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maryehavens's review
4.0
Just about every story in this book is a good one, including the Halloween memories (although, if I had a drink every time they said "burnt cork", "hobo", or reminisced about perfect childhood Halloweens before disturbed individuals put razor blades in apples, I would be in an alcoholic coma). There were just a few times that I felt like skimming the stories, mostly the origin of Halloween or the Halloween reading list (the list contained mostly mediocre works). A few times the authors came off as too smarmy. If you ever want a work to be timeless, don't belittle your audience because they don't know or remember Rod Serling by "Rod" alone. Jerk.
My favorites include "The Whitby Experience" by Simon Clark, "Yesterday's Witch" by Gahan Wilson, "Heavy Set" by Ray Bradbury, "Pay the Ghost" by Tom Lebbon, and "Pork Pie Hat" by Peter Straub although it could have gone on a 10-15 page diet. Several writers included some epic "Favorite Halloween Memories" and my favorites included Jack Cady, Yvonne Navarro, and Owl Goingback.
If you love Halloween, check out this anthology! I'm looking forward to passing it on to my friends who enjoy taking a walk on the dark side.
My favorites include "The Whitby Experience" by Simon Clark, "Yesterday's Witch" by Gahan Wilson, "Heavy Set" by Ray Bradbury, "Pay the Ghost" by Tom Lebbon, and "Pork Pie Hat" by Peter Straub although it could have gone on a 10-15 page diet. Several writers included some epic "Favorite Halloween Memories" and my favorites included Jack Cady, Yvonne Navarro, and Owl Goingback.
If you love Halloween, check out this anthology! I'm looking forward to passing it on to my friends who enjoy taking a walk on the dark side.
mjtucker's review
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
slitherhither's review
4.0
Some good, some not so good, but I could never hate on a Halloween anthology. The reminiscence of childhood Halloween was my favorite parts of the book.
leasa's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
meowmeowfood's review
1.0
Would give it half a star if I could.
This book was not worth the time, but because I am a completionist, I ended up finishing it and reading cover-to-cover. The "My Favorite Halloween Memories" stories were some of the most boring things I've ever read and all ended up following the same theme: Halloween was cooler when I was a kid, it's ruined now by PC culture or overly concerned parents or too many store bought/Pokémon costumes. One of the stories was legitimately just the author summarizing her diary entries from the 31st of each year, and yes, it would be along the lines of "Hung out with -name drop, name drop, name drop -. Ate a lot of chili." Mind-numbingly dull filled with a lot of "my Boomer generation is better than your generation" sentimentality.
The short stories themselves were typically unremarkable, boring or confusing/poorly written. None of them really held your interest or even kept me moderately spooked for more than a second or two. All of the "twists" were extremely predictable, there wasn't a single one that you couldn't see coming from a mile away. If these are the best, I can't imagine the stories that didn't make the cut.
The pinnacle of this whole shitstorm of a book was the overtly anti-choice propaganda story about a doctor who performs abortions being targeted by the "children" he "killed." It was like reading a 40 Days for Life pamphlet and just as cringeworthy/full of dogma. I honestly cannot believe it was included because of how heavy handed the whole thing was. The inclusion of this story makes me suspect of all the authors included in the anthology if they were okay having their story in a book with this one. It even ended with a reference to the debunked "documentary" Silent Scream.
Reader, beware: there is no scare, just eyerolling and tedium. Avoid this book.
This book was not worth the time, but because I am a completionist, I ended up finishing it and reading cover-to-cover. The "My Favorite Halloween Memories" stories were some of the most boring things I've ever read and all ended up following the same theme: Halloween was cooler when I was a kid, it's ruined now by PC culture or overly concerned parents or too many store bought/Pokémon costumes. One of the stories was legitimately just the author summarizing her diary entries from the 31st of each year, and yes, it would be along the lines of "Hung out with -name drop, name drop, name drop -. Ate a lot of chili." Mind-numbingly dull filled with a lot of "my Boomer generation is better than your generation" sentimentality.
The short stories themselves were typically unremarkable, boring or confusing/poorly written. None of them really held your interest or even kept me moderately spooked for more than a second or two. All of the "twists" were extremely predictable, there wasn't a single one that you couldn't see coming from a mile away. If these are the best, I can't imagine the stories that didn't make the cut.
The pinnacle of this whole shitstorm of a book was the overtly anti-choice propaganda story about a doctor who performs abortions being targeted by the "children" he "killed." It was like reading a 40 Days for Life pamphlet and just as cringeworthy/full of dogma. I honestly cannot believe it was included because of how heavy handed the whole thing was. The inclusion of this story makes me suspect of all the authors included in the anthology if they were okay having their story in a book with this one. It even ended with a reference to the debunked "documentary" Silent Scream.
Reader, beware: there is no scare, just eyerolling and tedium. Avoid this book.
crowyhead's review
3.0
This is a nicely atmospheric, if uneven, collection of Halloween-themed stories. There are some classics here, like "Heavy Set" by Ray Bradbury, and a lot of stories I hadn't read before. I think one of the reasons I ended up not being particularly thrilled with the collection is that it's HUGE and after a while the themes start to get really repetitive. I also was not a big fan of the "My Favorite Halloween Memory" sections, which were short essays from horror writers about Halloween. Some of them were really well written: funny, scary, or poignant by turns -- but I really wish the editor had given them some kind of guideline like, "Please don't mention how Halloween isn't what it used to be because of razor apple scares, etc." I swear, at least 75% of the essays mentioned this, and it started to really drive me crazy.
So I guess my overall take on this book is that it's a good seasonal collection, but you might want to space it out over the entire month of October, instead of reading it in a few days the way I did.
So I guess my overall take on this book is that it's a good seasonal collection, but you might want to space it out over the entire month of October, instead of reading it in a few days the way I did.
paperbackstash's review
Adding thoughts on stories and essays as I get through them.
The book opens with a fictional story from Dean Koontz focusing on getting a creepy pumpkin from a mysterious carver. Called "The Black Pumpkin", it worked well to open the anthology on a menacing note. It fit in well with the childlike wonder of the season when innocence meets sinister paranormal. Clever story rated 4/5
"In the night, your brother's jack-o'-lantern will grow into something other than what it is now. Its jaws will work. Its teeth will sharpen. When everyone is asleep, it'll creepy through your house...and give what's deserved. It'll come for you last of all. What do you think you deserve, Tommy?"
"What are you?" Tommy asked.
The carver smiled. "Dangerous."
The second story is....not sure if it's a true-life essay or actual story. A Moonlit Night with Rats by Elizabeth Engstrom is very brief, and not really related to Halloween. It was related to a girl tormented by trying to fit in with older brothers until she finds herself suddenly. 2/5
Lantern Marsh by Poppy Z. Brite does the anthology justice by focusing on mysterious lanterns lining a marsh, drawing the attention of a mournful and unique kid on Halloween nights every year. It's a blend of ghost stories, small towns, magic of memories, music and growing of age stuff, and the suitable revenge endings. 4/5
NICKNAMES by Rick Hautala is an essay subtitled "A Hallowe'en Reminiscence'. Focusing on the fun of nicknames as a kid - toward other kids and adults - it ends with a childhood prank on Halloween that almost went severely wrong.
Likewise, A Condemned Man by Steve Rasnic Tem is an essay about remembering masks on Halloween. The author tells of the last time he went trick or treating and a creepy moment that has unsettled him since.
----- stopping point
The book opens with a fictional story from Dean Koontz focusing on getting a creepy pumpkin from a mysterious carver. Called "The Black Pumpkin", it worked well to open the anthology on a menacing note. It fit in well with the childlike wonder of the season when innocence meets sinister paranormal. Clever story rated 4/5
"In the night, your brother's jack-o'-lantern will grow into something other than what it is now. Its jaws will work. Its teeth will sharpen. When everyone is asleep, it'll creepy through your house...and give what's deserved. It'll come for you last of all. What do you think you deserve, Tommy?"
"What are you?" Tommy asked.
The carver smiled. "Dangerous."
The second story is....not sure if it's a true-life essay or actual story. A Moonlit Night with Rats by Elizabeth Engstrom is very brief, and not really related to Halloween. It was related to a girl tormented by trying to fit in with older brothers until she finds herself suddenly. 2/5
Lantern Marsh by Poppy Z. Brite does the anthology justice by focusing on mysterious lanterns lining a marsh, drawing the attention of a mournful and unique kid on Halloween nights every year. It's a blend of ghost stories, small towns, magic of memories, music and growing of age stuff, and the suitable revenge endings. 4/5
NICKNAMES by Rick Hautala is an essay subtitled "A Hallowe'en Reminiscence'. Focusing on the fun of nicknames as a kid - toward other kids and adults - it ends with a childhood prank on Halloween that almost went severely wrong.
Likewise, A Condemned Man by Steve Rasnic Tem is an essay about remembering masks on Halloween. The author tells of the last time he went trick or treating and a creepy moment that has unsettled him since.
----- stopping point
the_bookubus's review
4.0
4.5 stars
The perfect anthology for reading during the run-up to Halloween! As well as the short stories by a huge variety of authors there are also 'Halloween Memories' from some of the authors sprinkled throughout which I think is a really great idea and adds to the Halloween atmosphere as you read through. There are also a couple of segments that recommend Halloween themed stories, novels and movies so it's great to refer back to for inspiration when Halloween comes round again. While there were a few stories that didn't do much for me overall this is an absolutely wonderful book. My favourite stories were:
A Redress for Andromeda by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Eyes by Charles L. Grant
The Trick by Ramsey Campbell
Pork Pie Hat by Peter Straub
The perfect anthology for reading during the run-up to Halloween! As well as the short stories by a huge variety of authors there are also 'Halloween Memories' from some of the authors sprinkled throughout which I think is a really great idea and adds to the Halloween atmosphere as you read through. There are also a couple of segments that recommend Halloween themed stories, novels and movies so it's great to refer back to for inspiration when Halloween comes round again. While there were a few stories that didn't do much for me overall this is an absolutely wonderful book. My favourite stories were:
A Redress for Andromeda by Caitlin R. Kiernan
Eyes by Charles L. Grant
The Trick by Ramsey Campbell
Pork Pie Hat by Peter Straub
ashortnomad's review
5.0
My favorite fall read. This collection of stories and recollections gets pulled off my shelf as soon as the weather starts to get the slightest nip in the air. While some of the entries are not memorable, there are several in the book I return to time and again. I would highly recommend.