"Come out my turtles, she sleeps."
Lorna is a young, ill girl who is cared for by her adoptive aunt, Auntie Whispers. Her primary appearance in the miniseries is in Episode 7, The Ringing of the Bell.
Lorna's "illness" was actually an evil spirit that possessed her at some point before the arrival of Wirt and Gregory. Auntie Whispers used a magic bell to force Lorna to work, distracting her so that the spirit could not make her wicked.
She is voiced by Shannyn Sossamon and speaks with an English accent.
Appearance[]
Healed
Lorna is a young teenage/early adolescent girl (most likely 14 years of age) with pale skin and black hair. She is dressed in a white 17th century linen coif, a dark long-sleeve teal bodice that is separable, with lighter teal wrist cuffs, and a white apron with one large pocket over her dark teal skirt. Her neck line and bodice center are embellished in a sea foam green lace.[1]
'Wicked' Lorna
As 'wicked' Lorna, she wears the same dark teal dress and has short, choppy black hair. Her bonnet becomes ragged and flips up at the corners. She has a twisted smile with gnarly, mangled teeth (with some missing). Her eyes sink into her head and her irises shrink to pale blue slits. Lorna's face becomes much more gaunt and sunken.[1]
Personality[]
Lorna is a sweet girl who quickly takes a liking to Wirt and Greg. She seems to trust them fully and possibly shares romantic feelings for Wirt. She is very compassionate, as seen when she chose to stay with Auntie Whispers.
When she becomes 'wicked' Lorna, she is cannibalistic and evil. In this form, she can float and eats humans alive.[1]
History[]
In the prologue.
At some point, Lorna became possessed by an evil spirit, which forced her to devour people. Lorna's adoptive aunt, Auntie Whispers, used a magic bell to control the spirit. When Auntie Whispers rang the bell, Lorna and the spirit were unable to disobey her orders. Auntie Whispers would constantly have to give Lorna work to do, or else the spirit would gain control of the girl.
One day while Auntie Whispers is away, Lorna discovers Wirt and Greg in the cottage where she lives. Wirt tells her that the boys were simply looking for shelter from the rain outside and had assumed the cottage was abandoned. She allows them to stay, but tells them to hide from Auntie Whispers, who will return soon thereafter.
When Auntie Whispers returns, she is able to smell the boys, and uses her magic bell to compel Lorna to tell her where the children are hidden. Lorna, unable to resist, tells her to look in the basket where the boys are hiding. Auntie Whispers, however, assumes Lorna meant that the smell was coming from the turtles in the basket, under which the boys are hiding.
After ordering Lorna to clean the cottage's floor, Auntie Whispers retires to her bedroom, allowing Wirt and Greg to come out of their hiding place. Lorna informs Wirt about her so-called illness: she must constantly work to keep from becoming "wicked", and having visitors to the cottage is strictly forbidden. Wirt promises to help Lorna finish her work early, so that they will have a chance to escape before Auntie Whispers returns to give Lorna her next orders.
Wirt and Lorna work together to clean the cottage while Greg plays with his frog. Greg and the frog run upstairs into Auntie Whispers's bedroom, causing her to awaken. She chases them downstairs, where she calls Lorna to her, warning the boys to stay away from Lorna. They escape into another room when Auntie Whispers is unable to find her magic bell to compel Lorna.
While the boys block the door to keep out Auntie Whispers, Lorna is overtaken by the evil spirit and prepares to feed on Wirt and Greg. The boys jump out a window to get away, running down into a wetland area. As the spirit approaches them, Greg shakes his frog from side to side, causing its belly to glow- the frog had swallowed the magic bell. Wirt then uses the bell in the frog to compel the spirit to leave Lorna's body.
Having been freed from the evil spirit. Lorna joyfully reunites with Auntie Whispers and thanks Wirt and Greg for their help.[1]
Later, Lorna is shown relaxing alongside Auntie Whispers, having tea and reading a book.[3]
Episode Appearances[]
- The Old Grist Mill (cameo only)
- The Ringing of the Bell
- The Unknown (cameo only)
Trivia[]
- There are hints through the episode of Lorna and Wirt developing romantic feelings towards each other.
- She can be seen in the epilogue reading a book called The Tome of the Unknown.[3] This was the name of the original pilot for Over the Garden Wall.
- In the Prologue, she is seen sorting the bones of her previous victims.[2] A location where bones are displayed in this way is called an "ossuary".
- Once she was healed, her skin was no longer as pale as it was when she was possessed.[1]
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