- The novel opens in October in Green Town and begins with of discussion of different months of the year, and their significance for young boys. September, says the narrator, is a bad month for boys, since that's when school begins. In October, on the other hand, excitement for Halloween starts building right around the twentieth of the month.
- We learn that one year Halloween came early – on October 24th, three hours after midnight. At exactly that time, James Nightshade was thirteen years, eleven months, and twenty-three days old. His next door neighbor, William Halloway, was thirteen years, eleven months, and twenty-four days old. Both boys lived on Oak Street.
- The two boys grew up overnight that week, the narrator claims.