A group of eight boys set out to go trick-or-treating on Halloween, only to discover that a ninth friend, Pipkin, has been whisked away on a journey that could determine whether he lives or dies.

Along the way, they learn the origins of the holiday that they celebrate, and the role that the fear of death, ghosts, and the haunts has played in shaping civilization.

The Halloween Tree itself, with its many branches laden with jack-o'-lanterns, serves as a metaphor for the historical confluence of these traditions.

Bradbury later wrote and narrated Hanna-Barbera's 1993 feature-length animated version of the novel for television, for which he won an Emmy Award.

A longer 2005 limited-edition "author's preferred text" of the novel was compiled and edited by Donn Albright.