The only grown up protagonist in the book, Charles Halloway is Will's fifty-four year old father. In the beginning of the book he is kind, caring father but one who does not relate at all to his son because he believes that his age makes it impossible. Mr. Halloway believes himself to be old, and his belief makes him older than his years. Throughout the beginning of the book he is slow to act and wary of interfering too much with his son's life, something that he considers outside of his domain, as an old man, to step into. At the same time as all of this is occurring he feels an empathy for his son and his friend because he longs for the days of his youth when he ran free and happy. At a critical moment in the book he shows himself to be a man of action, surprising even himself. He protects the boys from Mr. Dark and the Witch with poise and daring. Charles Halloway realizes that things are changing, and that point is driven home when Mr. Dark comes that night, takes the boys, and crushes his left hand. He is left behind to be killed by the witch, but suddenly Mr. Halloway stops pretending to be an old man and starts acting like the youthful fifty-four year old that he feels himself to be. Finally comfortable with his life, he begins to take the initiative, driving off the Witch and then storming the carnival for the final showdown. It turns out that a fully confident and content Charles Halloway is more than a match for the forces of evil, and he manages to bring Will and Jim home safe and sound.

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