Skip to content
The Ghost of Halloween
Buy

A Halloween picture book

Aedan O’Lantern and the Ghost of Halloween

Aedan and a friendly ghost save the Halloween festival – and that is how the very first jack-o’-lanterns come to be. For reading aloud and giving as a gift.

  • German and English
  • Hardcover
  • 58 pages
Buy the e-book

For nurseries, schools and libraries: request a reading

First reading on 10 October 2026 at the Ingeborg-Drewitz-Bibliothek in Berlin-Steglitz – with The American Women’s Club Berlin.

The hardcover book: Aedan with red curls and a ghost with a pumpkin head in front of a big moon, next to it the open book (book page with English text)

Readings

A reading for your group

Read aloud by Tilman Gündchen or by Jacqueline Kusche – wherever people listen together:

  • Nurseries
  • Schools
  • Libraries
  • Family celebrations

First reading

Read aloud for the first time

The first reading from the book took place on 10 October 2026 – at the Ingeborg-Drewitz-Bibliothek in Berlin-Steglitz, together with The American Women’s Club Berlin.

Would you like the story to be read aloud for your group too?

Request a reading

No obligation – your request goes directly to Tilman Gündchen.

The idea behind the book

Where the jack-o’-lantern comes from

Why do pumpkins glow at Halloween and why do we even carve them? This book gives you the answer – in the form of a turnip, a wish and a friendly ghost.

  1. A carved turnip with a face among autumn leaves, illustration by Alida Akers

    The turnip

    Aedan is the youngest of the O’Lantern family. Alone in the barn he carves turnips – and he is a true master at it.

  2. Hollow Hallow appears: a glowing head with two sparkling ears of wheat, illustration by Alida Akers

    The wish

    Aedan wishes for help. A turnip floats into the air, and Hollow Hallow appears, the friendly Ghost of Halloween.

  3. A ghost with a carved pumpkin for a head, illustration by Alida Akers

    The pumpkins

    Back in the barn, ghosts cut the pumpkins open and burn funny, spooky faces into them. That is how the first jack-o’-lanterns come to be.

  4. A jack-o’-lantern among autumn leaves and goldenrod, illustration by Alida Akers

    The festival

    On the market square every family receives a glowing pumpkin. In the book this happens in the year 1866 – and since that night, as the back cover says, pumpkins have been carved every October.

Front endpaper of the book: a field full of orange and yellow pumpkins under a blue sky, white turnips in between, two turnip lanterns with carved faces at the edge. Back endpaper of the book: the same pumpkin field, now the pumpkins have carved, laughing faces.
At the front of the book: the pumpkin field. At the back of the book: the same pumpkins with faces.

This is the magical story of how the very first pumpkin Jack O’Lanterns were born in the year 1866.

With the help of a little boy’s wish and the friendly Ghost of Halloween „Hollow Hallow“ a town’s Halloween was saved, and the holiday was forever changed.

Since that special night, people carve pumpkins every October to bring light, warmth, and joy into the crisp autumn nights.

From the back cover of the book

A look inside

Three spreads to browse

Painted by Alida Akers, written by Tilman Gündchen. The pages shown here are from the English edition.

Spread from the book: on the market square of a small town, people in old-fashioned clothes decorate the stalls with wreaths and autumn leaves, a man pushes a cart, a string of orange and black bunting hangs above the square. (Book page with English text)
The market square is decorated for the festival.
Spread from the book: Aedan with red curls stands beaming at a wooden table full of carved turnips with faces, next to it a basket of more turnips; the text of the page on the left. (Book page with English text)
Aedan stays behind on his own and carves turnips.
Spread from the book: in the barn a large glowing head with a broad grin and two sparkling feelers floats above the turnips – Hollow Hallow, the Ghost of Halloween; the text of the page on the left. (Book page with English text)
Hollow Hallow, the Ghost of Halloween, appears.

The team

The people behind the book

Words, pictures and design – three people made this book.

Tilman GündchenThe author
Tilman Gündchen wearing round glasses and a patterned knitted poncho in front of green leaves

The idea for my character “Hollow Hallow” came to me in 2013, during my voluntary cultural year in a kindergarten. Since then I have worked on establishing my character as “the Ghost of Halloween”. I researched a great deal about Halloween and wrote the story around my ghost.

Everything I have done since then has served this one purpose – and now the time has finally come. Enjoy!

Alida AkersThe illustrator

I met Alida in 2018: I wanted to illustrate something for someone and googled Halloween illustrations. That is how I came across her pictures and fell in love with her style straight away.

We have been in touch ever since – and now, after all these years, we have finally finished the book together. Her pictures speak for themselves, so I will say no more.

Leïla MarchalThe book designer

Leïla and I have known each other since 2014: we went to the same school, where she was one year below me. That is where we both learned and internalised the same way of working – which is why we work so well together and why I chose her.

I first noticed it in 2021, when she adapted my tattoo design together with me and then tattooed it on me. So my trust in her quite literally goes under the skin. In 2023 I helped her organise her OpdaKopp festival and run its social media, and two years later, in 2025, she became the designer of my children’s book.

Working together, the three of us are like flames held together: the result is not simply the sum of our work, but a brighter, bigger fire.

The name Aedan means “born of fire” – and that is exactly what our book is. We hope you can feel our shared warmth when you read it.

For home

Buy the e-book

Aedan O’Lantern and the Ghost of Halloween

Cover of the book: Aedan in a yellow jacket waves in front of a big full moon between gnarled trees, next to him a friendly ghost with a laughing pumpkin head. (Book cover with English title)
Edition
E-book (EPUB) with fixed page layout
Language
German or English – one edition each
Reading
tablet or phone, e.g. Apple Books
File size
about 115 MB
Copy protection
none
Delivery
Download link by email

The book is available as an e-book in German and in English. Payment is handled by Digistore24, and the download link arrives by email right afterwards.

Contact

Request a reading

Briefly describe the institution or occasion you would like a reading for. Questions about the book and press enquiries can be sent through the same form.

  1. You send your request – “Request a reading” is already selected.
  2. You receive a confirmation by email with your topic and your message.
  3. Tilman Gündchen replies.

Or by email directly:tilman@theghostofhalloween.com

Your topic

For a reading it helps to know: institution or occasion, place and preferred date.

Your details are only used to answer your request – no advertising, no sharing. More in the privacy policy (in German).