Hal and his family have just moved to the country . . . and it's taking a bit of getting used to. For a start, there are the rumours of a werewolf roaming the common. Then there are the Stittles, an eccentric, mischievous family who prove hard to avoid. But it's when Hal's sister Ellie starts disappearing at night that Hal really starts to worry.

Afraid of the dark for as long as he can remember, it takes all Hal's courage to follow Ellie. When finally he makes it out on to the common, Ellie introduces him to a badger set. Then, one night, Ellie and Grandma discover that they're not the only ones interested in the badgers. But with the help of Hal and the Stittles, they may just be able to bring the badger baiters to justice . . .

This book was recognised in the Mind Boggling category by the Wh Smith Book Award.

This book is part of a book series called Hodder Silver .

There are 256 pages in this book. This book was published 2001 by Hachette Children's Group .

Maggie Pearson's first novel, Owl Light, was shortlisted for the WH Smith Mind-boggling Book Award, and Shadow of the Beast was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.