13 Years Later, ParaNorman’s Weirdest Piece of Lore Finally Makes Sense

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Even though ParaNorman came out over ten years ago, people are still finding new details and appreciating it. To celebrate its 13th anniversary, the stop-motion animated film has been updated and shown in theaters with a new short film called “The Thrifting!” The movie’s visuals are as impressive as ever, and many fans feel the story and world-building have improved with time. While it uses familiar ideas about ghosts and zombies, ParaNorman also cleverly subverts those expectations.

In the town of Blithe Hollow, Norman is unique – he can communicate with the dead. This ability makes him the only one who can stop a witch’s curse in the movie ParaNorman. He discovers he’s part of a long family history of people with this same gift, a lineage that has been keeping the curse at bay for 300 years. Norman initially believes he’s alone in his ability, until he meets his great-uncle, Mr. Prenderghast. Upon a recent rewatch, it became clear that the other people with supernatural abilities were likely Norman’s ancestors, which adds a powerful emotional depth to an already fantastic film.

Norman and Aggie Are Probably Distant Relatives

Many fans of the movie ParaNorman, including me, think there’s a connection between the character Aggie and Norman. They both have the ability to see ghosts, look alike, and even share a family name – Aggie was Norman’s great-uncle’s last name. Although Aggie died young and didn’t have children, it’s likely she had relatives who carried on the family name and the gift of seeing ghosts.

This suggests that everyone in the movie who can talk to ghosts is related to the Prenderghast family. It’s likely, then, that those who previously protected the town from the curse were also Prenderghasts. This idea is reinforced by Norman’s father, Perry, constantly blaming his wife’s family – specifically Mr. Prenderghast – for Norman being different, hinting that Norman’s abilities are passed down through his family.

The Prenderghasts’ unique abilities also position them as the ideal protectors against Aggie’s curse, a responsibility I’ve just discovered likely runs in their family. Given how much shame and secrecy surrounds this power in the world of ParaNorman, it seems to be incredibly uncommon, possibly appearing only once every few generations.

Norman’s family doesn’t believe his stories about his grandmother’s ghost, and they’ve stopped speaking to the already unusual Mr. Prenderghast. Norman discovers his great-uncle has the same ability when Mr. Prenderghast explains his yearly task of putting Aggie to rest before the curse activates. It seems only family members with this special gift know about the curse – Norman’s mother, Sandra, is completely unaware it even exists.

It’s strange that the Prenderghasts have lived in Blithe Hollow for three centuries, considering people with their abilities are usually mistreated. If they felt obligated to protect the town from the family curse, that could explain why they never left and started over somewhere else.

A ParaNorman Fan Theory Reveals the Origins of the Prenderghasts’ Burden

Fans of ParaNorman have noticed this heartwarming family custom, and one person even has a theory about its origins. A Tumblr user named spookberry suggests that Aggie’s mother may have started the tradition by reading bedtime stories to her daughter’s ghost.

It feels particularly poignant when I think about Aggie remembering her mother taking her to the spot where she’d eventually be buried, and telling her all those stories with happy endings. It really makes you wonder if Aggie’s mother could also talk to the dead. The thought that she might have known what was going to happen to her daughter, and even let it happen, is pretty unsettling, especially if she somehow avoided the same fate herself. It adds a really dark layer to their relationship, doesn’t it?

Considering how unusual this ability is, it’s probable that Aggie’s mother couldn’t do it herself. While only Prenderghasts with the power continued the tradition, ghosts are still able to hear the living – we see this when Perry speaks to his mother’s ghost at the end of the movie. This means Aggie’s mother could have started reading aloud at her daughter’s grave without realizing it was somehow reaching her spirit.

Spookberry believes Aggie’s mother started this tradition out of love, but later family members who continued it didn’t know Aggie and felt it was more of a responsibility. If Aggie’s mother didn’t understand her stories were actually keeping the curse at bay, someone else in the family must have figured it out and continued the practice yearly.

It suddenly makes sense why no one ever really reached out to Aggie, and why Norman just doesn’t put two and two together about their connection. I guess the family members who kept the tradition going probably never actually knew Aggie while she was alive. And even if they knew about her ability, they might have just seen her as a warning – a story of what could happen if things went wrong. It’s a sad thought, honestly.

Because everyone in town knew Aggie’s story, the other Prenderghasts may have been swayed by the local rumors. This could have led them to fear her as much as those who had harmed her, and to overlook the fact that…

ParaNorman’s Prenderghast Lore Makes the Story Even More Tragic

If this theory about the movie ParaNorman is correct, it makes the story even more meaningful. The film strongly emphasizes the importance of tolerance, showing how characters learn to overcome fear and prejudice when dealing with the unfamiliar. Norman, who is often judged himself, already understands this lesson and consistently shows compassion for others who are different.

Considering he was the first person in three centuries to simply talk to Aggie, it’s clear his family needed to learn this lesson as much as the town did. It’s likely other Prenderghasts faced the same shame and prejudice about their abilities as Mr. Prenderghast and Norman do now. But instead of trying to connect with Aggie – which could have lifted the curse earlier – they just put her back to sleep, repeating the cycle year after year.

Even if they didn’t fully understand Aggie’s experiences or how much she was struggling, they failed her by repeating the same unhelpful pattern.

This idea also highlights a connection between Norman and Aggie. Although Aggie’s mother was caring, her other relatives, who put her into hibernation each year, appear to have reacted to her with the same fear and annoyance that Norman’s father and sister display at the start of ParaNorman.

Norman often feels unheard, and it seems his ancestor, Aggie Prenderghast, faced the same problem, given the town’s long-standing curse. What makes Norman special is his ability to understand and connect with Aggie, but ideally, everyone should be able to do that. Both his family and the people of Blithe Hollow are learning that being less afraid and more understanding – especially towards those who are different, even within their own families – would make life much better for everyone.

Considering everything that happens in the movie, it’s perfect that the last scene shows Norman’s family embracing him and his abilities. This makes sure he avoids the tragic fate of Aggie.

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2025-11-30 20:17