Magic in Stories for Children: Part Fourteen - Magical Objects

Magical objects abound in fantasy stories and take a wide variety of forms. They are usually   endowed with fabulous powers which can affect memory, cast illusions, disguise people or objects by transforming them into something else, stop or turn back time and so on. The origin of the object is often shrouded in mystery and if the creator is actually known, he or she is rarely mentioned.

It is also important that the creator of the artifact is not the only person able to use the object, otherwise it would be a largely pointless addition to the story. Sometimes the object is extremely powerful and highly dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Perhaps it is the only object capable of defeating the hero or rendering him defenseless. It may be the means by which the chief villain will be able to conquer the entire world, thus triggering a quest to either obtain the object or destroy it as happens with the ring of power in Lord of the Rings, but has also been a very common theme in many stories since then and continues to be used heavily in fantasy tales in one form or another.

Learn more about The Alchemist's Portrait, The Sorcerer's Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy,  The Emerald Curse, The Heretic's Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera and my many non-fiction books on my website.