This stunning spoof melodrama relates the dramatic and scary tale of how the evil Count Karlstein strikes a bargain with the Demon Huntsman. The price of the bargain? His nieces, Lucy and Charlotte, who look as if they will be trapped forever. With his pack of howling hounds, the Demon Huntsman terrorises the villagers but luckily, all does not go smoothly and Count Karlstein is shown up as a fraud as comes to a satisfying bad end. ~ Julia Eccleshare
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The very first children's novel by Philip Pullman, Count Karlstien is a deliciously terrifying, wickedly funny adventure, beautifully illustrated by Peter Bailey. All Souls' Eve is a night when nobody in the village of Karlstein dares to leave their homes. For that is the night that Zamiel, the Demon Huntsman, prowls through the forests in search of his prey . . . This year, however, the Huntsman doesn't need to go searching. He knows exactly where to find his human prey. Ten years ago, he made a deal with the Count of Karlstein - and now the Demon Huntsman has come to collect his prize . . . Count Karlstien has offered up the lives of his two young nieces, Lucy and Charlotte. Lucky for the orphaned sisters, the Count's maid, Hildi, has heard his evil plan and is determined that they will not be this year's prey - not on her watch . . .