The Friendly Ghost, Casper #111

When kind-hearted Papa Piper stages puppet shows featuring lifelike doppelgängers of forest dwellers like Wendy and Gnewton, mischief brews beneath the cheerful act. Wartley Warlock, plotting to turn the woods into a witch-only sanctuary, secretly uses the puppets to replace their real counterparts—leaving the forest eerily empty. As the Witch Sisters warn Wendy and Casper of the scheme, the ghost begins to piece together a chilling truth: the puppets aren’t just stage props, and the missing residents may not be lost at all.

When Wanda Witch, Gnelson Gnome, Slim, and Knobby vanish from the forest, the remaining friends launch a search—Casper goes it alone, stumbling upon the gates of Fairytale Kingdom. There, a soldier claims Papa Piper’s puppets have been imprisoned for theft, but the warlock insists dark magic is to blame. With a spark of inspiration, Casper sets out to uncover the truth behind the puppet’s plight.

In "The Tables Are Turned," Casper stumbles upon a cave filled with puppets, only to discover they’re actually real people trapped by magic. With help from Wendy’s aunts and a surprising twist involving Papa Piper, Casper races to undo the spell before the puppeteer’s true identity is revealed.