The Halloween Store and Other Tales of All Hallows’ Eve – Ronald Kelly
Halloween horror collection
When you first enter The Halloween Store, things seem normal. Fun and frightful decorations, ghastly costumes and masks of the season, and bags of candy galore.
Then, as you travel farther into its shadowy depths, things begin to change. The air smells of damp autumn leaves and candle-scorched pumpkin. The shelves of All Hallows’ Eve fare grow darker and more disturbing. Strange and unsettling things of Halloweens past and present lurk amid the cobwebs and dust.
Four trick-or-treaters purchase vintage costumes from a strip-mall shop, only to discover that they must sign a mysterious disclaimer for the Halloween celebration to come…
After a man’s missing daughter is found–near death and physically altered and he must once again face a horrifying monster from his own childhood…
A teenage girl hitches a ride after a Halloween rock & roll concert, only to learn that her favorite idol has made a pact with the Devil himself…
Three kids receive unusual treats during a Halloween stop at their favorite teacher’s house…
During a random visit to his hometown, a businessman treats a young boy to the joy and excitement of a Halloween festival, only to find that things are not what they first appeared to be…
A rash of ghoulish jack-o’-lanterns leads a small-town sheriff to the doorstep of one of the most notorious serial killers of all time…
An advertisement in the back of an old comic book prompts two friends to place an order that they soon come to regret…
“We’re Open! Come on in… if you DARE!!”
Mischief Night Massacre – Jason Parent
Halloween horror collection
For the costumed child skipping along a safe, well-lit street, pillow case chock full of candy, Halloween is a night of magic and mischief, delightful frights met with sugar-toothed grins.
But for the would-be revelers in these tales, Halloween is a horrifying ordeal the likes of which many will not survive. And those who do make it to November may wish they hadn’t.
Ten tales that embody the holiday in ways surely to surprise and delight the most avid horror reader.
From traditional settings like amusement parks, Halloween parties, and haunted houses to more obscure locales where you might think terror couldn’t possibly find you, each story will have you breathing a little faster, startling at every bump in the night.
“The world was still, maybe frozen, and it was the first time Kit noticed the cold.”
Devil’s Night – Curtis M. Lawson
Halloween horror collection
It’s the night before Halloween, and a haunted city is in flames!
Bear witness to the ghosts and dark gods of Motor City, revealed by the light of a fiery cityscape. It’s the night before Halloween and Detroit is burning in a celebration of arson and vandalism.
Devil’s Night is a unique collection of interconnected urban horror stories taking you back to October 30th, 1987.
Drawing inspiration from Michigan legends such as the Nain Rouge and the Hobo Pig Lady, inside these pages, you will find cursed vinyl records, inner-city druids, diabolical priests, and slim slivers of hope.
“You know, I saw the Nain Rouge once.”
Autumncrow – Cameron Chaney
Halloween horror collection
Welcome to Autumncrow Valley, where every night is Halloween. Enjoy your stay!
But first, a few words of warning: Stay out of the forest. Never venture out after dark. And don’t stare too long into the shadows, you may not like what you see.
Have a pleasant visit. We hope it won’t be your last.
“You were forever distracted by the monsters in your notebooks.”
Bad Apples – Corpus Press
Halloween horror anthology
All three volumes of the Bad Apples: Halloween Horror anthologies.
Eighteen novellas and short stories by: Kealan Patrick Burke, Adam Light, Evans Light, Edward Lorn, John McNee, Mark Matthews, Jason Parent, Craig Saunders and Gregor Xane.
“For the twins, the days between Halloweens passed like hours.”
Dead Leaves – Kealan Patrick Burke
Halloween horror collection
Strange text messages portend a strange kind of apocalypse.
Two brothers find themselves drawn to the only house in the neighborhood not decorated for Halloween.
A man returns to his hometown to bury his overbearing mother, and finds more than memories awaiting him in the shadows of his childhood home.
A young girl walks a lonely country road, recalling a rhyme that brings with it memories of death.
A teenager hoping for romance gets more than he bargained for when the object of his desire introduces him to the object of hers.
An aging millionaire awakes buried in a cheap coffin with only a lamp and a bell for company.
The son of a woman accused of being a witch accepts the villagers’ peace offering at her funeral, but all is not quite as it seems.
A woman with a violent past realizes that this year’s Halloween party may be coming for her
A lonely trick-or-treater awakes in a house rumored to be a place of death.
“The [text message] is from a number she doesn’t know…a consequence of using a number that belonged to someone else…”
Doorbells at Dusk – Evans Light (editor)
Halloween horror anthology
Carve your pumpkins and turn on the porch light, Halloween frights begin with the sound of… Doorbells at Dusk.
Halloween has always gone hand-in-hand with horror. The holiday gives many children their first taste of terror, the discovery and overcoming of fears. For those who find they love a good scare, that first taste can grow into a voracious appetite.
Featuring stories by: Sean Eads, Amber Fallon, Charles Gramlich, Joanna Koch, Curtis M. Lawson, Lisa Lepovetsky, Adam Light, Evans Light, Chad Lutzke, Josh Malerman, Jason Parent, Thomas Vaughn, Joshua Viola, Ian Welke, and Gregor Xane.
“Dozens of the horrible creatures scampered along beneath the streetlights…”
A Halloween Story – Matt Micheli
Halloween horror collection
Nine intertwining tales that are sure to curdle your blood this All Hallow’s Eve.
In part one, a beloved elderly couple’s Halloween takes a violent and deadly turn, a young man goes to a party where the scary costumes are a little too real for comfort, and a police officer responds to chaos and bloodshed as monsters, demons, and masked killers come alive.
In part two, a big-city investor realizes she got more than she bargained for with the abandoned oddities store she purchased, a devoted husband cares for a wife whose strange illness has caused some rather grotesque cravings, and three peculiar boys in vintage costumes have a few devious and spooky tricks up their sleeves.
In part three, a stalker discovers his prey has some disturbing secrets, an aspiring writer tells his scariest story to date to a group of friends at the cemetery, and a carnival has some terrifying surprises in store for a young couple and their unsuspecting friends.
“As the sun moved further west, a golden hue blanketed the world, and Halloween had begun.”
October Nights – Kevin Lake
Halloween horror collection
Thirty one original spine tingling tales that will give us that feeling one only gets in October, when the leaves have changed, and jack o’-lanterns begin popping up on porches and in yards all across America, and when the summer’s heat has exited the room and the crisp, fall air has taken its place.
That magical feeling that makes us believe that there may be something out there in the dark that we cannot see.
Perhaps our old houses in which people have passed on to the other side, whether we are aware of it or not, really are haunted. All those things we hear going bump in the night might not simply be the roof cooling off from the day’s heat, and popping, or the old wooden frames adjusting and settling with age.
One terrifying tale for each night of the month of October. The only challenge is the fact that readers may not be able to help themselves to just one tale each night, rather, they may find themselves being far too tempted to blow through the entire work in one setting.
“Get on down the road. We ain’t got no vacancies.”
What October Brings – Douglas Draa (editor)
Halloween horror anthology
Halloween, a time for laughing children in white bedsheets and superhero costumes. A time for chocolate candy, and pumpkins, and Trick-or-Treat.
A time for dark things everywhere to slink out of the shadows and into our lives, reminding those unlucky few that our charades of Halloween cannot erase the centuries of history and pain behind the facade.
Celebrate the dark traditions of the autumn rituals, of Halloween and Samhain, in homage to the uniquely fascinating fiction of HP Lovecraft. Masters of the short story offer you a “once in a lifetime” Trick-or-Treat experience…
…perhaps your last!
“People who went out into the dark sometimes did not come back.”
Haunted Nights – Ellen Datlow & Lisa Morton (editors)
Halloween horror anthology
Sixteen chilling tales that explore every aspect of our darkest holiday, Halloween.
In addition to stories about scheming jack-o’-lanterns, vengeful ghosts, otherworldly changelings, disturbingly realistic haunted attractions, masks that cover terrifying faces, murderous urban legends, parties gone bad, cult Halloween movies, and trick or treating in the future, Haunted Nights also offers terrifying and mind-bending explorations of related holidays like All Souls’ Day, Dia de los Muertos, and Devil’s Night.
“Dead is dead. Dead moves on. But the Holston house…”
Thirteen Paths – Jess Boldt, Andy Lockwood, Jenifer Lynn
Halloween horror anthology
Which path will you take…?
Leaves crunch underfoot on an overgrown cemetery lane.
Shiny new asphalt paves the road to that neighborhood you never noticed before.
Fairy lights beckon you to leave the safety of the bog trail.
Dirt road dust kicks up in your headlights, obscuring what you just thought you saw.
The dark silence in the tunnel holds secrets you’d rather not know.
The walk in front of your house cracks from the strain of what grows beneath.
Three authors. Thirteen stories.
Even the most familiar paths look different on Halloween.
“They say the ghosts are still in there.”
October Dreams – Richard Chizmar & Robert Morrish (editors)
Halloween horror anthology
Classic novellas, never-before-published stories, essays on the history, literature, and films of Halloween, and real-life memories of October 31st-from today’s best practitioners of fear:
Dean Koontz * Peter Straub * Poppy Z. Brite * Rick Hautala * Steve Rasnic Tem * Elizabeth Engstrom * Thomas Ligotti * Gary A. Braunbeck * Jack Ketchum * Thomas F. Monteleone * Hugh B. Cave * Simon Clark * Christopher Golden * Ray Bradbury * Jack Ketchum * Alan M. Clark * Gahan Wilson * Paula Guran * John Shirley * Tom Piccirilli * Jack Cady * David B. Silva * Robert Morrish * William F. Nolan * Michael Cadnum * Richard Laymon * Douglas Clegg * Douglas E. Winter * Stanley Wiater * Caitlín R. Kiernan * Lewis Shiner * Yvonne Navarro * Tim Lebbon * Kim Newman * F. Paul Wilson * Owl Goingback * Dennis Etchison * Stephen Mark Rainey * Charles L. Grant * Kelly Laymon * Dominick Cancilla * Kristine Kathryn Rusch * Michael Marshall Smith * Wayne Allen Sallee * Ramsey Campbell * Ed Gorman * Stefan Dziemianowicz * Peter Crowther
“The pumpkins were creepy, but the man who carved them was far stranger than his creations.”
The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories – Stephen Jones (editor)
Halloween horror anthology
Twenty-six terrifying tales set on the scariest night of the year.
Treat yourself to some very tricky stories!
Halloween, All Hallows’ Eve, Samhain, Día de los Muertos, the Day the Dead Come Back.
When the barriers between the worlds are at their weakest, when ghosts, goblins, and grisly things can cross over into our dimension, then for a single night each year the natural becomes the supernatural, the normal becomes the paranormal, and nobody is safe from their most intimate and terrifying fears.
Here you will encounter witches, ghosts, monsters, psychos, demonic nuns, and even Death himself in this spooky selection of stories set on the night when evil walks the earth.
“Halloween wasn’t until tomorrow – were people partying early?”
The End of Summer – J. Tonzelli
Halloween horror collection
Each story is designed to be intrinsically and intimately about Halloween-its traditions, its myths, and its effects-and they run the gamut from horrifying to heartbreaking.
Halloween night is the tapestry through which a haunted house, a monstrous child, a late-night drive to a mysterious destination, and other tales are weaved.
Demons are faced, death is defied, and love is tested.
And not everyone makes it out alive.
The End of Summer has arrived.
“Perdition, Stingy Jack. Where might I find Perdition?”
