Although a lot of people won’t want to hear, think about or accept this, Halloween is around the corner. So, too, is fall, which is the best season of the year. Summer is too hot — disgustingly so — and too long, whereas fall (or autumn, if you prefer) is too short. The weather is perfect when the two start to blend into each other, though.
With fall and Halloween comes a glut of scary, creepy and shadowy content. This comes by way of horror movies in theatres, old ones being run in marathons on TV, and conveniently timed releases of horror and thriller books. One such title, which will release during the autumn of this year, is All Hallow’s Eve. Curated and edited by Ellen Datlow, it’s a collection of short stories based around Halloween itself.
As expected, All Hallow’s Eve brings together some of horror’s best and brightest, including authors Josh Malerman (one of my favourites), John Langan, Stephen Graham Jones, Siobhan Carroll, Alma Katsu, Clay McLeod Chapman, Christopher Golden, Garth Nix, Lee Murray and Michael Marshall Smith. I could have listed all of the authors, but don’t want to bore anyone. Either way, there are 19 short stories to be found here, each written by a different person.
As a sucker for these types of collections, I read this book as soon as I received it, and didn’t take long to do so once I actually sat down to read. I took it on holiday with me, but finished it when I got home. Overall, I found it to be a good compilation of tales, but not the best I’ve read. Some stories were really good, while certain others kind of bored me. Perhaps part of this is because I brought personal biases into it all, as despite trying, I have always struggled with period pieces. Then again, we all have our own likes and dislikes.
Let’s get to it, and go over this story by story.
That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman: This story starts things off, and I was excited by that because Josh Malerman is one of my favourite authors. I particularly love his book, Inspection. However, That Hannie Agnes — a story about a woman who is only seen at Halloween, and is too old to be trick-or-treating, didn’t do a lot for me I’m afraid.
On the Path: Bleeding by Lee Murray: This was a better tale, about a wanna-be gang member in Hawaii, who takes on an initiation assignment that he shouldn’t have. It involves old customs, superstitions and the like.
Good Kids by Rich Larsen: A churchgoing boy becomes friends with a recent newcomer who is invited over for a sleepover. Alone together in his room in the basement, the new friend starts to act strangely and does things that one wouldn’t think a human could. I liked this one.
Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman: A tale about grief and letting go, this is a standout of the collection. I was really impressed with its originality, its themes and how it handled such tough subjects. It’s one of my favourite parts of this book.
The Levels by Livia Llewellyn: This story is about a loner who goes to a party with friends from college. Said party is at a strangely designed and constructed house in town, which looks like it has levels. However, it’s a strange and surreal party that is unlike any other. Overall, this was a good story, but I thought it could have done more with the setting and premise.
Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith: Easily my favourite story found in this collection, Forever Again is a dark, depressing and haunting tale about eternal suffering. It’s stuck with me since I read it, and scared the existential shit out of me.
The Devil’s New Year by Stephen Graham Jones: Another unique and strange story from the vivid imagination of Native author, Stephen Graham Jones. It centres upon a young-ish woman who’s made bad choices and has a rather unfortunate tattoo on her face. After hearing about a local legend, she attempts to be reborn, but it comes with some side effects. I liked this one, but there were parts that I was not a fan of. If you love animals, maybe skip this one.
Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison: The shortest of the shorts, it’s essentially a poem about a strange village with a dark festival. It’s pretty good, and also very visceral, dark and gruesome.
Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden: Seemingly set somewhere in Europe, this story is about a very young woman and her grandmother, both of whom reside in a small cabin in the woods. There’s a cart trail by them, but that’s about it. With it being Halloween, the grandmother asks her granddaughter to come inside early, and tries to protect her from the evils of the night, while legends say she will dream of her future husband. However, things don’t go as hoped. Overall, this is a good story, with a surprising twist, and one of the best.
The Kuker by Alma Katsu: A grieving woman has a hard time bringing herself to go into her late husband’s study, where a strange costume sits in a mannequin stand. She thinks about the time they went to Europe and took part in an odd festival where villagers dressed up in homemade costumes made to depict a being called the Kuker. Overall, it’s a solid story.
Ankou’s Night by Brian Everson: Told from the perspective of a young boy who’s growing up in a foreign country, this is a tale about old superstitions and a mean old man. Said old man is the boy’s grandfather, who passed away but may return during a specific holiday. It’s a good story, and one of the better ones.
The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll: As I said, I struggle with period pieces, and this is one. I also struggle with vampire stories, which it also is. I honestly found this one a bit overlong and a tad boring, but that’s just me. This is a story about a British man who’s stationed in Ireland during the potato famine, and is struggling. After a carriage accident, he invites a young woman to board with him.
Saturday by Chikodili Emelumadu: A misbehaved boy is taken to school by his mom, who’s dating a new man who doesn’t want a kid — let alone such a mean and unruly one — around. When he gets to school, something is wrong: there’s a group of strange children with deformed faces and bodies, and they aren’t acting like regular kids. A good story.
Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci: One of the better stories in this collection, this one is set in approximately 1993. There, we meet a teenage girl who’s become obsessed with The X-Files (my first favourite adult show), and is dressed as Agent Scully. She’s recently moved to a small town, and doesn’t know many people because she spent the summer isolating while recovering from major corrective jaw surgery. However, the one friend she does have has invited her to a bonfire in the woods to celebrate Halloween. Something happens, but I won’t spoil it.
Her Mother’s Business by Garth Nix: This story is about a twenty-two year-old woman who’s been roped into helping her mother con people all around the world. On this particular Halloween night, they are running a spirit medium con on a wealthy lady in Europe, who wants to speak to the son she lost in the War. Their chosen location isn’t a good one, though. Overall, this is a good story and one I enjoyed.
The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford: Another of my most liked stories from this release, this one begins as a group of friends have a few drinks on the porch while giving candy to children who are trick-or-treating. They talk about how the veil between the living and the dead is currently thin, and about how a friend who passed away could visit if conditions are right. However, they get more than they’ve bargained for.
Dare Me by Richard Kadrey: Set in the early 50s, this short is about a group of unruly boys who are up to no good during a small, rural, town’s Halloween festivities. They mess with the wrong people, and disturb the wrong grave. This was one of the better stories found within.
On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud: It’s funny how opinions differ, because early reviews I’ve read seem to place this as the best story in the collection. However, it didn’t do a lot for me, and I found it to be overlong. It’s a tale about a small town called Hob’s Landing, which has welcomed ghouls to live amongst its human population, instead of forcing them to live underground. Human meat is sold in grocery stores, and ghouls are expected to not feast on recently deceased people, let alone kill them. However, two single ghouls who’ve recently moved there find each other on the beach, then stumble onto something they shouldn’t have. The rest is a story of their lives, which are not so normal. I applaud the originality, but didn’t enjoy this one like I had hoped. I also thought there were some inconsistencies within the text.
The Auld Woman With the Broom by John Langan: An odd story to end this collection with, in my opinion, this is about a Scottish gangster who’s gotten out of prison after serving a very short sentence for a very heinous crime. Why? It was hard to prove his guilt, for reasons explained within the story. This tale mixes old folklore with somewhat a somewhat modern story, and was slow to get going. I enjoyed the last part, but it took a while to get there.
Overall, All Hallow’s Eve presented by Ellen Datlow is a good, but not great, collection of horror stories. There were some shorts that I really enjoyed, including two that I feel will stick with me forever, bad memory be damned. However, the rest of the 19 tales were hit and miss for me, and none were as good as those two. Some I struggled with and didn’t really enjoy.
As a whole, I do think that this is a good collection that is worth your time and energy, especially during the Halloween season. It just could have been better.
This review is based on a copy of the book which we were provided with.