When Malcolm gets a school assignment to write a research report on a long-dead local hero who wrote a book about his adventure-packed life, he is shocked to meet the author's ghost, who reveals that he was a fake.

When forced on a camp-out with their fathers, ten-year-olds Malcolm and Dandy seek the smelly ghost of notorious outlaw Wild Willy Wallace, who is believed to haunt his old hideout at Lake Itchyburr.

Ten-year-olds Malcolm and Dandy think their ghost-hunting days are over when they start fifth grade with the toughest teacher in their school, but Malcolm's photographs for the yearbook reveal that the school is haunted.