Chapter One

When October Williams moved from Philadelphia to New Salem, Maine, he never expected to be chased by the ghost of the Headless Paperboy.
At least not on his first day here.
He suddenly wished he'd never gotten the bright idea to go exploring on his bike before his mom finished cooking dinner.
But what else was there to do in a little town like this?
He never wanted to move to New Salem. He'd told his mom that over and over. Now, with the headless ghost pedaling after him, he knew more than ever he was right.
His legs pumped harder and he picked up speed. But the road leading out of town was rough, rocky, and full of ruts. His bike thumped and bounced, jarring his teeth and rattling his bones.
Dusk was invading the town. He'd lost track of time and his mother had told him to make sure he got back in half an hour, before it got dark. It was a strange town, after all, she had told him. He might get lost. This wasn't Philly where he knew every alley for blocks and played street hockey with his friends until after sundown.
Sweat trickled down his dark face. His breath staggered out in hot heavy gasps.
Closer!
He gripped the handlebars tighter, knuckles going white. He forced his legs to pedal harder. He didn't know for sure how close the headless ghost was, and he didn't dare look back to find out. He could hear the squeak-squeaking of pedals turning, turning, turning. Faster and faster.
It was catching up!
October felt the urge to scream but knew that wouldn't help. At least not much.
All around him dead leaves swirled, thrown up by his spinning tires. A damp, decayed odor hung in the air. Shadows stretched across the rutted road. To either side rose a forest of birch, oak and maple, their leaves splashed with blazing orange, red and yellow. Thick pines and spruce were tucked between them. Every so often a dirt trail led into the woods.
Mom should have never moved to this stupid town!
He had to convince her she'd made a mistake. A huge mistake. Maybe she would listen now, especially if she knew he had been chased by a headless ghost! Or maybe she would think he was crazy or making it up just so he could move back home and live near his dad. That's what she always thought.
That squeaking!
The ghost was catching up. Panic rose in his mind. What could he do? If it were Philly he could swerve into an alley...
That gave him an idea.
He saw a trail up ahead. It led into the forest. Where did it come out?
Take it!
The squeaking grew louder and he heard the clattering of loose wheels on the ghost's bike.
If he could hear that...
Closer!
He yanked the handlebars sharply right. His bike sailed onto the dirt path. It left the road and hit the hard-packed ground with a teeth-jarring thud and he almost lost control.
But he held on, breathing a sigh of relief. If he had fallen the ghost would have gotten him for sure.
The forest rose around him, gloomy and eerie in the fading daylight. Leaves crackled as he rode over them. Shadows lay in gloomy dark pools.
He strained his ears, trying to catch the sound of clacky wheels and squeaky pedals.
Nothing.
Maybe he had lost the ghost!
No way. A ghost wouldn't just give up, would it? And it had to be a ghost because any kid without a head couldn't be alive, could he?
He wasn't positive, because, well, he'd never seen a ghost before. He wouldn't have even believed they existed if it wasn't for the fact one was chasing him.
Why does he want you?
He shivered. That was obvious, wasn't it? The ghost didn't have a head. That's what he wanted: October's head.
He shivered again.
Gulping, he shot a glance backward.
A bleat of terror escaped his lips.
The ghost! It was right behind him! Thumping and thudding right along over the rough trail. How could it have caught up to him so fast on such an old bike? The thing was all rusty and looked at least twenty years old, with one of those weird banana seats made out of sparkling blue plastic, and flaring upraised handlebars.
He gasped, shuddering as he got his first clear look at the ghost. It wore a dirty New Salem School jacket that hung open in the front, worn jeans, and old blue sneakers. October spotted a dirty T-shirt stained with blood at the collar where the neck should have been. Except there was no neck.
And no head! Just a bony jutting stump.
The spook suddenly drew back an arm and hurled something. It sailed towards October, twirling and fluttering in the air, bursting into flames! It shrieked past him, just missing his head.
He swiveled his head forward and saw what it was. A burning bundled paper!
As his eyes widened in shock, the paper exploded in a spray of sparks, vanishing.
October had no time to think about it.
The front wheel of his bike hit a bulging root that lay across the trail and suddenly he and the bike were airborne.
He struggled with all his strength to hold the handlebars steady and keep from flying off the bike. His heart thumped like a basketball being dribbled in his chest.
I'm gonna crash!
The bike hit the trail hard. The front end skidded right, left, right again. Every bone in his body rattled with the impact, but somehow he managed to hold onto his balance and keep the bike arrowing forward.
Ahead the trail widened. With a burst of relief he saw it led back to the old road. He pumped the pedals as hard as he could, out of breath, panting. But he couldn't let up. If he did...
He'd grown kind of attached to his head. He didn't want to give it up.
October jerked up on the handlebars and the front end lifted to meet the pavement. The bike landed lighter this time and his speed increased as he hit the blacktop.
The bridge.
It lay only a few dozen yards ahead of him. This was the bridge leading into New Salem. If he could just make it across that he'd be in town. Surely the ghost wouldn't follow him there.
Would it?
He didn't dare look back to find out. He hit the bridge at full speed.
It was an old, wide wooden bridge and the boards thumped beneath his tires. He whizzed across it in record time and didn't stop pedaling until he reached an alley on the waterfront--most of New Salem was waterfront--and swerved into it.
He leaped from his bike, letting it clatter to the ground. He pressed himself against the brick wall of a building, not bothering to look into the gloom and shadows behind him. Instead, he concentrated on peeking around the corner to see if the ghost had followed.
The street was empty.
"Yes!" he almost shouted, balling his fist and shaking it. He'd escaped! He'd escaped the Headless Paperboy!
Slumping against the wall, he rested, panting, sweat streaming down his dark face. He knew he had just come closer to losing his head than he ever wanted to again.
His heart began to slow.
A buoy clanged in the distance and he shivered.
Waves sloshed against the docks across the street.
Then a hand touched his shoulder!