60 pages 2 hours read

Mary Downing Hahn

Took: A Ghost Story

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015

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Prologue-Chapter 4Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue Summary: “The Beginning”

From the edge of the woods, a woman known as Old Auntie watches a realtor show a couple a dilapidated farmhouse. She doesn’t know the realtor but knows his father, his father’s father, and the rest of his lineage all the way back when they first settled into the valley.

Auntie moves her hands, casting a spell to influence the sale. She wants something the couple has. Once the realtor and couple go inside the house, Auntie turns to her hidden companion and assures him that they’ll have a new pet soon—indicating that they will be getting rid of their old pet. The companion communicates in snorts and squeals.

The farmhouse has been abandoned for 50 years. Locals tell tales of girls disappearing from the house; the children specifically tell tales of Auntie and her companion. Auntie relies on unaware city people to move in and keep her operation going.

When the realtor and couple emerge from the house, Auntie eavesdrops. The couple wants to fix the house and move in with their children, a boy and a girl. They want to move away from the city and start growing food and raising animals.