eggp's review against another edition
3.0
Overdone parties
drunken dads, kids tripping balls
some light shock torture.
drunken dads, kids tripping balls
some light shock torture.
mommarex1221's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
A creepy collection of Halloween themed short stories. I love collections like this for holiday reads and this one did not disappoint. Short stories just speak differently to me and I'm all for the open endings they offer. Put this on your list for next year!
jessejane306's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
brittaniethekid's review against another edition
3.0
These stories all center around Halloween, as the title suggests, but while most have horror elements, not all are scary. I was hoping for a lot more supernatural or scary stories. As with a lot of short stories, I found too many to have open endings or just unsatisfying overall. It's a decent collection and some of the stories are definitely worth your time but I had a hard time reading cover to cover.
erinxmegan's review against another edition
3.0
* anthology of 14 stories
* Story one: A Plague of Monsters- This is about a man who encounters monsters at his doorstep trick or treating, it seems they’ve take over the town.
* Story two: The Rye Mother- David doesn’t celebrate due to his parents religion. However, he has an inexplicable feeling drawing him to a corn maze on Halloween.
* Story three: The Day of the Dead- Two co-workers head to their bar of choice that is holding a day of the dead special. If you show up dressed as a skeleton you get half off drinks. But what happens if you don’t dress up?
*Story four: Rusty Husk- Rusty makes scarecrows every year for Halloween. He goes all out making them creepy and lifelike. On the last Halloween that he’s decided he’s done making scarecrows, he has a very surprising visit.
* Story five: Adam’s Bed- Ronnie, Adams dad, is planning a crazy cool birthday party for Adam. Because his 5th birthday is the same day as Halloween. After the party has started, they get an unexpected guest claiming to be the monster under Adams bed.
* Story six: Keeping Up Appearances -A group of home invaders decide to dress up in masks and hit all these super rich homes. Since it’s Halloween no one would suspect a masked person at the door. However, the 4th and final house they visit, turns out to be the wrong one.
* Story seven: Vigil- This is about a neighborhood that is turned upside down when multiple bodies are found buried in the backyard of one of the houses.
* Story eight: Mr. Impossible- Two friends are heading to a friends house for Halloween, when they notice that the children out that night are acting very oddly.
* Story nine: Between- Yolanda decides to perform a ritual where she takes mushrooms during Halloween/dia de los muertos when the barrier between the living and the dead is the thinnest. She wants to ask her mother and father what she should do with her life.
* Story ten: The Friendly Man- The friendly man loves Halloween scaring children. He makes the most elaborate decorations, you’d think they were almost real.
* Story eleven: Many Carvings- Alastar is watching his baby brother when his mother receives a letter from her other son saying that the plague is upon them and people are getting sick.
* Story twelve: Trick Em All- Travis gets into a fight with his parents on Halloween night. He goes up to his room and ferociously carves a pumpkin with all his rage, then the pumpkin starts talking.
* Story thirteen: Offerings- Blaine notices Amelia gets mocked and stared at in the neighborhood. She invites her and her three kids over for a Halloween party at her house and Amelia is more than happy to show up and abandon her 3 kids.
* Story fourteen: Masks- This is about a husband and wife who go to a Halloween party, but end up discussing their daughters recent behavior that is leaving them concerned.
* This book has me feeling very mixed.
* When I first started this book I was super into it. The stories were creepy and intriguing.
* However, I hit a point where the stories just got weird. Not scary or spooky just odd
* It’s like some of these stories are half finished. Someone just got cut off while writing it. Some of the endings are just abrupt. Some of them could have 20+ more pages added to it.
* I just found the stories to be very hit or miss. I will say that they are all very unique though.
* I would give it
* Story one: A Plague of Monsters- This is about a man who encounters monsters at his doorstep trick or treating, it seems they’ve take over the town.
* Story two: The Rye Mother- David doesn’t celebrate due to his parents religion. However, he has an inexplicable feeling drawing him to a corn maze on Halloween.
* Story three: The Day of the Dead- Two co-workers head to their bar of choice that is holding a day of the dead special. If you show up dressed as a skeleton you get half off drinks. But what happens if you don’t dress up?
*Story four: Rusty Husk- Rusty makes scarecrows every year for Halloween. He goes all out making them creepy and lifelike. On the last Halloween that he’s decided he’s done making scarecrows, he has a very surprising visit.
* Story five: Adam’s Bed- Ronnie, Adams dad, is planning a crazy cool birthday party for Adam. Because his 5th birthday is the same day as Halloween. After the party has started, they get an unexpected guest claiming to be the monster under Adams bed.
* Story six: Keeping Up Appearances -A group of home invaders decide to dress up in masks and hit all these super rich homes. Since it’s Halloween no one would suspect a masked person at the door. However, the 4th and final house they visit, turns out to be the wrong one.
* Story seven: Vigil- This is about a neighborhood that is turned upside down when multiple bodies are found buried in the backyard of one of the houses.
* Story eight: Mr. Impossible- Two friends are heading to a friends house for Halloween, when they notice that the children out that night are acting very oddly.
* Story nine: Between- Yolanda decides to perform a ritual where she takes mushrooms during Halloween/dia de los muertos when the barrier between the living and the dead is the thinnest. She wants to ask her mother and father what she should do with her life.
* Story ten: The Friendly Man- The friendly man loves Halloween scaring children. He makes the most elaborate decorations, you’d think they were almost real.
* Story eleven: Many Carvings- Alastar is watching his baby brother when his mother receives a letter from her other son saying that the plague is upon them and people are getting sick.
* Story twelve: Trick Em All- Travis gets into a fight with his parents on Halloween night. He goes up to his room and ferociously carves a pumpkin with all his rage, then the pumpkin starts talking.
* Story thirteen: Offerings- Blaine notices Amelia gets mocked and stared at in the neighborhood. She invites her and her three kids over for a Halloween party at her house and Amelia is more than happy to show up and abandon her 3 kids.
* Story fourteen: Masks- This is about a husband and wife who go to a Halloween party, but end up discussing their daughters recent behavior that is leaving them concerned.
* This book has me feeling very mixed.
* When I first started this book I was super into it. The stories were creepy and intriguing.
* However, I hit a point where the stories just got weird. Not scary or spooky just odd
* It’s like some of these stories are half finished. Someone just got cut off while writing it. Some of the endings are just abrupt. Some of them could have 20+ more pages added to it.
* I just found the stories to be very hit or miss. I will say that they are all very unique though.
* I would give it
rachellemarie's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this Halloween collection of horror! While all the stories are great in their own way, the standouts for me were; A Plague of Monsters it had a classic horror feel to it and I loved the ending & Malerman's story Adam's Bed was super creepy playing on the age old fear of what may be lurking just beneath us late at night! BUT .. The Friendly Man & Rusty Husk were the most gruesome both are vividly written and these characters were pretty brutal.
howlinglibraries's review against another edition
5.0
October 9, 2019: SALE ALERT! $0.99 on the Kindle store! This is one of my favorite horror collections of all time and there's no better time to read it than right now!
Like most horror fans, it should come as no surprise when I say that Halloween is positively one of my favorite days of the year. It has so much to offer, and given that October is general is my favorite month, Halloween is always the icing on top of the cake of excellence that is October. That said, there’s a shockingly low amount of actual Halloween representation in most of the horror books I read, so when I heard about this anthology full of horror stories taking place on Halloween, I didn’t hesitate.
Candy and costumes were all well and good, but Halloween was about that breach between the worlds and the magic which poured in.
—Curtis M. Lawson
Let me tell you, this anthology is one of the most fun horror collections I’ve ever read. True to its claim, each story very heavily focuses on Halloween—many of them including costume parties or trick-or-treating as a prominent feature—and this was one of those rare anthologies where I can say I genuinely loved almost every single story. There were two stories in particular that didn’t jive with me as well, but even they were still worth a read!
I’m not going to give a full breakdown for this anthology because many of the stories are hard to describe without spoiling (as is often the case in horror shorts), but I would like to tell you a little about my favorites from the collection:
→ A Plague of Monsters—Charles Gramlich
blreed's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Spookytime short stories!
The tales included here run the gamut from spooky fantasy to no-holds-barred gore. While every story won't be for everyone, this collection definitely offers something for every horror reader. Kind of like a trick-or-treat haul: You might not like the licorice, but there's plenty of chocolate in the bag, too. Hell, some of these are so good they're full-sized bars.
Here are my favorites:
"The Rye-Mother" by Curtis M. Lawson
A Halloween changeling story? You can't strike any closer to my heart or my literary interests than this. Immediate seasonal classic for me, right up there with The Halloween Tree and The Graveyard Book.
"Rusty Husk" by Evans Light
Engages the senses in the beautiful-but-terrible way good horror should. Reading this gave me the same shivery, creeped-out kind of fear that I felt reading scary stories as a kid. And that assonance!
"Between" by Ian Welke
Beautiful, atmospheric, dark urban fantasy steeped in Los Angeles. I've never been there, but I found the theme of change almost uncannily relatable in light of when I read this story.
"Many Carvings" by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola
A vaguely historical, fantasy-tinged tale that went in a wildly different direction than I thought it would. It's fun to still see an evil witch crop up from time to time.
"Offerings" by Joanna Koch
The thought of suddenly becoming the caretaker of three demonic children? Panic-inducing.
"Masks" by Lisa Lepovetsky
Lepovetsky masterfully builds suspense in a way that kept me reading just to find out what was going on, which slyly mimics the Halloween party at which the story is set. It, too, culminates in a final unmasking. I love when the macabre and attention to form meld so well.
The tales included here run the gamut from spooky fantasy to no-holds-barred gore. While every story won't be for everyone, this collection definitely offers something for every horror reader. Kind of like a trick-or-treat haul: You might not like the licorice, but there's plenty of chocolate in the bag, too. Hell, some of these are so good they're full-sized bars.
Here are my favorites:
"The Rye-Mother" by Curtis M. Lawson
A Halloween changeling story? You can't strike any closer to my heart or my literary interests than this. Immediate seasonal classic for me, right up there with The Halloween Tree and The Graveyard Book.
"Rusty Husk" by Evans Light
Engages the senses in the beautiful-but-terrible way good horror should. Reading this gave me the same shivery, creeped-out kind of fear that I felt reading scary stories as a kid. And that assonance!
"Between" by Ian Welke
Beautiful, atmospheric, dark urban fantasy steeped in Los Angeles. I've never been there, but I found the theme of change almost uncannily relatable in light of when I read this story.
"Many Carvings" by Sean Eads and Joshua Viola
A vaguely historical, fantasy-tinged tale that went in a wildly different direction than I thought it would. It's fun to still see an evil witch crop up from time to time.
"Offerings" by Joanna Koch
The thought of suddenly becoming the caretaker of three demonic children? Panic-inducing.
"Masks" by Lisa Lepovetsky
Lepovetsky masterfully builds suspense in a way that kept me reading just to find out what was going on, which slyly mimics the Halloween party at which the story is set. It, too, culminates in a final unmasking. I love when the macabre and attention to form meld so well.
wellwortharead's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover. Look at this gorgeous work of art. This anthology contains more treats than tricks, so step away from the Halloween candy, and put this in your goody bag because horror can taste as sweet without packing on the pounds. Among my favorite treats were The Rye Mother by Curtis M. Lawson about a young boy who longs to experience a Halloween that is forbidden by his Jehovah's Witness upbringing.
Rusty Husk by Evans Light is a deliciously disturbing tale about a man who makes the most lifelike scarecrows anyone has ever seen. Adam's Bed by Josh Malerman finds us in the midst of a birthday party for little Adam who was born on Halloween. What could be better than having his drunken lothario of a dad in charge of the celebration? Keeping Up Appearances by Jason Parent takes us along on a crime spree gone wrong as a small band of criminals use the cover of Halloween to rob the wealthiest looking homes. There is a dark neighborhood secret kept in
Vigil by Chad Lutzke.
Trick 'Em All by Adam Light is a splattery gore soaked tale that begins when an angry 16 year old is relegated the lowly task of staying home to hand out candy.
As much as I love short horror stories it's always a bit difficult for me to review them without giving too much away. That is why I have just touched briefly on my absolute favorites. The whole collection is delightfully gruesome.
5 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy for review.
Rusty Husk by Evans Light is a deliciously disturbing tale about a man who makes the most lifelike scarecrows anyone has ever seen. Adam's Bed by Josh Malerman finds us in the midst of a birthday party for little Adam who was born on Halloween. What could be better than having his drunken lothario of a dad in charge of the celebration? Keeping Up Appearances by Jason Parent takes us along on a crime spree gone wrong as a small band of criminals use the cover of Halloween to rob the wealthiest looking homes. There is a dark neighborhood secret kept in
Vigil by Chad Lutzke.
Trick 'Em All by Adam Light is a splattery gore soaked tale that begins when an angry 16 year old is relegated the lowly task of staying home to hand out candy.
As much as I love short horror stories it's always a bit difficult for me to review them without giving too much away. That is why I have just touched briefly on my absolute favorites. The whole collection is delightfully gruesome.
5 out of 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy for review.