{"product_id":"shadowghast-isbn-9781536228137","title":"Shadowghast","description":"\u003cb\u003eIn the third mysterious tale of Eerie-on-Sea, it’s almost Ghastly Night, and the Shadowghast—an ancient spirit in a lantern—lurks in wait for the power to enslave the town.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this third adventure, shipwrecked orphan Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, must square off with a creature of town lore as he confronts a shadow from his past. While other towns celebrate Halloween, in Eerie-on-Sea it’s Ghastly Night, and a grim spirit in a lantern awaits its moment. Legend has it that if people fail to light manglewick candles on Ghastly Night, and if no showman conjures shadow puppets on the pier as an offering, the insulted Shadowghast will seize and devour the shadows of the living. This year, a professional theater troupe has been summoned, including a raven-haired magician named Caliastra with startling news of Herbie’s origins. No sooner have the players checked into the hotel than townspeople start vanishing into thin air, including the guardian of Herbie’s best friend, Violet Parma. It’s up to Herbie and Violet to separate truth from sleight of hand and solve the mystery of the Shadowghast lantern before darkness swallows them all.Instead of Halloween, Eerie-on-Sea townsfolk celebrate Ghastly Night, lighting manglewick candles to keep the legendary Shadowghast from stealing their shadows. . . . Inventive plotting, spooky atmospherics, and quirky humor will keep readers entertained. . . . Readers will revel in the shivery mood.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe author hits all the right notes for readers who delight in having (as Herbert puts it) their 'niblets go knobbly.'\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFilled with all of the exciting twists, delicious humor, vivid characterization, and visual description of other books in the series (Malamander, Gargantis), readers will relish this third foray into the unique town and its memorable inhabitants.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Journal\u003cb\u003eThomas Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e has illustrated many books for young readers, including the graphic novel \u003ci\u003eScarlett Hart: Monster Hunter\u003c\/i\u003e by Marcus Sedgwick. He marked his debut as a middle-grade author with \u003ci\u003eMalamander\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe first book in the Legends of Eerie-on-Sea series, as well as \u003ci\u003eGargantis\u003c\/i\u003e, its sequel\u003ci\u003e.\u003c\/i\u003e Thomas Taylor lives on the south coast of England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Booth\u003c\/b\u003e is an art director and the author-illustrator of several acclaimed children’s books, including \u003ci\u003eDon't Blink!\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003eThis Is Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWho Wins?\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eas well as the illustrator of\u003ci\u003e Malamander\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGargantis\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.Chapter 1 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll Hallows’ Eve\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eDo you remember your first Ghastly Night?    The first time you saw Eerie-on-Sea’s special Halloween show?\u003cbr\u003e   The first time you gathered on the pier with your friends and family and huddled in the cold night air—and the glow of the manglewick candles—as you waited for the magic to begin?\u003cbr\u003e Perhaps you were carried there on your dad’s shoulders, caramel apple in one hand, sparkler in the other? Or perhaps you peeked from snug inside your mum’s coat as the puppet master lit the lantern.\u003cbr\u003e   Remember how you blinked in the beam of eerie light?\u003cbr\u003e   Remember how the strange fumes tickled your nose?\u003cbr\u003e   Remember how you gasped in wonder as the showman’s hands conjured puppets of shadow—forms and phantasmagoria that crept and capered and danced above you in the smoky autumn air?\u003cbr\u003e   And did you see it?\u003cbr\u003e   Did you catch a glimpse of that \u003ci\u003eextra\u003c\/i\u003e shadow—one not made by the skillful showman’s fingers?\u003cbr\u003e   A shadow not cast by anything at all?\u003cbr\u003e   A crooked figure, cavorting in dark delight at the edge of the lantern’s beam, never—when you turned to look—quite where you thought it was, but always there, hunting, tormenting, \u003ci\u003esnatching\u003c\/i\u003e the showman’s shadow puppets one by one till the show was ended.\u003cbr\u003e   And the smoke curled away to nothing.\u003cbr\u003e   And all the shadows were gone.\u003cbr\u003e   And no sound remained but the hiss of the lantern and the creak of the pier and the churn of the endless sea.\u003cbr\u003e   Well? \u003ci\u003eDo \u003c\/i\u003eyou remember?\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e  Did\u003c\/i\u003e you ever see the Shadowghast?\u003cbr\u003e   But what am I saying?\u003cbr\u003e   Of course you didn’t!\u003cbr\u003e   You’ve probably never even heard of Ghastly Night, or manglewick candles, or any of it.\u003cbr\u003e   Unless, that is, you’ve been to Eerie-on-Sea before, and asked too many questions. But even then, I’m sure you’d have forgotten this strange tradition of ours, falling as it does on the night the rest of the world knows as Halloween. Like most people at this time of year, you’re probably too busy carving pumpkins or planning your trick-or-treat costume to pay much attention to the funny old ways of a little seaside town. Too busy make-believing in goblins and ghosts to worry about the one legend of a bad spirit that might actually be true.\u003cbr\u003e   And that’s fine.\u003cbr\u003e   For you.\u003cbr\u003e   But if you lived in Eerie, you’d see it differently. If you stayed behind when the summer tourists left, and the candy-colored signs of seaside fun faded into the dark of winter, you’d know. You, too, would hurry a little faster through the blustery streets as the days grew shorter and the shadows long. And when the end of October finally arrived, you’d put up a manglewick candle for protection, too.\u003cbr\u003e   Just in case.\u003cbr\u003e   Just in case this is the year that Ghastly Night is forgotten and no showman lights a lantern on the pier to conjure shadow puppets in offering to the dark. For if that should ever happen, so folks say, the Shadowghast—enraged by the insult—would hunt instead for the shadows of the living.\u003cbr\u003e   But I see you’re smiling.\u003cbr\u003e   You’re still thinking the Shadowghast is nothing more than a silly superstition.\u003cbr\u003e   No more than a trick of the light.\u003cbr\u003e   Only, remember this: at the heart of every legend is a spark of truth. And when the sunlight dies and you’re running from the shadows through the deepening streets of Eerie-on-Sea, a spark—no matter how small—is sometimes all you need.\u003cbr\u003e   Unless that trick of the light is actually a trick of the dark.","brand":"Walker Books US","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233543729381,"sku":"NP9781536228137","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536228137_5e0949fa-184f-40a9-b779-89f1651a7e7c.jpg?v=1767736431","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/shadowghast-isbn-9781536228137","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}