"Barton Suggs has it rough. He only has one friend, Lizzie Hellman. The school bullies are out to get him--and nobody believes him about it. After Barton gets pranked again, he's had enough. So when Barton brings Slappy to life, he's thrilled to find a new friend that's willing to help him get revenge on the bullies"--Publisher marketing.

It's bad enough Ian Barker has to spend his twelfth birthday with his sister and their two annoying cousins. The four of them can't ever hang out without getting into trouble. Vinnie and Jonny always want to play with Ian's stuff. They take extra turns and break everything they touch. Even Ian's new birthday presents are up for grabs. But when Ian gets a Slappy dummy from his dad, things go from bad to worse.

"What do Maggie and Billy McGee do when they find an abandoned ventriloquist dummy in an empty lot? They take him home, of course! As the pair tries to figure out why someone would throw out a perfectly good dummy, they accidentally bring Slappy to life. A night of horror ensues until the siblings put Slappy back into his case. But when they find Slappy's diary and clues that could lead to gold, they'll have to find Slappy's second diary while evading...

When Sonny and Sam find a ventriloquist dummy labeled "Slappy" in an abandoned house and bring him home, the dummy comes to life, and soon begins using dark magic powers to make Halloween a living nightmare in town.