Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Halloween Store, and Other Tales of All Hallows' Eve by Ronald Kelly

3 reviews

ilaxaria's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

connorjdaley's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.0

Another collection I grabbed for my Spooky Season based off the cover alone. So eerie and weird. 

My favorite story is ‘The Halloween Store’. It reads kind of like a more horrific ‘Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask’. A group of friends save up for these vintage boxed Halloween costumes. Needless to say, they get them, and things go a little sideways. A witch, a vampire, a werewolf, and a mummy. What’s the worst that could happen? 

The runner up is definitely ‘Pretty Little Lanterns‘. A string of heads-turned jack-o-lanterns turn this town’s holiday season upside down. I found this one to be particularly gruesome. The description of how the heads are carved out was definitely a terrifying read. And the twist identity reveal?? This was a fun one. 

The other stories range from silly, spooky, and downright scary. This was a fun collection, I would read more by this author for sure. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

errantdreams's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This is a collection of seven stories (plus an essay). As you might guess from the title, they all have to do with Halloween in one way or another.


My favorite story in here is “The Halloween Store,” the first entry in this book. It’s another variation on the curiosity shop trope, but it has several developments that make it much more than that. I admit the other trope in here (three boys plus one girl who is a tomboy) is getting a little shopworn, but it isn’t a big deal.


“Mister Mack is Back in Town” is a very odd tale that has less to do with Halloween. Kyle’s daughter Rebecca and her friend Hannah have gone missing, and this is something that’s happened before in the town’s history. This one has a very different feel from the rest of the book, as much sci-fi as horror.


“Blood Suede Shoes” is kind of well-worn modern folklore, but what it lacks is what makes it better–I’d expect this sort of story to have sexual violence in it, and it doesn’t.


“Clown Treats” follows several teens as they trick-or-treat, and they get some very unexpected treats from a drunk clown. (You can see the genesis of this story if you read the author’s essay at the end.)


In “The Cistern,” Jud Simmons decides to pay a visit to his old hometown. He ends up offering to take a kid, Calvin, to the festival, and has a wonderful day riding the rides and chowing down on fair food. But this is a horror collection, so you know it can’t be that simple.


“Pretty Little Lanterns” sees Sheriff Jonah Townshend trying to catch a serial killer who likes to strike around Halloween and leave the skulls of his victims lit with candles (much like a jack-o-lantern). Nosy, gossipy Miss Gladys, the town librarian, thinks she’s figured out who the culprit is, but the Sheriff has little reason to believe her.


“The Amazing and Totally Awesome Fright Creature” pulls on those old advertisements you used to find in comic books, advertising things you could send away for. Aaron and his friend Ricky send away for the “Amazing and Totally Awesome Fright Creature!” When a tiny little salamander arrives, they think they’ve been had. Yeah, not so much! The end of this one actually left me laughing (in a good way).


This isn’t a stunning anthology, but if you’re looking for a bit of Halloween horror fun, it’s worth it!


Content note: a light hand with the gore and one single instance of animal death are really all you have to worry about. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings