Misty Mankin hated Halloween. She hated ghosts and princesses and black and orange. Especially orange. She hated frozen pumpkin pie, the most common kind in Rolynka, Alaska. She hated witches and masks and what qualified as seasonal office parties near the Arctic Circle. She hated all the interruptions of her evening accompanied by screaming and giggling and variations from innocent to profane on the three words "trick or treat."
She particularly hated the pumpkin knife — and the fact that it contained the ghost of her mother...

"Misty and the Magic Pumpkin Knife" is a short story of approximately 5,000 words (20 pages), a new installment in the series "Tales From Far Beyond North."