Kneeknock Rise

Kneeknock Rise, a middle-grade fiction novel, draws inspiration from  European folklore and acts as a modern fable, posing philosophical questions to young readers through a fanciful narrative. Originally published in 1970, the story takes place in the town of Instep, where the people are convinced that a mysterious Megrimum creature lives at the top of the mountain. Egan, the young protagonist, arrives to visit the fair and prove the Megrimum is a fantasy, but nobody wants to believe the truth, underscoring The Need for Mystery in Everyday Life as a central theme of the story. Egan is challenged with philosophical questions surrounding Truth Versus Comfort and learns How Folklore Shapes Communities. The novel was given the Newbery Honor in 1971.

This guide references the 1970 Collins Press edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

Kneeknock Rise opens with the Mammoth Mountains, the only eye-catching feature in an otherwise flat landscape. The people of the land take great pride in these mountains, especially one steep, rocky cliff known as Kneeknock Rise, where a mysterious creature called the Megrimum is rumored to live. The creature wails with great sadness during stormy nights, and people have all sorts of theories about what it is and where it came from. No one climbs the mountain; instead, the townspeople prefer the mystery, finding comfort and a sense of identity in storytelling, superstition, and the presence of the unknown.

Protagonist Egan travels to the town of Instep, located at the foot of the mountain, to attend the annual fair. Though his mother encourages him, Egan is not thrilled to stay with his strict Aunt Gertrude, kind but passive Uncle Anson, and his intense cousin Ada. Egan rides a donkey to the village and stares up at the mountains, finding them to be quite anticlimactic. He’s greeted first by Ada and her vicious cat, who both behave as though they dislike Egan. Ada tells Egan of Uncle Ott, who disappeared up the mountain and hasn’t returned. She believes the Megrimum ate him and gets a thrill out of telling Egan the tale.

Egan settles into Uncle Ott’s old room, and he befriends Ott’s loyal dog, Annabelle. He’s curious about the Megrimum. That night, Uncle Anson shows off his newest clock, which has a Kneeknock bird inside of it. The cat destroys the clock, and Egan’s relatives explain that they are taught by the Megrimum to hate Kneeknock birds. During a storm, Egan and Ada hear the wailing of the Megrimum, and a mysterious figure knocks at the window, frightening the household. 

The next day, the event becomes the talk of the town, with villagers proposing various superstitions to ward off future “attacks.” Aunt Gertrude blames the clock Uncle Anson built, and Egan begins to question the town’s beliefs. He reads some of Uncle Ott’s poems, which contain philosophical questions about happiness, knowledge, and ignorance, and the place for mystery in human lives. That night, Egan has a dream about climbing the mountain despite Ada’s warnings not to go.

At the fair the next day, people from all around the area eagerly await another storm, hoping to hear the Megrimum’s wails. Egan buys gifts for his family, including a wishbone souvenir for his father. Later in the day, Ada teases Egan, calling him a “sissy,” and dares him to prove his bravery. Egan decides to take Ada’s challenge and heads up the mountainside with Annabelle by his side. Ada panics and goes to find her father, who gathers a team of men to search for Egan. 

At the top of the mountain, Egan expects to find the Megrimum or at least something dangerous, but instead discovers Uncle Ott alive, healthy, and undevoured by any creature. Instead, Ott reveals that the Megrimum is not a monster at all, but simply a sulphur spring inside a cave. When rain and steam mix, it produces the wailing sound everyone hears. Ott admits he came to the house during the storm to retrieve Annabelle, but did not show himself because he did not want to explain the truth. He feels that the townspeople need the myth of the Megrimum and does not want to reveal the truth to them. Instead, he decides to stay in the mountains with his dog and bids Egan farewell.

Egan, however, is determined to expose the truth, believing the townspeople will appreciate it. He plugs the spring with a rock and returns to town, telling everyone that there is no Megrimum, but nobody believes him. Uncle Anson tries to silence him and tells him he must be ill. When a loud wail comes again after the rock is dislodged, Ada insists it’s proof that the Megrimum is real. Egan is frustrated by people’s stubborn refusal to change their minds. Uncle Anson explains that some mysteries are better left unsolved and that truth is often less important than belief. Egan finds the wishbone he bought the day before broken, but is gifted a new one instead. As he leaves Instep, the sun comes out after the storm.