The Night the Lanterns Wake

Halloween always ends at one o'clock in Bellwarren. This year, the town refuses to let go.

Thirteen-year-old Taryn Kresge is spending her last Halloween in the only town she has ever called home. On Monday, she moves away from her friends, her traditions, and everything she wants to keep exactly as it is.

So when a strange old song offers her one more minute, Taryn wishes for it.

At 12:59, the clocks stop.

Lanterns wake. Costumes become real. Roads refuse to leave town. Names begin slipping loose from memory. And an ancient Guest, forgotten when Bellwarren abandoned one of its oldest Halloween traditions, finally finds someone willing to answer.

With her friends beside her, Taryn must survive a night where every costume has rules and every promise carries a price.

The Night the Lanterns Wake is an illustrated Halloween dark fantasy about friendship, belonging, growing up, letting go, and leaving one light for whoever has none.

The transformation begins dramatically when Bellwarren freezes at 12:59 and costumes, lanterns, cards, masks, and decorations start becoming real.