So I'm writing this as a kind of Halloween-type project. Did I start posting this on Halloween? No. Am I likely to have this completed by Halloween? Probably not. But there is at least a Halloween-type theme to the story. It takes place on Halloween, the movies it is based on are set around Halloween, and some of the main components are usually associated with Halloween (ghosts and witches). Hopefully that will be enough to satisfy everyone that this is my Halloween Spooktacular.

Anyway, back to the story. Hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter.

She set the Book of Spells on the table, barely twitching in surprise at the eye on the cover looking at her. They hid it reasonably well, but she'd searched the Dennison's house quite thoroughly while they were out. She needed the knowledge within it, so she made certain to find it. Nothing could slow her down for long.

The tallow was cooled and hardened around a wick, making it into a proper candle. But she wasn't quite finished yet. In order for it to truly be a Black-Flame Candle, she would have to inscribe the proper symbols. And those were listed within the Book. It would be tricky to ensure everything went correctly. But between the information now in her possession and the container of bottled moonlight from her old boss's stash, everything would be ready by nightfall.

"Hello, Book," she said, meeting its gaze firmly. "I've heard a great deal about you. You want the return of your true owner and her sisters. I need their assistance to open a door. With your help, perhaps we can both get what we desire. Show me how to complete the Black-Flame Candle."

For a moment, nothing happened. The eye just stared at her. Then the Book flipped open and the pages fluttered rapidly. Briefly, the air was filled with nothing but the sound of rustling. They finally came to a stop, displaying a picture of a candle.

Smiling as she studied the pages carefully, she began her work on the inscribed pattern in the tallow. She may not have been born with magic and she was unwilling to make the dangerous deals necessary for darker forms of magic. But that didn't stop her from crafting tools or using knowledge to make certain types of magic work for her needs.

Others may have underestimated her, but she never let her lack of magical gifts hinder her. And she would soon prove her worth beyond a shadow of a doubt.

This time, there was no hurry. Kat and the others simply walked along the street. They couldn't just run around town blindly searching for the creepy spell book. They couldn't possibly cover that much ground and they didn't know who might have it. For the moment, the smarter option was to do what Casper suggested and head to Whipstaff while he went to the library for whatever help he was searching for there.

He'd been spending a lot more time at the library recently. Ever since a few months ago when his uncle's dragged him on their impromptu summer vacation with no warning for the living residents of Whipstaff Manor, Casper seemed more interested in accessing the computers at the public library and always seemed to return in a cheerful mood afterwards. Kat could certainly see the appeal. Online, no one could see him. No one would know he was a ghost. No one would run away from him in fear. It was exactly what Casper needed after decades of rejection. And his uncles never teased him about talking with "fleshies" on the computer for some reason.

Actually, now that she thought about it, they all seemed a little different after their short vacation to whatever resort they decided to haunt. For about a week after the trip, they seemed insanely helpful towards their nephew and less bullying. They slowly returned to their more natural state of bossing him around after that, but even then there was a hint of caution from them. And sometimes when they didn't think anyone was looking, she caught them staring at Casper with an odd expression. The younger two were more likely to do it, but Kat had seen it from all three. Whatever happened during their vacation that summer, she knew they hadn't shared the whole story.

"So you live with a ghost," said Max awkwardly, drawing her out of her thoughts. "How'd he end up like that?"

"I'm pretty sure he died," Dani said dryly.

"Well, I figured out that much. But Binx didn't turn into a ghost. He just sort of… disappeared and moved on. How did Casper end up haunting your house?"

Kat said, "According to my dad and everything I've seen so far, ghosts are spirits with unfinished business. When they died, they didn't cross over because there was something they thought they needed to do. There was something holding them here. The unfinished business can change, though. Casper died when he was a kid, but he didn't want to leave his dad alone. That was his reason to stay. Now, who knows what keeps him here."

"I died when the witches were stopped, so I had no unfinished business," Binx said thoughtfully.

"Exactly. But Casper and his uncles had some form of unfinished business and stayed around," she nodded.

"His uncles? Are they the others at Whipstaff you mentioned warning us about?" he asked.

She nodded again, "I'm afraid so. Stretch, Fatso, and Stinkie. They call themselves 'the Ghostly Trio' and they aren't as friendly. They like scaring people, but they can be dealt with. If they're home, I guarantee they'll try to mess with you. But if you don't start screaming and running immediately, I'll try to convince them to leave you alone and go after trick-or-treaters instead. Or threaten them with a vacuum. Don't ask. No one knows why it works."

"Great," muttered Dani. "Trouble-makers who have problems with cleaning products. At least they aren't flying on them."

"They're a bunch of obnoxious creeps and they take pride in that fact. Annoying pests, but not nearly as dangerous as they act," she continued to rant. "They just spend their time scaring people, trying to push around their nephew, and stuffing their faces with junk food. And they don't even need to eat."

"What exactly could the unfinished business be for ghosts like them?" asked Binx.

Kat didn't immediately answer. It was certainly a question for the ages. She certainly didn't know for sure why they were still floating around. Even if her father was no longer trying to get rid of the Ghostly Trio, he still seemed determined to serve as their therapist.

True, he was working on other cases, both those who hired him to drive out to deal with their haunted properties and the occasional spirit the Ghostly Trio dragged in for being "mopey." But in between his trips, he still tried to offer the three of them regular therapy sessions. He honestly wanted to help. From what Kat had overheard, they treated the entire thing as a game. They seemed to like her dad, but that didn't convince them to take it at all seriously.

So while Dr. Harvey tried to be professional, inquiring about their pasts, their unfinished business, and any issues that they might need to address, the ghosts teased him and invented a variety of contradictory tales. He tried to help them even in the face of their chaotic and nonsensical responses. That led to him being a little more creative, her dad questioning them even outside the sessions in the hopes that they would be startled into an honest answer. Due to the whole doctor-patient confidentiality that he took far more seriously than they ever did, she could only pick up bits and pieces.

But she did see the one time her father apparently threw the Ghostly Trio off-balance. It was a little over a year ago. They somehow started joking about how the Doc should go out for karaoke again with them sometime, but they'd avoid any bars near construction this time. While Kat glared at the cackling ghosts, not happy about the flippant way they treated her father's (temporary) death, the man smiled mildly. Then with a calm and question tone, he asked if they were so eager for him to come along and to almost join the Ghostly Trio as a ghost because they missed Casper's father. The laughter cut off instantly and within seconds they'd vanished from room without a word, remaining out of sight for the rest of the day. Her father hadn't broached that particular discussion again, sensing a touchy subject and wanting them to be the ones to bring it up if they felt like addressing the issue in therapy. But in that split-second before their disappearance, Kat saw matching expressions of surprised realization she recognized. Casper looked like that on the night at the lighthouse when she asked what he was like when he was alive and he suddenly realized that he couldn't remember something so important and simple. She didn't even like the Ghostly Trio, but she did feel the slightest twinge of sympathy at the idea of them forgetting their long-gone brother.

"Kat?" asked Binx, drawing her thoughts back to the present.

Shaking her head, she said, "Honestly, I'm not sure what their unfinished business might be. They probably don't know themselves. Ghosts tend to forget their lives and the past. The memories can be jarred loose by meaningful reminders of their lives, but it isn't easy. They have to be very familiar and very important for it to work. Even seeing a family member or a best friend from their lives might not be enough. They might have to say or do something to make the ghost remember."

"You can't remember your life when you're a ghost? That must make it hard to finish your unfinished business," Dani remarked.

"That's true. That's probably why there aren't a lot of stories of haunted houses that stop being haunted," she said.

The discussion halted as they reached the turn, the start of the pebble-covered driveway that branched off from the road. A very short distance along it was the black iron-wrought gate. And for the first time in quite some time, Kat opened the gate for someone else to enter the haunted property.

Remaining invisible as he slipped through the wall, Casper flew into the library. There didn't seem to be a lot of people in the building, though he could hear cheerful voices in the children's section that were louder than normal for a library. There was probably some type of Halloween party for kids with stories, arts-and-crafts, games, and candy. It was ideal for those who couldn't go trick-or-treating for some reason. But everyone would remain in one corner of the library for the party. And the children's section was away from the row of computers, ensuring that no visiting young reader would mess with them. After several visits, Casper even knew exactly which computer was the most out of the way and hidden from view.

Floating right in front of the screen, he turned on the computer and reached for the keyboard. Thankfully, it was already connected to online from the last person to use the computer who didn't close it out properly. They might not have even known how to turn it off properly, a lot of people still in the process of figuring out how to use the thing. That meant he could bypass the loud dial-up noise that he always worried about.

Learning how to work a computer took some time to master, but he'd been pretty motivated since that past summer. He liked having friends, even if one lived far enough away that the only practical communication was through the use of emails. It was worth the effort to learn. And he'd been learning to deal with progressively newer pieces of technology for decades.

Typing would have been easier with a couple more fingers, but he managed to peck out a message. He explained what was going on as quickly and as simply as possible. Casper hoped his carefully-selected words would be enough and sent the message.

Floating there invisibly, he waited and hoped she was online already. It wasn't that hard, keeping out of sight. Invisibility was one of the easier tricks to master, but it did take some concentration to maintain. Flying and floating came pretty naturally, though Dr. Harvey demonstrated fairly recently that initially learning to ignore gravity and steer took a small amount of practice. Intangibility was a little trickier since it took some focus to switch between solid and able to phase through solid objects. But unless he was trying to maintain a solid grip on something or someone while also trying to fly though a wall intangibly, it felt fairly natural by that point. Transforming was one of the harder tricks to master. It took a lot of practice, concentration, and skill. Uncle Stretch was the best out of all of them at it, but Casper could pull it off himself by that point.

Invisibility, however, was mostly a matter of staying focused. As long as he could think about staying invisible, no one could spot him. If he got bored or surprised enough, however, his focus might slip enough to appear. And Casper couldn't risk scaring everyone in the library if someone happened to wander over and see him. He couldn't leave without a reply.

He knew this idea was the wisest option. They knew a little about magic, witches, and the supernatural, but none of them were experts about this problem. They didn't know how to find whoever stole the Book or the Sanderson sisters if they managed to return. They needed someone who could help with the problem. They needed someone who had the knowledge they lacked. Perhaps she would have some advice and insight she could share.

A message appeared on the screen, forcing Casper to quickly turn down the volume before as the computer tried to cheerfully announce the arrival of mail. He glanced around quickly to make sure no one noticed and that no one was approaching his corner of the library. All he heard was the laughter from the children's section, suggesting he still had a little time. Casper, even though he didn't have or need lungs anymore, breathed a sigh of relief. Then he opened the email and read the message.

The reply was short and clear: "I'm on my way."

Casper couldn't help smiling slightly as he closed the computer down. This was better than he could have hoped. She wasn't just offering advice. She was coming to help them.

And who better to help stop a trio of evil witches than another witch?

Silent and still invisible, Casper took flight once more and slipped through the ceiling. Now all he needed to do was get home and wait for her arrival.

Whipstaff Manor did not grow any less ominous as they walked closer. It was still a looming and dark structure. And it actually was as haunted as it looked. The only detail that didn't fit the rest of the horror movie atmosphere was the vehicle parked casually on the pebble-covered driveway. Even the witches' house in Salem didn't seem as creepy to Max as the old structure.

Kat, on the other hand, didn't appear to even notice the oppressive and unnerving state of her house. She simply walked up the stairs to the front door, the others trailing behind her. She didn't even need to unlock the door. Either the people of Friendship were very trusting of one another or she knew that everyone would be too scared to break in. Or she knew the resident ghosts would handle intruders. Max suspected it was one of the latter two options.

Max expected the inside to be dark and filled with cobwebs. Even with the knowledge that Kat and her father lived here, he still held certain expectations for a haunted house. But even though the art style was still old-fashioned and creepy, the foyer was well-lit and relatively clean. The biggest point of interest was an orange spiral design on the floor, though the staircases and the swirly light fixture above were also rather impressive. It reminded him that haunted houses weren't always haunted. Once upon a time, it would have been an expensive and fancy house. It actually looked reasonably nice even now.

"We had a Halloween party here once," said Kat, staring wistfully up towards the balcony overlooking the room. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Kat? Is that you?" a voice called as one of the doors opened and a man walked in.

Brown hair, glasses, and a nice brown jacket, he looked rather ordinary. It didn't take a genius to realize this was her father. The man appeared fairly flabbergasted by the presence of strangers in his home. Considering the reputation around town, Max completely understood the surprise.

"Hey, Dad," greeted Kat. "This is Max, his little sister, Dani, and their friend, Binx. I'm helping them with a problem."

Giving his daughter a meaningful look, he said, "Are you sure this is a good idea? You know I'd love to meet any of your new friends, but they might not like hanging around here for long."

"They already met Casper. And I told them about the trio. We know what we're doing, Dad."

"Oh, he said, blinking in surprise. "And they're okay with everything?"

"We've seen scarier, Mr. Harvey," said Dani.

"Dr. Harvey," he corrected gently. "I'm what you can call 'a ghost therapist.'"

"Therapy for ghosts?" asked Max, raising an eyebrow. "Sure. Why not? They're probably as crazy as the rest of us."

"Well, I try to avoid the word 'crazy' when discussing my patients."

"Even though it describes the Ghostly Trio perfectly," muttered Kat under her breath. Then, louder, she asked, "Are those creeps here?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. If they are, they're keeping quiet at the moment." Glancing at his watch, Dr. Harvey said, "I wish I could stay longer and get to know you better. Unfortunately, I just got a call. Mr. Parsons said the poltergeist in his attic is having a particularly bad day and causing problems through the rest of the house. It'll take a few hours to get there, but I should hopefully be back tomorrow morning." Briefly kissing her forehead in a way that made Kat grimace in embarrassment in a fashion that Max could completely relate to, Dr. Harvey hurried towards the front door. "Take care, Kat. I hope you and your friends don't have too much trouble. I love you."

As the door closed with a heavy thud, Kat gave them an apologetic shrug. She still looked rather embarrassed by her father's parting gesture of affection. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the sentiment. It was just the presence of an audience. No teenager wanted witnesses for such a thing. It was fairly universal. Max figured that adults just forget how mortifying such behavior can seem when you're younger.

"So that was my dad," she said awkwardly.

"Seems nice enough," said Max.

Dani added, "At least he believes in this stuff."

"Yeah, he believed in ghosts before I did," Kat admitted. Gesturing towards one of the doors, she said, "Let me show you the kitchen while we wait for Casper. If we're lucky, my threat of trapping them in a vacuum overnight might mean there'll be some cookies left."

Once again messing with his normal perception of what a haunted house should look like, the kitchen was relatively bright and cheerful. One wall was completely lined with windows that let in the afternoon light. A long wooden table ran down the middle of the room, perfectly capable of seating all of them comfortably with space left over. Max could see a lot of odd gadgets around the stove, such as an alarm clock and metal tracks. The entire thing seemed to envelop that area of the kitchen. After a moment of studying, it looked sort of like an old-fashioned Rube Goldberg contraption. None of those features were particularly creepy or scary.

"Shouldn't haunted houses be spookier than this?" Dani asked, apparently sharing her brother's opinion of the place's interior.

"Please don't say things like that," said Kat, reaching into cabinets and pulling out small plates and glasses. "If they hear, the Ghostly Trio will take it as a challenge."

Looking around, Binx said, "I rather like it. What is the thing on the back wall?"

"A machine to help make breakfast in the morning," she said. "Casper's dad invented it. He was an inventor. There's another gadget meant to get him ready in the morning, a few smaller creations scattered around the house, and his big project in the basement, though that one hasn't been touched in a while." Reaching for a drawer, she pulled out a small container of cookies and commented, "He seemed like a smart and good man, at least from what I've heard. Too bad no one remembers that part."

"What do you mean?" asked Max as she passed out the cookies.

Pouring milk for them, Kat said, "According to your sister, the only part people care about is that he was eventually locked up in an asylum. Of course, that's what happens when you decide to tell everyone that you're being haunted by the spirit of your dead son and that you intend to create something to bring him back. Since it was before Whipstaff Manor gained its more infamous reputation, no one listened."

"Just like no one would believe a trio of witches was trying to steal the lives and youth from the children of Salem," said Binx, reaching for the offered glass of milk.

"Sorry," Dani said.

Kat shrugged, "It isn't your fault that the gossip managed to dig up the past. Just don't call Casper's dad crazy again in front of him. And possibly avoid it in front of the trio. I don't know how they'd react and I don't want to find out."

With that final comment, they turned most of their attention towards their snacks. Max watched with amusement at the former feline's enthusiasm about consuming the refreshments. While Dani nibbled on the cookie, Binx seemed to be more focused on gulping the milk. Perhaps returning to Earth simply made him extremely thirsty. Max suspected, however, that it was more likely a symptom of his time as a cat. At least Binx didn't want to lap it up from a dish.

"Well, we don't know where they might be at the moment, but we can make a few guesses about what to expect," Max said finally. "They won't be summoning the witches at a graveyard since the Sandersons can't set foot on hallowed ground."

"That'll eliminate churches too," added Binx.

"And since they'll still need kids if they want to last longer than tonight, Mary will probably lead them to wherever she can find the most children. Which means one of the schools or a Halloween party or at least a large group of trick-or-treaters."

"They generally have a small party for the little kids at the library," said Kat thoughtfully. "The schools tend to have their Halloween parties either before or after the day. At least they have since my party. I know of a few neighborhoods that usually have a lot trick-or-treaters, though some parents might keep them inside after the murder last night."

Setting down her cookie, Dani asked in a frustrated tone, "How did they even know the Book was here? I mean, it was in Salem for centuries, just waiting. How did they know it was here? How did they know we brought it to Friendship?"

He had to admit it. His sister had a good point. Very few people knew about the Book's existence. Mostly a few historical fanatics and those involved in maintaining the old house for tourism. Even fewer people knew how important it was and how dangerous it could be in the wrong hands. Allison knew about the Book and she certainly knew it was moved to Maine, but she wouldn't tell a soul. The only other people who might be able to guess what happened to the Book and actually understood the power it contained were Jay and Ernie. Or rather Jay and "Ice."

They hadn't really bothered Max since last Halloween, preferring to avoid him rather than steal his stuff or even speak to him. They spent enough time as the witches' captives and most of the following day dangling in the cages that they knew sort of what the situation was. After they tried to inform their rescuers and the police about the trio of crazy and magic-wielding women who locked them up, the pair was dismissed as exaggerating and the entire thing blamed as a practical joke. Jay and "Ice" didn't forget. How could anyone forget that night? They knew about the witches, the existence of the Book, and that Max was involved. They'd seen and heard enough. They possibly suspected Max took the Book when he moved and they weren't smart enough to keep their mouths shut if someone started asking questions.

"Bet you anything that Jay and 'Ice' said something. I doubt they're directly responsible for the murder or the break-in, but they knew about the Book," he said.

"Great, the Neanderthals doomed us all," said Dani.

"Guys, guys, I've got great news," Casper announced excitedly (but not loudly) as he abruptly flew through a wall, making three people jump in surprise. "We have help on the way."

"Who?" asked Kat, the only one not still recovering from the ghost's unexpected arrival.

"A girl I met this summer when I went on that trip with my uncles," he said. "Her name is Wendy and I really think she can help with this."

So Casper gets his message out while Kat takes the new arrivals back to Whipstaff Manor. That should be fun in the near future.

Ah… Back in the early days of the internet, before people actually used the term "internet" that much. Since this is set in 1994, people outside of the government, science labs, and colleges are just starting to make use of the internet. Granted, there aren't a lot of people who knew how to use it or would need to. But it is in use somewhat by regular people by that point. And remember the dialup tone that computers used to make whenever anyone wanted to get online?

And has anyone ever wondered what in the world the unfinished business of the Ghostly Trio might be? Because they never really answered that question in the movie. Then there's the fact that they never mention Casper's dad, possibly because of the whole "forget about their life" thing. Just a couple topics that I wanted to touch on since I always wondered.

Remember, reviews are always appreciated. So feel free to leave a comment below.