Peko Pal

The House at the End of Hollow Lane

A stand-alone story

The House at the End of Hollow Lane artwork

Everyone on Hollow Lane says the tall dark house at the end of the street is haunted. On Halloween night, Nell and her best friend finally dare each other to knock on the door.

Ages
6–10
Length
35 min, 6 chapters
Feel
Some suspense
Wi-Fi to play
Not needed

Why parents pick it

A six-chapter Halloween mystery about a house everyone fears and the kind neighbor inside it. It builds real suspense on the walk up to the door, then answers every spooky clue with something warm.

Good fit if your child…

  • likes Halloween stories with a little shiver but a happy ending
  • enjoys figuring out the explanation behind spooky sounds and lights
  • has a younger sibling who tags along and wants to be brave too

Listen to a preview

The first 45 seconds of Chapter 1.

From Chapter 1

"Nobody goes to the last house," said Omar. "Nobody. Ever."

He said it the way he said everything on Halloween, which was loudly, with his plastic vampire teeth clicking in the middle of every word.

Nell sat on the curb with her pillowcase in her lap. It was a quarter to six on the best night of the year. The sky over Hollow Lane was turning the color of a plum, and orange lights glowed in almost every window. Pumpkins grinned from every porch step.

Every porch but one.

At the very end of the street, where the sidewalk gave up and the road bent into a dead end, stood a tall, thin house with a pointed tower. It was gray and crooked and taller than all the others. Its shutters hung at odd angles. Its yard was full of tangled bushes. There was no pumpkin on the steps. There was no light on the porch.

The opening of the book, as it is told on the Pal.

What happens

Everyone on Hollow Lane knows the tall house at the end of the street is haunted. The shutters bang with no wind, a green light glows in the tower, and strange music drifts out at night. On Halloween, Nell and her best friend Omar dare each other to knock on the door, and Nell's little brother Bo tags along in his dinosaur costume.

What they find is not a ghost. It is a retired theater prop maker with a black cat, a house full of clocks and wooden birds, and a very good reason for every spooky thing the neighborhood has whispered about. By the end of the night, the whole street is at her door.

For the grown-up

What they get from it. Children hear how easy it is to decide something about a person from the outside, and how a single knock on a door can change that. It also shows a small group of kids using courage and kindness together.

Before you play it. The middle chapters are the spookiest: a banging shutter, strange music, a green light and a sudden meow in the dark. Nothing is ever dangerous, and the mystery is explained in chapter five.

Ask your child afterwards:

  • Which spooky clue would have bothered you the most, and why?
  • Why do you think nobody on the street had ever knocked on Mrs. Fenwick's door?
  • Is there something you once assumed about a person that turned out to be wrong?

Chapters

  1. The DareA dare on the curb, and a house nobody ever visits.
  2. Candy and CourageCandy first, courage later, and a neighbor who warns them off.
  3. The Sounds in the DarkTinkly music, a banging shutter and a green light in the tower.
  4. The Door OpensA creaking gate, a lion-shaped knocker, and locks turning one by one.
  5. Mrs. Fenwick's WorkshopClocks, a brass dragon and a giant lantern, each with its own story.
  6. The Best Halloween EverA very big idea and a party for the whole street.

Themes

Halloween, Mystery, Friendship, Kindness, Community.

Common questions

What age is The House at the End of Hollow Lane for?
It is written for ages 6–10.
How long is The House at the End of Hollow Lane?
6 chapters, about 35 min in all.
Is The House at the End of Hollow Lane scary?
The middle chapters are the spookiest: a banging shutter, strange music, a green light and a sudden meow in the dark. Nothing is ever dangerous, and the mystery is explained in chapter five.
Does it need Wi-Fi?
No. Once it is on the Pal, it plays without Wi-Fi.

Playing it on the Pal

Press the button to play or pause. Tap left or right to skip back or ahead 15 seconds, double-tap for the previous or next chapter, or triple-tap left to start the book over. Up and down switch to another book. It picks up where you left off.