Small Spaces

The children head off in the direction of the farmhouse but have to cross a rotting footbridge first. Ollie stops halfway across because she has become afraid of heights ever since her mother’s plane crash. Coco comes back to help her the rest of the way. When they reach the vegetable garden in the yard, Brian recognizes one of the scarecrows. It’s his friend Phil. He says that the smiling man has turned all their classmates into scarecrows.

Coco and Ollie insist that they will find a way to fix Phil and everybody else. Ollie’s watch now says, “HOUSE.” She concludes the answers they seek are inside. First, they must cross the yard, which is full of scarecrows. The trio now recognizes the clothing of many of the straw people. These are their classmates transformed.

Linda Webster’s farmhouse in the shadow world looks run-down and eerie. Ollie’s watch now reads “UP.” Taking the hint, she goes upstairs while the other two try to light a fire in the kitchen to keep warm. In an upstairs bedroom, Ollie encounters Beth’s ghost. She looks skeletal and frightening but means Ollie no harm. Beth explains, “The cornfield is the doorway […].