The Haunted Castle Of Ravencurse

Make story time a little spookier with the #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time! Every visit to the magic tree house leads to a time-travel adventure! Jack and Annie are summoned once again to the fantasy realm of Camelot. There, Merlin the Magician tells them that the Stone of Destiny has been stolen. The answer to its disappearance lies within a haunted castle. With a young magician named Teddy, Jack and Annie take on the challenge in an adventure that takes them to new heights and places they couldn’t even imagine! Formerly numbered as Magic Tree House #30, the title of this book is now Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #2: Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve. Did you know that the Magic Tree House series has two levels? MAGIC TREE HOUSE: Perfect for readers 6-9 who are just beginning to read chapter books—includes this boxed set! MERLIN MISSIONS: More challenging adventures for experienced readers ages 7-10 The Magic Tree House series has been a classroom favorite for over 25 years and is sure to inspire a love of reading—and adventure—in every child who joins Jack and Annie!

The Franklin family, a quartet of affluence and apparent bliss, had always dreamt of a home that was more than just shelter. When the opportunity to purchase a 14th-century castle in the heart of the English countryside presented itself, it felt like destiny. The weathered stone, the gothic architecture, the sprawling grounds—it was everything they had ever imagined and more. Unbeknownst to them, this wasn't just a home; it was a haunted relic, a vessel for the tormented souls of the past. As they drove up the winding, overgrown driveway, Brandy felt a sudden chill despite the warm summer day. The castle loomed before them, its ancient stones seeming to absorb the sunlight rather than reflect it. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a face in one of the upper windows—gaunt, hollow-eyed, and filled with an unspeakable sorrow. She blinked, and it was gone. David, ever the pragmatist, was busy discussing the structural integrity of the place with the real estate agent. "Of course, you'll want to have a thorough inspection done," the agent was saying, her voice oddly strained. "The place has... quirks, as you'd expect from a building of this age." The children, Emily and Ben, were uncharacteristically quiet in the backseat. Emily, usually chatty and excited, stared up at the castle with an unreadable expression. Ben, typically buried in his video games, had put away his handheld console and was peering out the window with wide, apprehensive eyes. As they stepped out of the car, the air seemed to thicken around them. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the caw of a lone raven perched on a gargoyle high above. Brandy reached for David's hand, an inexplicable urge for comfort overwhelming her. The castle, with its imposing grandeur, concealed a labyrinth of secrets. Deep within its heart lay the dungeon, a subterranean chamber where shadows seemed to dance and whispers echoed in the still air. The walls, once adorned with human suffering, bore silent witness to centuries of torment. Blood-red stains, like grotesque paintings, marked the history of innocent and guilty alike, victims of a king's capricious justice. As the real estate agent led them through the grand entrance hall, Brandy couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. The portraits lining the walls seemed to follow their every move, eyes shifting imperceptibly when no one was looking directly at them. The tour progressed, each room more grandiose yet somehow more unsettling than the last. In what was to be the master bedroom, Brandy noticed a small door, almost hidden behind heavy velvet drapes. "Oh, that?" the agent said, her laugh a touch too high-pitched. "Just an old servant's passage. Probably best left unexplored for now." But as they turned to leave, Brandy could have sworn she heard a faint scratching coming from behind that door, as if something—or someone—was trying to get out. The children's rooms were next. In Emily's future bedroom, a beautiful antique mirror dominated one wall. As Emily approached it, her reflection seemed to flicker for a moment, replaced by the image of a young girl in medieval dress, her eyes wide with terror. Emily gasped and stumbled backward, but when she looked again, it was just her own pale face staring back. Ben's room was in the tower, a circular space with a stunning view of the surrounding countryside. But as he gazed out the window, the landscape seemed to shift and warp before his eyes. For a split second, instead of rolling hills and forests, he saw a bleak, barren wasteland stretching to the horizon, dotted with twisted, blackened trees and what looked horribly like gallows. The final stop on the tour was the kitchen, a vast space dominated by an enormous stone fireplace. As they entered, a gust of cold air swept through the room, causing everyone to shiver. The flames in the fireplace, which had been burning cheerily, suddenly sputtered and died, plunging the room into shadow. "Must be a draft," the agent said quickly, her hands shaking slightly as she relit the fire. "Now, shall we discuss the offer?" The Franklins, oblivious to the castle's sinister past, moved in with enthusiasm. Brandy, the matriarch, was captivated by the castle's history, while her husband, David, was more interested in its structural integrity. Their teenage children, Emily and Ben, were simply excited about the novelty of castle life. But from the very first night, things felt... off. As Brandy unpacked in the master bedroom, she kept catching glimpses of movement in her peripheral vision. When she turned to look, there was never anything there, but the sensation of being watched persisted. David, inspecting the ancient plumbing in the basement, found himself in a corridor he didn't remember seeing on the tour. The walls here were rougher, older, and seemed to pulse with a faint, sickly light. He turned to go back the way he came, only to find the passage behind him had vanished, replaced by solid stone. Panic rising in his throat, he stumbled forward, deeper into the unknown bowels of the castle. Emily, arranging her things in her new room, suddenly felt a cold hand on her shoulder. She spun around, heart racing, but the room was empty. As she tried to calm herself, she noticed her breath was visible in the suddenly frigid air. The temperature continued to drop until frost began to form on the windows, creating intricate patterns that, if you looked closely, seemed to depict scenes of torture and execution. Ben, exploring the tower room, discovered a small trapdoor in the floor. Curiosity overcoming his apprehension, he opened it, revealing a narrow, winding staircase descending into darkness. As he peered down, he heard what sounded like distant, muffled screams echoing up from the depths. He slammed the trapdoor shut, but the screams continued, now seeming to come from inside his own head. Within weeks of their arrival, strange occurrences began to disturb their idyllic existence. Eerie whispers echoed through the corridors, footsteps padded silently in the dead of night, and the faintest of screams pierced the silence. At first, they dismissed these as creaky old buildings and overactive imaginations. But as the incidents grew in frequency and intensity, a creeping dread began to settle over the family. One morning, Brandy woke to find bizarre, arcane symbols carved into the wooden bedframe—symbols that hadn't been there when she went to sleep. David discovered that no matter how many times he fixed the ancient grandfather clock in the hall, it always reset itself to 3:33, the hands quivering as if in fear. Emily's diary began to fill itself with entries she didn't remember writing, detailing horrific events from the castle's past. Ben's video game consoles would turn themselves on in the middle of the night, the screens flickering with images of medieval torture devices and ghostly faces contorted in agony.

A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people. AWARD-WINNING APOLLO'S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbidden love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren's former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king's daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father's enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom. Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse. Will she be able to embrace her forbidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?

When Dee is challenged to investigate a haunted and remote Scottish Castle near their School Camp she is delighted that Trevor's school will be there too. Till he tells her that the pretty Sandy they knew in Lanzarote is going too now that she is goes to his school. Dee is devastated at first. With that sorted and they go Nessie hunting, was what they saw - and videoed too - a Nessie after all? While Dee believes the evidence FOR the ghost at first, questions emerge. Why does Hamish change his story about seeing the ghost? Why the massive door to the castle entrance, and the still bigger one they find in a nearby cave? The mysterious ghost on the mountainside coming out of the mist. Does the robbery that caused a terrible accident in Inverness they were so nearly involved in have any part in it? The mysterious wake at the dead of night. The silent motor boats that were heading to the cave. What is that cave hiding? And how could they get away when tied up and gagged?

Series covers individuals ranging from established award winners to authors and illustrators who are just beginning their careers. Entries cover: personal life, career, writings and works in progress, adaptations, additional sources, and photographs.

The reader's decisions will determine whether the wizard or warrior will be able to retrieve the magic helmet of Cornwall, which has been stolen by the giants.

Ghosts... in the Emerald City? The concept is unheard of! Death does not exist in Oz... and even if it did, Oz is the happiest place on earth! So, why would a morose ghost be haunting the halls of Ozma's palace? Join us as Dorothy, Trot, Betsy Bobbin and Button Bright investigate. What they uncover might be more than anyone had considered. With old favorites and rarely-seen Ozian celebrities, The Haunted Castle of Oz is sure to delight, surprise, and maybe even terrify readers! This Deluxe Edition includes an exclusive cover by Jaun Raza, color plates of the covers without titles, a new Afterword examining the history of The Haunted Castle of Oz, b&w illustrations by Kamui Ayami, and all the previous illustrations from past artists, including Patricio Carbajal, Diana Karounas, David Bishop, and Marcus Mebes (from his out-of-print original version)!