GHOST LIGHT

Putting on a fraught play about a town’s past might be the curtain call for the residents of Castle Hill.

This third series entry jumps right in where Jasmine Warga’s The Claiming (2026) concluded. The trio consisting of siblings Lila and Caleb Clement and their friend Teddy Hamad, who call themselves the Trionic, once again team up with ghost kid Rosteen to take on the diabolical—and deadly—Fire Maiden. As the town readies itself for the Founder’s Day celebration, kids and adults alike are preparing a play at the Capitol Theater about the town’s divisive history. As the participants begin to have nightmares, the Trionic know the Fire Maiden is back. Following a trail of clues, Lila and Rosteen make the perilous decision to travel via portal to collect relics that may be the key to finally stopping her. They must enlist the help of the murderous specter Blight Howler, but can they trust him? Farizan’s entry sustains the series’ smart characterizations, exploration of weighty subjects, and suspenseful horror, incorporating a clever AR dimension. Though chills abound, grief and loss are at the heart of this tale, giving it a layer of emotional depth. New readers should begin with the earlier volumes; while a recap is provided, the sheer number of names may prove overwhelming without context. Teddy has Jordanian heritage, and the first entry indicated that the Clements are Filipino and white.

A well-wrought genre-bender that’s both spine-tingling and heartwarming.