SOLVED. Middle Grade level Fantasy book about red headed siblings who encounter a pale and odd family in the woods in the middle of nowhere- Read around 2019-2022. [s]

[Chloe]

I read this book around 2019-2022 and I have since forgotten the title. Its genre would be fantasy, I think. [[[Major SPOILER to entire plot]] Two red-headed siblings, one a girl and one a boy, come across an old lady in the middle of a deserted road in the woods. I believe the woman said something to warn them and sent them deeper into the woods. They stumble across a very tall and lanky looking mansion surrounded by a well-kept garden. At some point, they meet the family living there. However, they are not any normal family as they are so pale and thin that they seem lifeless. If I remember correctly, there was a mother, a father, and possibly two children, around the red-headed kids' ages. They offer to house them if they work in assisting them around the house. The older red-head girl agrees and all seems fine for a while. But, the longer they stay, her little brother's hair slowly loses its color and fades to the same as the pale family's. The girl tries all she can to solve it. At night, there is a very tall man with a top hat in the garden, tending to it. The girl finds him ominous and he sends chills down her spine. At some point, the girl sneaks around the house to find a key and sticks it into what looks like a tree (but inside the house). After entering the 'room' and leaving, her hair is now fading. Then, the girl takes her brother and runs out of the house at night, wanting to escape because clearly something wasn't right. But the tall man in the garden chases after them and it is a freaky scene, stumbling/running away from the house into the woods. They are led by some sort of guiding light. Eventually, they find a village and tell someone about what happened. Unfortunately, that's all I can recall.

[Chloe]

Also, I don't recall any phones and the village was described as sort of medieval; using coal as an energy source and houses built of stone or brick as well as a blacksmith.

[Capn]

The description of the man reminds me of this cover for The Night Gardener:

"The Night Gardener follows two abandoned Irish siblings who travel to work as servants at a creepy, crumbling English manor house. But the house and its family are not quite what they seem. Soon the children are confronted by a mysterious spectre and an ancient curse that threatens their very lives."/

from Betsy's review:
Molly and Kip are driving a fish cart, pulled by a horse named Galileo, to their deaths. That’s what everyone’s been telling them anyway. Living without parents, Molly sees herself as her brother’s guardian and is intent upon finding a safe place for the both of them. When she’s hired to work as a servant at the mysterious Windsor estate she thinks the job might be too good to be true. Indeed, the place (located deep in something called “the sour woods”) is a decrepit old mansion falling apart at the seams. The locals avoid it and advise the kids to do so too. Things are even stranger inside. The people who live in the hollow home appear to be both pale and drawn. And it isn’t long before both Molly and Kip discover the mysterious night gardener, who enters the house unbidden every evening, tending to a tree that seems to have a life of its own. A tree that can grant you your heart’s desire if you would like. And all it wants in return? Nothing you’d ever miss. Just a piece of your soul.

[Chloe]

Yes! That's it! Thanks so much! I was having a lot of trouble remembering the name.

[Capn]

You're welcome! :) Sounds good, actually..!