Dash and his crew might have found the source of the evil at Black Sand Beach in the haunted lighthouse. But at the end of Book 1, Lily reveals that she found Dash's journal in the lighthouse. It describes Dash's trip to Black Sand Beach the previous summer, only Dash doesn't recognize the journal or have any memory of being there.

The main story shows the kids reading the journal out loud, as we see flashbacks of Dash's terrifying encounter with two ghost girls, one truly terrifying monster, and a life changing event for Dash.

The two interstitial stories are about the creepy Molchuk neighbors, and a Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf-like story about the parents going crazy on each other.