The Witch of Wraith Hollow

Some streets don't show up on any map, and Wraith Hollow Lane is the one every kid in Shivergrove is told never to trick-or-treat.

Eleven-year-old Cornelia "Corny" Vasek doesn't believe in dares she can't win, so when her new neighbor Danny Prosser bets her she won't knock on the crooked little cottage at the end of the dead-end lane, she does it anyway. The woman who answers calls herself Widow Agnes Marrow. Her candy bowl never runs empty. And she knows Corny's name before Corny ever says it.

By midnight, kids across town are vanishing mid trick-or-treat, replaced by stiff, smiling copies who talk to their own parents in flat, wrong voices. Corny realizes the truth too late: Widow Marrow is a curse-witch who trades a hundred stolen Halloweens for real children, one piece of candy at a time, and Corny and Danny are already on her list.

With one strange ally waiting at the town library and a church bell counting down to midnight, Corny and Danny have one chance to undo the trade before it's their turn to be swapped away for good.

Genuinely spooky and wickedly fun, this is a classic '90s-style horror-comedy for kids, the kind of scary stories for kids that deliver real chills, real heart, and a satisfying, safe ending. A perfect spooky-not-gory read for ages 8-12 and a must for any young reader's Halloween shelf. Grab your copy and dare to knock before the candy runs out.