Middle of the Night

The next morning, Ethan is perplexed by the second baseball’s appearance. He speculates that someone is playing a cruel prank, knowing about Billy’s abduction. Considering only a few people are aware of Billy’s body being found, Ethan wonders who could be behind it. He decides he needs proof and plans to catch the perpetrator using a trail camera.

Before he can leave to buy the camera, Ashley arrives, asking Ethan to watch her son, Henry, while she takes her father to the doctor. Despite his reservations, Ethan agrees and takes Henry to Russ’s sporting goods store. The car ride is awkward, and Ethan struggles to connect with Henry, who prefers formality and reading over small talk.

At the store, Ethan asks Russ for a trail camera, admitting he needs one to monitor his backyard. Russ, hungover but helpful, shows Ethan the top model, which has night vision and is motion activated, capturing high-definition images and sending them directly to a phone. Although the camera is expensive, Ethan decides to buy it, believing it’s the best way to catch the person entering his yard and leaving the baseballs.

The chapter ends with Ethan resolving to use the camera to get proof, determined to uncover the truth behind the unsettling occurrences in his neighborhood.

Though Russ gives Ethan employee pricing on the camera, the purchase is significant and triggers immediate buyer’s remorse, especially as the camera, once unboxed, is non-returnable. Ethan and Henry install and test the camera, which successfully captures images of Henry, revealing some initial blurriness that Ethan corrects by adjusting the settings.

Henry questions why Ethan needs the camera, and Ethan vaguely mentions his suspicions without disclosing his deeper fears related to Billy’s disappearance 30 years ago. When Henry hints that his grandfather might have seen someone, their conversation is interrupted by Ashley, who has returned to take Henry back home.

After Ashley and Henry leave, the camera starts capturing wildlife, confirming its functionality. However, it soon captures an unexpected visitor: a well-dressed woman who introduces herself as Detective Cassandra Palmer from the state police. Detective Palmer explains her interest in Billy’s case, which motivated her to join law enforcement. She shares her extensive knowledge of the case and insists that the evidence points to someone Billy knew and trusted, who would have been able to take him without causing a disturbance.

Ethan wrestles with the possibility that a neighbor or someone close to the community might be responsible for Billy’s death. Despite his reluctance, he cannot dismiss Detective Palmer’s theory completely. The chapter ends with a chilling reminder from Detective Palmer that those capable of such heinous acts are not just bad people, but “monsters.”

This flashback returns to the past and is narrated from Billy’s third-person perspective. On the morning prior to his disappearance, Billy sits at his desk, engrossed in his beloved book, The Giant Book of Ghosts, Spirits, and Other Spooks. Although Billy does not believe in monsters, he fervently wants to believe in ghosts. His fascination with them, fueled by the vivid illustrations and alleged photographs in his book, has him nearly convinced of their existence. However, a lingering doubt persists, one that can only be dispelled by a personal encounter with a ghost.

Billy’s desire for ghosts to be real stems from a deep sense of loneliness. Aside from his friend Ethan, his social circle is limited. There is Russ Chen and his little brother Andy, both of whom Billy dismisses as annoying. Billy’s attempts to fit in with the popular kids at school have been futile and left him feeling more isolated than ever. But Billy feels that his life changed the day he discovered The Giant Book of Ghosts, Spirits, and Other Spooks in the school library. As he read about spirits, Billy found a strange comfort in knowing that these unseen entities shared his feelings of invisibility and neglect.

Billy’s obsession with ghosts has grown, and he has come to believe that, just like him, ghosts only want recognition and acknowledgment. He checked the book out repeatedly until the last day of school, when the librarian, Mrs. Charbrier, gifted it to him in recognition of his deep attachment to it. Since then, he has kept it hidden from his mother, whose concern for him often feels stifling. His father, on the other hand, is more supportive, even helping him dress as a ghost for Halloween.

Billy’s daily routine involves paging through his cherished book, circling the ghosts he believes are real. Poltergeists and banshees make the cut due to the numerous reported incidents involving them. In contrast, figures like the Headless Horseman are excluded, as Billy understands them to be products of fiction. Determined to confirm his belief, Billy knows he needs to see a ghost with his own eyes. And he has the perfect place in mind to make that happen.

Ethan finds himself in a state of lethargy, sprawled across his couch and half-watching an episode of Ted Lasso he’s seen multiple times. Just as he’s about to drift off to sleep, Ethan’s phone pings with a notification from his trail cam. Expecting the usual wildlife activity, he opens the app and sees an opossum with glowing eyes staring straight at the camera. The night vision on the trail cam adds an eerie tint to the scene, making the moonlit lawn and the bordering woods look ominous. When his phone continues to ping with more notifications, he ignores them, assuming it’s probably just another animal.

However, the thought of his backyard triggers a memory of Mrs. Barringer visiting him one summer, just before school started. She had come with a gift—Billy’s cherished book, The Giant Book of Ghosts, Spirits, and Other Spooks. Ethan felt that he did not deserve this precious memento of Billy but his mother insisted that it would be rude to refuse, so Ethan reluctantly accepted the book and thanked Mrs. Barringer. The book, a reminder of Billy and Ethan’s own perceived failure, is tucked away on his childhood bookshelf, untouched and out of sight.

Another memory surfaces—his last Halloween with Billy. Ethan had dressed as a character from Jurassic Park, while Billy had gone as a ghost. As they sat in Ethan’s kitchen eating candy, Billy had talked about his belief in ghosts, expressing a desire to communicate with them rather than fear them. Ethan, less convinced, questioned the existence of ghosts, but Billy remained adamant, explaining that ghosts just wanted to be acknowledged.

Ethan’s reflections are interrupted by another trail cam alert. This time, he opens the app and is startled to see Vance Wallace, dressed in pajamas, standing in his backyard near the woods. Concerned, Ethan rushes outside to find Mr. Wallace looking disoriented. Vance insists he saw the Barringer boy and followed him. Ethan tries to rationalize with Vance, reminding him that Billy is dead, but Vance is adamant, gripping Ethan’s arm and claiming Billy is back.

As they talk, Ashley arrives with Henry. She’s exasperated and worried, scolding her father for leaving the house without informing her. Vance, however, remains fixated on his sighting of Billy, which Ashley dismisses as a delusion. Vance momentarily confuses Ashley for her late mother, Trish, and Ethan can see that Ashley is grieved by this reminder of her father’s mental decline. She manages to calm him down and, with Ethan’s help, guides him back home.

Ethan follows the Wallaces back to their home so he can help Ashley with Henry and her father. Henry hops into bed and grabs a Goosebumps book. When Ethan asks if he won’t get scared reading it, Henry replies that it’s just fiction and reveals his interest in ghosts and monsters. This prompts Ethan to share that he had a friend, Billy Barringer, who was obsessed with ghosts. Henry knows about Billy from his mother, Ashley, who uses his disappearance as a cautionary tale.

Ethan advises Henry not to stay up too late, emphasizing the importance of sleep. Before leaving, Henry asks Ethan if he thinks he’s weird. Ethan reassures Henry that everyone is a little weird and encourages him to be himself, emphasizing that some people might not like it, but many will appreciate him for who he is.

After settling Henry, Ethan finds Ashley in the hallway, who has overheard their conversation. They head to the kitchen, where Ashley pours tequila shots, and they discuss their past and present lives. Ethan reflects on his failed marriage with Claudia, revealing that he never wanted children because he was too traumatized by Billy’s disappearance. He is afraid to bring a child into the world in case he ultimately loses them.

Ashley shares her own struggles, opening up about her time in LA, her failed music career, and how getting pregnant with Henry changed her life for the better. Despite the challenges, she has no regrets about becoming a parent. Ethan confides in Ashley about the baseballs, about sensing Billy’s presence, and about the trail camera he installed to investigate. Ashley points out the scientific impossibility of Billy’s presence and urges Ethan not to believe in it.

This flashback to the past is narrated from Ashley’s third-person perspective. In this interlude, a teenage Ashley vents her frustration with her life on Hemlock Circle while talking to her friend Tara on the phone. She dislikes her neighborhood and the dull suburban existence it represents. However, Ashley feels guilty for being so dissatisfied; Tara lives in a small house next to a noisy dentist office and longs to live on Hemlock Circle.

Ashley wants to be more considerate, but she sees Hemlock Circle as a secluded bubble, resembling the isolation of Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter, but without any of the scandalous excitement. The neighborhood is largely uneventful, except for the tragic death of Johnny Chen, a boy Ashley once had a crush on. His overdose was shocking and highlighted the seriousness behind the neighborhood mothers’ whispered concerns about their children.

As an only child, Ashley also feels disconnected from the other kids on Hemlock Circle. However, she has a soft spot for 10-year-old Ethan Marsh, who looks at her with innocent admiration. Ashley’s protective nature extends to other younger kids like Andy Barringer and his brother Billy, the latter of whom she worries about due to his odd behavior and potential for being bullied.

She enjoys babysitting the younger children in her neighborhood and she wants to use her babysitting money to fund her ambitious plans: attending Woodstock with her friend Tara, going to college to escape suburbia, and eventually pursuing a career in music. She is distracted from her daydreams about the future when Tara mentions a party taking place that night. A boy named Steve Ebberts has a family member who works in the music industry, and Steve will be attending the party. Ashley is not interested in Steve but she and Tara make plans to go to the party anyway. Ashley hopes that flirting with Steve will present an opportunity to network for her future career.

However, Ashley’s plans to escape suburbia are dashed when she is abruptly fired from her babysitting job at the Marsh house. Mrs. Marsh, now unemployed, no longer needs Ashley’s services, and this revelation brings Mrs. Marsh to tears. Ashley consoles her, despite her own disappointment about losing her income. Seeing Mrs. Marsh’s emotional breakdown strengthens Ashley’s determination to avoid a similar fate. She vows never to become dependent or feel inadequate like the women of Hemlock Circle.

Back in the present, Ethan feels pleasantly tipsy from the tequila as he walks home from Ashley’s house. Recalling Vance’s haunted demeanor and cryptic words, Ethan grapples with the fear that Vance’s recent visions may not be exclusively a product of his dementia. As he passes Billy’s former home, Ethan opens his trail cam app and examines the most recent photos. One image shows an empty lawn, but a closer inspection reveals a faint human-shaped shadow at the forest’s edge. This shadow only appears in one photo, suggesting it moved and isn’t a mere trick of the light.

Ethan realizes that the shadow resembles a child about Billy’s height, and he rushes home, driven by a growing sense of urgency and fear. Once inside, he heads straight to his childhood bedroom, a place he has avoided for years due to its emotional weight. The room remains almost unchanged, a preserved snapshot of his childhood.

Ethan retrieves a dusty book from his bookshelf: The Giant Book of Ghosts, Spirits, and Other Spooks, which he and Billy used to read. As he flips through its pages, he finds various supernatural entities, until one illustration captures his attention. It depicts a shadowy figure with white pinprick eyes, eerily similar to the shadow from the trail cam photo. The spirit, labeled “Shadow Person,” has been circled by Billy, who also scribbled in the margins: “This is real” (151).

After exploring his childhood bedroom, Ethan finds himself in his father’s study at midnight, drowning in information about shadow people and ghosts from various paranormal websites. His research reveals that shadow people come in various forms—some benign, others menacing, and some that merely evoke fear without causing physical harm. Ethan’s doubts intensify as he contemplates the various theories about ghosts. He learns that ghosts often have unfinished business and may resort to haunting as a means of drawing attention to their plight. That idea triggers his memory of Billy and he starts to wonder if Billy’s ghost might be orchestrating these events to communicate with Ethan.

As Ethan considers the possibility that Billy’s spirit might be trying to reach out, he decides to contact Claudia against his better judgment. Again, his call goes straight to voicemail, so he leaves her a message telling her about the possibility of Billy haunting him. While leaving the message, Ethan receives a new alert from his trail cam. He heads outside to investigate with a flashlight.

A sudden rustling in the woods catches Ethan’s attention, and he feels a strong, inexplicable presence. He tentatively calls out to Billy, hoping to make contact. His flashlight then illuminates a single baseball rolling across the lawn toward him. Recognizing it as one of Billy’s old baseballs, Ethan is overcome with the realization that Billy has been trying to reach him all along.

Holding the baseball, Ethan understands the message: Billy is back, using familiar signs and old tricks to get his attention. The game between them, once a playful activity in their youth, now represents a deeper, unfinished connection.

Ethan has just finished lunch and taken a shower, a new routine inspired by his friend Russ Chen’s preference for showers over baths. This change is part of Ethan’s effort to distance himself from the babyish aspects of his life and fit in better with his peers. He hurries through the process of getting dressed—choosing a neon-green T-shirt, cargo shorts, and scuffed Air Jordans—and hopes to avoid his mother, who has been acting strangely.

Downstairs, Ethan sees his mother crying on Ashley’s shoulder. Although his mother quickly composes herself and tries to mask her distress, the sight has a lasting impact on Ethan. Ashley, sensing Ethan’s discomfort, suggests he go outside to play while she stays with his mother. Ethan heads to the backyard and is quickly joined by Russ Chen; together, they walk over to Billy’s house. When Billy appears at his bedroom window, Ethan tosses him his baseball. Billy’s reaction to the ball is less enthusiastic than usual, and he’s distracted by Russ’s presence. The unspoken conversation between Ethan and Billy indicates that Billy isn’t thrilled about Russ tagging along but is willing to tolerate it.

Billy then announces that they will be going exploring in the woods, a plan that surprises Ethan, who expected to play in the yard. Ethan hesitates, knowing that his parents disapprove of him venturing into the woods, but he agrees to go along. Although Ethan is afraid of getting in trouble, he feels an odd need to agree with Billy’s plan because Billy’s behavior is different today; he’s unusually decisive and focused. As they head into the woods, Ethan feels a mix of curiosity and unease about what Billy has planned.

Back in the present, Ethan turns his attention to Google Maps, focusing on Hemlock Circle. He notes the circular layout of the neighborhood, with a small island of plants at its center surrounded by the street and the properties. The area is encircled by woods, which thin out near the Wallace house, giving way to a state road and another residential area. He then concentrates on the Hawthorne Institute, located in the overgrown area of the map. His research leads him to Ezra Hawthorne, the founder of the Institute, whose digital footprint is surprisingly minimal for someone of his wealth and age. Wikipedia provides limited information, noting that Ezra dabbled in the occult.

This intrigues Ethan, so he searches for more about the Hawthorne Institute. His search reveals little except for an ad promoting Hawthorne Farms—a mansion available for events—and a crime blotter entry from July 1992 reporting a noise complaint, possibly linked to a scream heard near the Institute. He also finds an entry about two teenage boys from the Hemlock Circle neighborhood, Johnny Chen and Ragesh Patel, who volunteered at the Institute.

This strikes Ethan as suspicious, and he concludes that to understand what happened to Billy, he needs to visit the Hawthorne Institute and investigate further. He is driven by the belief that Billy’s spirit needs him to uncover the truth and to honor his memory.

This flashback to the past is narrated from Ragesh Patel’s third-person perspective and finds him sitting on a log in the woods behind Johnny Chen’s house, holding a marijuana joint he’s kept for over a year. The joint, a gift from Johnny before his death, makes Ragesh feel connected to Johnny. He is reluctant to smoke it because holding onto the joint makes him feel that Johnny is still with him somehow.

He recalls a moment when Johnny, high on marijuana, kissed him—a memory that confused Ragesh and left him feeling uncertain about his own sexuality. The kiss and Johnny’s subsequent death have left Ragesh with unresolved feelings and guilt.

Just as Ragesh is about to light the joint, he hears voices approaching. Russ Chen, Billy Barringer, and Ethan Marsh appear in the woods. Ragesh hides the joint to avoid reminding Russ about Johnny’s drug use. Ashley Wallace arrives a few minutes later, and Ragesh decides to go exploring with them so he can spend time with Ashley. His attempt to flirt with Ashley falls flat as she rejects his invitation to a party. She is still angry about a past incident when she caught Ragesh peeping through her bedroom window as she undressed.

As they continue through the woods, Ragesh feels out of place and disillusioned. He notices how unfamiliar the forest seems, and as they reach a clearing, he realizes they are dangerously close to a road. The situation becomes tense when a car screeches to a halt, almost hitting Billy.