When the animals in the Monroe household see a picture of Bunnicula the rabbit on a poster for a magician, they jump to an alarming conclusion about vampire rabbits.
With everyone else sick in bed with a cold on Christmas eve, it is up to Madeline to run the school and she finds a remarkable helper in a rug-selling magician.
A young Englishman, just starting his career as a magician, is helped by some of the greatest magicians in history as they step out of posters of themselves to help him master the tricks and techniques of the trade.
Thirteen-year-old Nathaniel, aided by the famous magician Harry Houdini, plots to unmask a phony spirit advisor attempting to relieve the boy's great aunt of her fortune.