Chapters 5–9 Summary
Chapter 5
Once outside, Harvey notices the season have changed from spring to summer; there are no clouds overhead and the heat bears down. He finds Wendell sitting under a tree reading comic books and asks him to go to the lake. Wendell refuses, saying Harvey “won’t stay long” once he’s there.
Harvey heads to the lake by himself, catching his body on barbs as he passes through thick bushes. Upon reaching the lake, he feels Wendell was right; there is nothing to see. The lake is so big that you can’t see the other side, and there’s no sunshine in the area. Covered with a green film and flies, the lake is “where dead things belonged.”
Harvey sees Lulu bending over the lake peering in and his presence frightens her. She runs from him, but his attention turns back to the water as he sees fish swimming near him. He feels they are staring at him and describes them as “prisoners.” He runs out of the gloomy scene and back into the sunshine.
He finds Wendell again and starts asking questions about the lake and the seasons, but Wendell responds with his signature “who cares.” It’s too hot to argue with him, so Harvey sits down and begins to read a comic. Wendell tells Harvey he should choose a monster and prepare because tonight, and every other night, is Halloween.
Harvey falls asleep and wakes up to find the season has changed from summer to autumn. He heads back to the house, which seems more ominous in the autumn weather. He makes a comment about the House being real to which he swears the House responds. Shaking off his anxiety, he heads to the kitchen.
Chapter 6
As Harvey and Wendell eat, they discuss their costumes. Wendell says he will be a hangman, and they both decide Harvey will be a vampire. Wendell takes Harvey upstairs to a dusty room filled with clothing and masks. Harvey is intrigued by the masks, astonished at how many different kinds Mr. Hood, the creator of the House, owns.
As Harvey digs through the clothing, he wonders about the children who left them there, noticing that some of the items had gone out of style many years before. They both find the perfect outfits and head downstairs.
It’s nighttime, and Harvey wonders where they will go trick or treating. Wendell says they will take a long journey to the back of the House, but Harvey doesn’t understand since the House isn’t that big. However, once they start walking, it seems the House and the property changes.
Suddenly, Wendell points to the sky, and Harvey sees the shape of something flying overhead. By the time Harvey looks back, Wendell is gone. He calls for him, but there is no response. Harvey believes Wendell is playing a trick on him and yells this thought to his friend. As he calls out, he thinks he hears something tell him Wendell is in the treehouse, so he decides to look for Wendell there.
He gets to the treehouse and begins to climb. He can hear the ladder creak under Wendell’s feet and follows the sound. He feels something brush his face and grabs for it. Once he catches it, fireworks begin to explode from behind him lighting up what appears to be a dead man hanging from a noose. However, this is all a trick, and Wendell reveals himself and the stuffed clothing with a pumpkin head that he hung from a noose to scare Harvey.
Harvey is furious and swears he’ll get Wendell back, but he...
(This entire section contains 1320 words.)
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calms down enough to make amends. He tells Wendell there will be many more nights to seek his revenge, which makes Wendell smile.
Chapter 7
Back at the house, Mrs. Griffin cooks a Thanksgiving meal for the boys. She notices Harvey’s mood and asks if Wendell was up to his tricks. Wendell mentions the ladder trick, but Harvey focuses on the shape in the sky. Harvey describes it as a human-sized bat, but Mrs. Griffin tells him he must have imagined it. He wants to ask more questions but tells himself he’s not allowed. He should just enjoy the House for what it is.
As Harvey goes upstairs to change, he finds Lulu on the landing. She mentions it will be Christmas soon as she stares outside into a snow-filled wonderland. She tells Harvey to wish for something and explains she’s already received everything she’s ever wanted. She brings Harvey to her room to show him all of her things. She shows him a large dollhouse filled with pet lizards. They two play and talk until Harvey realizes he still needs to get changed. Upon leaving, Lulu says she likes Harvey, and Harvey returns the sentiment. Lulu tells him to make a Christmas wish, and Harvey tells her to be careful at the lake.
As Harvey washes up, he decides to wish for something he believes cannot be replicated: an ark his father built for him that he lost. He heads downstairs to find the House decorated for Christmas and Wendell outside building a snowman.
Mrs. Griffin tells Harvey there is a present under the tree for him. He opens the gift and finds a perfect replica of the ark his father had made. Even the paint colors were the same as Harvey recalls his father running out of blue paint for the elephant’s eyes. Torn between loving the gift and feeling unsettled, he brings it upstairs to his room. Exhausted from his day, he gets in bed and falls asleep.
Chapter 8
Harvey wakes up the next morning bursting with joy and stays this way for a full week. He loves the changing seasons and the possibilities the House holds. He calls his parents to say hi, but the only real reminder of the world outside of Holiday House is the ark he received on his second night there.
On the seventh day, Harvey takes the ark down to the lake to see if it will float. He puts it in the water and plays with the floating vessel. When he sees a fish come near the ship, he tries to grab it but slips off a rock and falls in the water. He struggles to get back to the surface but manages to get himself back on dry land.
He looks for the ark but the majority of the wooden toy has already sunk. He had lost many toys before, but something about the lake claiming this toy bothers him to his core. As he walks away from the lake, he decides he must know who, or what, haunts this House.
Chapter 9
Harvey doesn’t tell anyone about what happened at the lake, but the House knows and seems to compensate. The House gives him a bike which is even better than the one that was stolen from him a few years ago. The House also sends parrots and monkeys to the treehouse for entertainment. It even sends acrobats to perform for the kids one afternoon. All of these distractions quell Harvey’s nerves.
One night, Rictus’s brother, Jive, arrives at the House to see how Harvey is doing. He reminds Harvey that he never got Wendell back for scaring him. Jive comes up with a plan to scare him and tells Harvey to get Wendell outside then meet him on the roof.
On the roof, Harvey finds Jive and his sister Marr, a large woman described as slug-like. She offers to help him fly by changing him into a giant vampire bat. She molds Harvey’s face and runs her hands over his body, adding teeth, and fur and wings. Once she is finished, Jive gets him ready and pushes him off the roof, hoping he will learn how to fly on the way down.