All around the house is the jet-black night

All around the house is the jet-black night

It stares through the window-pane; It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light, 

and it moves with the moving flame.

Now my little heart goes a-beating like a drum,with the breath of the Bogie in my hair;

And all round the candle the crooked shadows come and go marching along up the stair.

The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of the lamp, the shadow of the child that goes to bed - all the wicked shadows coming, tramp, tramp, tramp, with the black night overhead.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Featured Books; 

Carbonel by Sleigh Barbara published by Max Parrish in 1966. Carbonel is a Royal cat - and you had better not forget it! He makes it clear to Rosemary and John that they must find the missing steeple hat and cauldron before they can undo the magic spell. And that's just where the trouble, and the fun, begins! Carbonel is now sold, thank you for your interest.

Meg up the Creek by Helen Nicoll with illustrations by Jan Pienkowski, 2002. Meg, Mog and Owl head off in a canoe on a hunting trip, but it doesn’t take long for things to go wrong. First, they forget to tie up the canoe, then they can’t find anything to eat, and to make matters worse they can’t light a fire. Meg resorts to using one of her spells, managing to conjure up a Chinese dragon who lights the fire, provides them with food and flies them all safely home. Now sold, thanks for looking.

Nesta the little witch by Angela McAllister, 1990. At the School for Spells, garbled spells yield ridiculous results so would-be witches must master many things. The only student to show any promise is little Nesta but her cleverness earns the jealous of her teachers, Windbag Wartnose and Morag the Hag.  As the two cackle in the shadows they are gobbled up by a monster (a student project gone awry).  Nesta releases the teachers and helps them clean up, but not without a warning – next time she just might make a mistake “too big for a little witch to fix. Now sold, thanks for looking.

Tog the Ribber or Granny's Tale by Paul Coltman with illustrations by Gillian McClure published in 1985.  Relating the events of a frightening evening when Granny, as a young girl, was chased by Tog the Ribber's vengeful ghost. Each picture shows a new stage in the child's panic, only partly relieved when she crosses the Fozzle ditch and frees herself from her pursuer. 

Pumpkin and Beanpole by Anita McEwen, 1996. Lift the flaps and help Pumpkin and Beanpole unwrap their surprise birthday presents. 

The Bewitched Broomsticks and other stories by Charles Duncan illustrated by A. E. Kennedy published by Faber and Faber in 1947. Nine stories including; The bewitched broomsticks, The clock that made faces, The house with laughing eyes, and Simon in the land of shadows.

Happy Halloween!


Our two little granddaughters waiting for daddy to come home from work. 

Don't open the door daddy, a baby witch is waiting to scare you!

Trick or Treat?

Update July 2016: All the books featured are now sold. March House books closed on my retirement in 2015, but I do still blog here at March of Time Books and always appreciate your visit.