Delilah and the dark stuff - Susan Davis

After bad experiences with ghosts (The Henry Game) Abigail and Lauren have given up dabbling in dark magic and life in dull old Northgate has returned to normal. Then new-girl, Delilah Lane introduces herself as a witch in A-level English class and things start to get interesting. When Delilah promises she can clear up Lauren's eczema and spice up Abbie's love life the girls are easily drawn into her world of witchcraft. The rituals seem to work and soon Delilah's gorgeous older brother Joel is head over heels in love with Abbie. However not everyone approves of the girls activities. Delilah's step-father, 'The Loathsome Verne' is enraged by Delilah's behaviour. But worse still is Delilah's ghostly stalker; a gaunt dark figure who materializes at rituals. The girls identify this terrifying presence as Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General. When the Witchfinder turns up on her doorstep it's the last straw for Abbie and she decides the magic has to stop, even though it means giving up the gorgeous Joel. It's almost a relief therefore, when Verne whisks Delilah and her mother off to darkest Shropshire to live. But then a letter arrives from Delilah summoning Abbie and Lauren to the countryside for Christmas. What the girls' don't know is that Delilah is now resorting to 'The Dark Stuff', brewing the ultimate spell to banish the Loathsome Verne for good. But the Witchfinder General is watching and the girl's are about to find themselves in very deep water-