The Demon Headmaster

Story

Dinah has just moved in with a new foster family and is finding it hard to get on with her new brothers. When she starts school things get even harder. The pupils are too well behaved and there is something strange about the headmaster.

Why we chose it

An exciting mystery set in a very strange school - and introducing one of the most striking villains in children’s books – the Demon Headmaster with his extraordinary eyes and his insistence that ‘You are so tired, so, so tired.’

Where it came from

Gillian Cross originally saw the story as a kind of comic strip with a terrifying headmaster in a black gown brandishing a whip. She thought of it as funny and exciting but as she started writing she found a flaw. What was there to stop the children telling their parents about the headmaster? When she came up with the idea of hypnotism it became a different story.

Where it went next

The Demon Headmaster was the first in a series of books which followed Dinah and her encounters with the headmaster. It was followed by The Prime Ministers Brain, The Revenge of the Demon Headmaster, The Demon Headmaster Strikes Again, The Demon Headmaster Takes Over and Facing the Demon Headmaster. In 2017 Gillian Cross returned to the character with The Demon Headmaster: Total Control. Set some time after the original books, a new group of children face the Demon Headmaster. Their story continues in Mortal Danger.

In 1996 the original books were adapted into a successful BBC television series which ran for three seasons. In 2019 the CBBC channel broadcast a new adaptation, called The Demon Headmaster but based on the new book Total Control.

Associated stories

Gillian Cross has written a number of other books for readers of all ages. Books for younger readers included The Goose Girl, The Roman Beanfeast and The Tree House. Books for older readers include Calling a Deadman, The Great Elephant Chase, Shadow Cat, Tightrope and Wolf.