Children everywhere are familiar with the rhyming stories of Dr. Seuss and most are acquainted with the fictional town, Whoville, home to many of his characters. So it’s only natural for them (and their parents) to wonder if Whoville is a real place, and if so, where is Whoville in real life?
Though Whoville is a fictional town, Easthampton in Massachusetts is thought to be the inspiration for Dr. Seuss, making it like Whoville in real life. As well, Mt. Crumpit, the home of the Grinch in Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, is the fictional counterpart to Easthampton’s Mount Tom.
As a public school teacher for almost two decades (and mom of four), I have read Dr. Seuss’ books more times than I can remember (and many teaching programs are designed using his literary style). Inevitably we discuss where is Whoville and can we visit? Surprisingly, we can!
That is, if you consider what most people think of as the real life inspiration for Seuss’ fictional setting. Read on to learn more about this fictional, and perhaps, not-so-fictional town!
Contents
Overview of Dr. Seuss’ Whoville (or Who-ville)
What actually is Whoville? What is important to know about it?
Whoville is a fictional town with sweet fuzzy creatures with antennae, who love Christmas and keep it in their hearts even if there are no “presents, packages or bags“. It was created by legendary children’s book author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. ‘Dr. Seuss’. And yes, he was a real doctor…sort of!
Side note: Dr. Seuss received a BA from Dartmouth College. He did not earn a ‘doctorate’, however. It is said that he used the title ‘Dr.’ as part of his pen name to appease (or maybe spite) his father who had expected him to become a medical doctor; though some say it was just tongue-in-cheek since he failed to complete graduate school. Regardless, Seuss eventually did receive a (honorary) doctorate, thereby officially having the title ‘Dr.’ from his alma mater, Dartmouth, after publishing several well-received children’s books, including The Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Whoville, also spelled as Who-ville, is featured prominently in two of Dr. Seuss’ works. The first time was in the book Horton Hears a Who (a ‘who’ from Who-ville!), which was released in 1954. This was about an elephant who discovers an entire ‘tiny town’ called Whoville encapsulated in a speck of dust.
One of the most memorable lines recognized from the book, and referencing the ‘whos’ of Whoville is: “A person’s a person no matter how small!”
Horton, from Horton Hears a Who
Later Whoville is featured in Seuss’ (arguably) most beloved work, How The Grinch Stole Christmas published in 1957 and also made into several animated movies (all available on Amazon.) In the movie adaptation, Whoville is located “inside a snowflake, South of Mt. Crumpit, within the high range of Pontoos.”
However, what are the chances that a real-life Whoville exists and that Dr. Seuss got his inspiration from an actual location, perhaps a place where he once lived and/or visited? Let’s look closer at this idea below!
Where Is Whoville In Real Life?
Since Whoville has become synonymous with a town of love, peace, and happiness, many have wondered if this place really exists somewhere.
Consensus is that the real life location of Whoville is a town called Easthampton in Massachusetts. This is the place that supposedly inspired Dr. Seuss’ fictional setting of the Whos. As well, the (in)famous Mt. Crumpit is said to be the real-life ‘Mount Tom’, which is there in Easthampton, too.
Some may wonder how this idea came to be?
Well, for one, Dr. Seuss was born right around the corner of Easthampton, Massachusetts! As well, since his beloved Whoville was imagined, those who knew him and live in Easthampton have been speculating ever since about the characters. There are plenty apparently that live up to the interesting Whos!
In addition to this, the townspeople of Easthampton have been celebrating for years as ‘Whos’ in ‘Whoville’ in order to make this distinction their own. They’ve even called their holiday tradition, ‘Whoblation.’
But other than Easthampton, there is another Whoville in America. Or at least a rendition of it by Universal Studios, that is!
In celebration of the Seussian story about the Grinch, Universal Studios has an annual holiday festival, ‘Whoville at the Universal Hollywood in California’ as well as the popular version at Universal Orlando in Florida.
Furthermore, there are more who like to think of themselves as a real-life Who-ville, or at least quintessential ‘Christmas Towns’ during the holiday season. Here are My Top Five places in the US to visit at Christmas that will make you feel just like ‘Who’ in Whoville!
- Vail, Colorado- this beautiful sky town has enough snow to make you happy to sing, ‘White Christmas.’
- North Pole, Alaska- you can’t get much more ‘Christmas-y’ than the North Pole!
- Rock Hill, South Carolina- this place has so much Christmas spirit it officially changes its name during the holidays to ‘Christmasville’!
- Leavenworth, Washington- at Christmas, this town looks straight out of Bavaria!
- Pigeon Forge, Tennessee– it’s true, the annual ‘Winterfest Celebration’ uses 5 million lights!
Check out these articles from ‘Hopeful Holidays’ similar to this one:
- What Is The ‘Make The Yuletide Gay’ Meaning And Usage?
- There Is No Easter Bunny, And Never Has Been, Right?
- Come On, Google. No Easter Doodle?
Is Mount Crumpit Real?
Mount Crumpit is an essential location in all of Dr. Seuss’s stories that take place in Whoville. Whoville is not complete without Mount Crumpit. Mt Crumpit is a mountain located to the north of Whoville and is over 10,000 feet high, but most importantly, it is home to the Grinch and his dog/reindeer, Max!
Mt. Crumpit is located in the fictional town, Whoville, a creation of Dr. Seuss as the setting for How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears A Who. It is thought to be inspired from the real life Mt. Tom, located near Easthampton, Massachusetts, the inspiration for Who-ville.
In How The Grinch Stole Christmas the mean Grinch lives on top of Mt. Crumpit alone except for Max, his dog/reindeer impersonator. Mt. Crumpit is where Grinch hatches his evil plans to ‘steal’ Christmas from the Whos. It also provides a perfect view of Whoville.
In Dr. Seuss’ stories, Mt. Crumpit is said to be about 10,000 feet high, though it defies physics and reality for this 10,000 feet mountain to be confined to a speck of dust or snowflake!
The mountain peak near Easthampton is not quite that tall, though. The real-life Mount Crumpit, aka ‘Mt. Tom,’ is tall at a more reasonable 1200 feet. But that’s okay- we expect the imaginative Dr. Seuss to take some exaggeration in the description!
Who Are The Inhabitants of Whoville?
The inhabitants of Whoville are small creatures called Whos. There’s a wide variety of characters living in that tiny town, no bigger than a speck!
Some characteristics of Whos: they’re very small; whimsical with their coloring and flair; and possess animal-like features from whiskers to antennae to snouts and fur.
Now the movie adaptations take a slightly different approach to the Who appearance. Most Whos in their versions resemble humans but have exaggerated ‘buck’ teeth and large and pointy ears. They do continue the flair for flamboyant hairstyles and clothing though.
The most well-known Who? Well, that’s Cindy-Lou Who, of course!
Cindy-Lou Who is a main ‘Who’ in both the book and film/animated versions. Seuss describes her as “no more than two”, though she looks more like 6 or 7 in Ron Howard’s film. Not much more is given to describe this little Who, yet she makes her mark nonetheless.
Are There Places That Resemble Whoville?
Because Seuss’ Whoville has become such a Christmas holiday icon, many towns try to emulate it as part of their Christmas festivity.
Some towns or neighborhoods show Christmas spirit by copying Whoville from Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas. People dress and act like Cindy-Lou Who and Max the reindeer dog, as well as sing the songs from the animated versions while transforming homes and businesses in Whoville style.
Some examples of towns that become ‘Whoville’:
- In Russell, Massachusetts, the people transform their town into a Whoville during Christmas. It’s usually lovely.
- Easthampton, Massachusetts, located north of Springfield, resembles a Whoville and has a mountain that resembles Mt. Crumpit to boot.
- And a neighborhood in Utah calls itself ‘Whoville’ at Christmas time (see YouTube video).
Wrapping Up Whoville In Real Life
To conclude, technically ‘Whoville’ or ‘Who-ville’ is a fictional (fake) town. But that being said, Dr. Seuss is said to have used Easthampton, Massachusetts (his birth town) as his Whoville inspiration. And true to story, Easthampton transforms into Whoville every Christmas!
Other articles from ‘Hopeful Holidays’ I think you’ll enjoy:
- What Is The ‘Make The Yuletide Gay’ Meaning And Usage?
- There Is No Easter Bunny, And Never Has Been, Right?
- Come On, Google. No Easter Doodle?
Sources Britannica; Wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoville
