Robert McCammon, Kevin Lucia, John R. Little, Lisa Morton, and Mark Allan Gunnells put the horror back in Halloween with a quintet of devilishly delightful tales, curated by acclaimed author and editor Brian James Freeman. STRANGE CANDY by Robert McCammon Chocolate bars and sour suckers are trick-or-treat staples, but beware the odd sweet at the bottom of your bag. You never know who it’s from—or … know who it’s from—or what it might do to you.
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES by Kevin Lucia
Father Ward should have heeded the warnings about hearing confession on All Hallow’s Eve. Because a man is about to tell him a secret more haunting than any he has heard before.
DEMON AIR by John R. Little
Fear of flying is not uncommon. But on this transpacific airline, the real danger isn’t the flight itself. It’s whoever—or whatever—is up in the air with you.
LA HACIENDA DE LOS MUERTOS by Lisa Morton
Trick McGrew, former cowboy star of the silver screen, has never believed in tall tales. But down in Mexico, the land of La Llorona, he’s about to find out just how real urban legends can be.
#MAKEHALLOWEENSCARYAGAIN by Mark Allan Gunnells
Some people will go to any lengths to rack up retweets, likes, and follows on social media, no matter who they end up hurting . . . or even killing.
Praise for Halloween Carnival Volume 1
“[Halloween Carnival: Volume One] provides festive entertainment from an assortment of the genre’s most accomplished regulars.”—Unnerving Magazine
“Entertaining . . . I’d suggest reading them in the daytime.”—Journey of a Bookseller
“A solid collection . . . A Halloween fan who reads ebooks can’t go wrong here.”—Battered, Tattered, Yellowed, & Creased
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It looks like we are in for a rash of anthologies this Halloween. Editor Brian James Freeman is planning to debut five such books for fright night 2017.
“Strange Candy”
By Robert McCammon
McCammon never disappoints, and in this tale of Halloween in a small town lives up to expectation. Oh yes, you might want to have a hanky handy for this one.
“The Rage of Achilles or When Mockingbirds Sing”
By Kevin Lucia
All Hallows’ Eve is the night when spirits walk, and things are possible like on no other night of the year. A priest in his confessional might have to consider that very thing.
“Demon Air”
By John R. Little
Not a good story for anyone with a fear of flying.
La Hacienda de los Muertos
By Lisa Morton
Lisa Morton weaves a tale of horror movie making that becomes all too real for the cast and crew.
Five short stories revolving around Halloween. I did not find any of the stories truly terrifying but it does take a lot for me. All five stories were very entertaining though, and I enjoyed each other for different reasons. Strange Candy touched me in an unexpected way. La Hacienda de Los Muertos had a good resolution while #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain left me kind of wondering. I recommend this book as it did keep me turning the pages.
I received a copy of this book through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.
Halloween Carnival Volume 1 is an entertaining collection of five novella length tales taking place on or around Halloween. The collection is very well written and each story is interesting in its own right, whether it adds a creepy twist at the end as in The Rage of Achilles or is creepy from the start as in #MakeHalloweenScaryAgain. Each story has its own twists and whether its scary or not is engaging and kept me turning pages. With elements of family, love, loss, and finding your roots, there’s nothing over the top scary, but this collection is great for kicking off the season.