"The Great Pumpkin Ride"

"The Great Pumpkin Ride" - "This is simply a wonderful book for young readers. In fact, it's a delightful read for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed it...Remember - you read it here first - Hannah Storey and Frosty are going to become well known in young people's literature." - Goody Niosi, The Star

A spooky adventure story that boys and girls will love! Fast paced and filled with mystery.

We dare you!

Excerpt:

"I tell ya," spoke Sam Jorgenson in a hushed tone from the back of the bus. "Last year, the fog drifting in off the river was like quicksilver. It was so thick that I couldn't even see my horse's ears by the time we reached the Feed & Seed. I was never so glad in all my life as to see our truck and horse trailer."

Albert Gunnerson whispered from the bench seat beside Sam, "I saw an old trapper dressed in rags two years ago. His flesh was whiter than Ole Man Winter's hair, his eyes were as red as a Harvest Moon and he walked all stooped like he was guarding somethin' important. He walked beside me and Dad all the way out to Pumpkin Alley and back. You ask my dad about that, see how he agrees with me?"

"I saw my Grandma, just as young and pretty as the day she got married," Ella Gunderson swore and crossed her heart.

"I saw her too," Sarah Anderson said. Sarah was Ella's best friend and seat mate. One was rarely seen without the other.

"You always see what Ella does, Sarah. You don't have no mind of your own except for what she tells ya," Sam quipped. Albert guffawed.

"That's not true, Sam Jorgenson," Sarah whined, nailing Albert to his seat with a piercing look.

Albert shrugged and went on giggling, not caring one way or the other what Sarah thought of him.

"So how come you know what Ella's Grandma looked like when she got married? Were you there?" retorted Sam. Albert bent over sideways in his seat, gripped his sides and roared with laughter. Sam whacked him on the back just to make sure Albert didn't forget to breathe.

"Sarah's seen the family pictures on the mantle, dope head," Ella countered.

"I bet you didn't see the ghosts of those two city slicker fishermen, the one's that drowned under the bridge last May? They were dressed in red checked jackets and green hip waders. You could even hear the water sloshing around in the waders. They walked the whole trail with Colin McKenzie and his wife," Sarah argued.

"We all saw those two," Sam nodded, his face burning. "The whole Pumpkin Ride was talkin' about it."

"I saw them too," Hannah squeaked.

"How could you, Peg-leg, you weren't there? You were too scared. Stayed at home with mom and dad to protect you," Penny Paddington sneered, her brown freckles alive and gleefully dancing over her cheeks as if they too took fun in teasing Hannah Storey.

"No, I wasn't there, but I saw them down by the river, fly-fishing under the bridge, a couple of times," Hannah stammered. She hated how Penny always put her on the spot. "When it's foggy, you can see them quite clearly."

"All Hallow's Eve, Halloween, Harvest Feast, call it what you will, October 31st is the night that the Dead walk with the Living," Sam finished.