanging of a witch, had a brief vision of the trial, distracting him from the play, much to his teacher's chagrin. On the way home, another outcast, Neil Downe, befriended him on the way and tried to cheer him up by saying he was bullied as well. They were interrupted when Mr. Prenderghast showed up and told him that he had to use his gift of speaking with the dead to stop the witch's curse. Neil chased him away soon afterwards, and he died some time later. Norman and Neil then played with Neil's dead dog.

During the play, Norman had another vision of the witch being chased by Judge Hopkins and two other Puritans, and freaked out, claiming the dead were coming. This led to his father grounding him, and his peers taunting and ridiculing him even more. Prenderghast's ghost then confronted him and told him the anniversary of the witch's death was tonight, and he had to read a certain book at her grave to stop it from coming. After Norman was comforted by his grandmother briefly, he set off to Prenderghast's cabin to find the book, but was unknowingly followed by Alvin.

When Norman found the book, he entered the graveyard and read the book at the graves of the seven Puritans who convicted the witch. However, the book turned out to be a fairy tale, confusing him. Unfortunately, he was interrupted when Alvin took away the book, causing the witch to awaken. She then raised the seven Puritans as zombies, and Norman and Alvin fled the graveyard. Norman realized he read the book at the wrong place, which is why reading the book didn't work. As the zombies chased them into the forest, Norman and Alvin were rescued by Neil, his brother Mitch, and Norman's sister Courtney. The five sped away in Mitch's van with The Judge hanging on.

During the chase, Norman contacted his classmate Salma for information on where the witch was buried. She told him that people found guilty of witchcraft were buried in unmarked graves, and that the witch was tried in the Town Hall, so there may be a record on her execution and burial there. After accidentally crashing the van, the five headed to the Town Hall. On the way, they witnessed the zombies being attacked by the townspeople. They found the Town Hall and barricaded it before trying to find the witch's records, but was met with no success. Eventually, most of the group gave up, and Norman got into an argument with them, prompting them to leave. However, an angry mob that had come looking for the zombies started to attack the Town Hall, unknowingly endangering the group.

Norman was found by the zombies and chased to the roof of the building, where he saw the witch's ghost descending over. He attempted to read the book to her, but was struck by a bolt of lightning that destroyed the book and knocked him back inside the building, knocking him unconscious. He then had a flashback of the witch's trial, where he found out the witch was a little girl named Agatha Prenderghast, and she was executed because she too could speak with the dead. When Norman awoke, the zombies revealed they simply wanted to ask him to stop the curse by reading the book. Norman was initially furious at the zombies for what they did, but decided to help them and came to the realization that reading the book won't stop the curse, only prolong it, and decided to stop it permanently by talking to Agatha.

Norman and the zombies tried to leave the burning building, but was cornered by the mob. The mob, thinking Norman was responsible for the curse, tried to attack him, but they were confronted by Courtney, Neil, Mitch, and Alvin. The five convinced the mob that the zombies weren't trying to hurt anyone, and that they should stop attacking as well. This enraged Agatha's ghost, who attacked the town, separating Norman from the others except for Courtney and Neil. Norman was reunited with his family, and they were directed to Agatha's grave by the Judge. However, Agatha separated Norman from his family, and he had to confront her alone. Agatha attacked him to get him to leave, but Norman withstood her attack and managed to reach through to her, calming her down. Norman had a brief conversation with her, and he told her he didn't think she was a witch and that there are good people in the world. Having found someone who understands her, Agatha moved onto the afterlife, along with the zombies. When Norman returned to the town, he was hailed a hero, and he reconciled with his family as well.

Navigation[]

Heroes

Heroes

Collaboration
Corpse Bride: Victor Van Dort | Emily Merrimack | Victoria Everglot | Scraps

Short Films
Moongirl: Lorelei | Leon