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71st out of 99 books
—
46 voters
Halloween
by
Paula Guran ,
Stewart O'Nan , William F. Nolan (Goodreads Author) , Walter Scott , Peter Straub (Goodreads Author) , Norman Partridge , Esther M. Friesner , Glen Hirshberg
,
more…
Shivers and spirits... the mystical and macabre... our darkest fears and sweetest fantasies... the fun and frivolity of tricks, treats, festivities, and masquerades. Halloween is a holiday filled with both delight and dread, beloved by youngsters and adults alike. Celebrate the most magical season of the year with this sensational treasury of seasonal tales - spooky, suspe...more
Paperback, 528 pages
Published
September 13th 2011
by Prime Books
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The collection of stories for this book introduced me to some new writers, which is one of the reasons I love picking up anthologies like this. Some of the stories (like Tessellations) scared the ever-living Hell out me... a job well done for a short story. Although I'm a big poetry fan, I wish that the poems had not been included. I guess it's just a pet peeve of mine; when I sit down to read a collection of Halloween short stories, that's all I want to read. The poems broke the rhythm.
The main...more
The main...more
Another short story book edited by Paula Guran, Halloween is an excellent selection of stories, dating as far back as the early 1800s (a poem by Sir Walter Scott, called "The Young Tamlane"). There are over 30 stories in this collection, and it is, indeed, delightful. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story in the book by Stewart O'Nan, Stephen King's collaborator in Faithful, their chronicle of the historical 2004 season of the Boston Red Sox. There is a poem by H.P. Lovecraft, called "Hallo...more
This is one that I actually spent my own money on ... a sort of madness took over. I'm blaming it on the headiness of October and moving on.
I'll be reading these short stories throughout the month. The introduction is an excellent overview of Halloween which incorporates new discoveries about olden time celebrations. Thus far I am not too far along but have just begun Hat by Peter Straub. I don't think I've ever read anything by him but early in it is a fabulous look at jazz, a musician's life,...more
I'll be reading these short stories throughout the month. The introduction is an excellent overview of Halloween which incorporates new discoveries about olden time celebrations. Thus far I am not too far along but have just begun Hat by Peter Straub. I don't think I've ever read anything by him but early in it is a fabulous look at jazz, a musician's life,...more
First, let me say that this was an good compilation of stories. I enjoyed most of them and the caliber of contributors met my expectations. Not all were spectacular, but overall, there were some good moments.
However, this was the most poorly edited book I have ever read. There is a typing/proofreading error in every story--sometimes more. I found it distracting to read through missing words, misspelled words, and other proofreading errors. I tend to forgive one or two in a book, but not in every...more
However, this was the most poorly edited book I have ever read. There is a typing/proofreading error in every story--sometimes more. I found it distracting to read through missing words, misspelled words, and other proofreading errors. I tend to forgive one or two in a book, but not in every...more
I finished reading Halloween last night just before heading to bed. Halloween is a collection of 33 previously stories all having something to do with Halloween. Three of the stories are from the 1800s, but most (19) are from 2000 or later.
Although the collection wasn’t exactly what I expected, it wasn’t bad. I was expecting more creepy horror stories and, although the later stories met my expectations, the collection starts out pretty slow.
The first two stories didn’t do much for me, but the...more
Although the collection wasn’t exactly what I expected, it wasn’t bad. I was expecting more creepy horror stories and, although the later stories met my expectations, the collection starts out pretty slow.
The first two stories didn’t do much for me, but the...more
Nov 11, 2012
Susan
added it
While there were some very good stories in this collection, such as the ones written by Ray Bradbury, Charles deLint, and Peter Straub, the book itself was a nightmare to read. It is so riddled with typos, misspelled words, crappy typesetting, misused apostrophes and missing letters that I have to wonder if anyone even bothered to glance at it before it was published. I will never purchase anything with this editor's name on it again.
I really liked this book. Full of short stories, albeit some were not short at all, that had a central spooky, odd, queer theme...halloween. :) Honestly, some were so frightful, I could only finish them in the daytime hours.
These stories were probably great in their day, but that day is in the past. However, the collection is worth looking at for those rare gems that pop up here and there.
it was an alsome alsome book man was it good
ihave only good things to say aboiut it
i also did not win this from good reads
ihave only good things to say aboiut it
i also did not win this from good reads
The stories in the book were good but the amount of typos ruined the reading experience for me.
A great mix of stories to set the mood for Halloween (or anytime, since I didn't finish the book until January). The stories give equal coverage to all of the seasonal themes--pumkins, ghosts, witches, and even El Dia De Los Muertos. The stories range from humorous ("Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story"), endearing ("One Thin Dime"), to expectedly spooky ("Man-Size in Marble", "The Great Pumpkin Arrives at Last",and "The October Game"). Those looking for just horror stories may be disapointed, but...more
A good collection of Halloween stories, a few of my favorites:
- The Sticks by Charlee Jacob
- Halloween Street by Steve Rasnic Tem
- Memories by Peter Crowther
A couple that were a little gruesome:
- The October Game by Ray Bradbury, this was a great story (because Bradbury is awesome) but really creepy/gruesome. The November Game, a follow up story to the October Game, by F. Paul Wilson was also a little disturbing. But both were worth the read.
- Tessellations by Gary Braunbeck (a little out there...more
- The Sticks by Charlee Jacob
- Halloween Street by Steve Rasnic Tem
- Memories by Peter Crowther
A couple that were a little gruesome:
- The October Game by Ray Bradbury, this was a great story (because Bradbury is awesome) but really creepy/gruesome. The November Game, a follow up story to the October Game, by F. Paul Wilson was also a little disturbing. But both were worth the read.
- Tessellations by Gary Braunbeck (a little out there...more
A great collection of stories - but the editing was pretty bad.
Stories are great. But the editor actually needs to edit the book.
Nice collection of seasonal stories in a variety of genres and senses of creepiness. Note that the e-book edition does not contain Ray Bradbury's "October Game", which is unfortunate, since it is among the best Halloween stories ever, but I have it in a hardback collection and have it practically memorized, so it wasn't a big deal for me. It is a must read to even begin to appreciate the "companion" story in this colleciton, though.
Oct 22, 2012
John
marked it as partially-read-horror-anthologies
Conversations in a Dead Language 9.5/10
Monsters 9/10
The Halloween Man 9/10
Three Doors 7.5/10
Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story 8.5/10
Struwwelpeter 8.5/10
On the Reef 7/10
Memories of El Dia De Los Muertos 7/10
The Sticks 6/10
Memories 8/10
Mask Game 7/10
Pranks 8/10
One Thin Dime 5/10
Night Out 6/10
The October Game 9/10
The November Game 8/10
Monsters 9/10
The Halloween Man 9/10
Three Doors 7.5/10
Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story 8.5/10
Struwwelpeter 8.5/10
On the Reef 7/10
Memories of El Dia De Los Muertos 7/10
The Sticks 6/10
Memories 8/10
Mask Game 7/10
Pranks 8/10
One Thin Dime 5/10
Night Out 6/10
The October Game 9/10
The November Game 8/10
I read about half of these stories in the run-up to Halloween, and they're definitely hit-or-miss.
Difficult to assign a single rating to a group of so many varied stories. Some deserve five stars, some not so much. Overall a great collection of Halloween related tales.
This is a great book for anyone who loves halloween. It imparts some history of modern halloween rituals and offers a variety of short stories for adults. It's a super fun read.
May 16, 2013
Uzziel
is currently reading it
May 16, 2013
Sara Lee
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2013
Varia
marked it as to-read
May 10, 2013
Melissa
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Apr 29, 2013
Michelle
marked it as to-read
May 05, 2013
Shannon
marked it as to-read
Apr 24, 2013
Kyle
marked it as to-read
Apr 12, 2013
Anne Sedney
marked it as to-read
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Paula Guran is senior editor for Prime Books. She edited the Juno fantasy imprint from its small press inception through its incarnation as an imprint of Pocket Books. She is also senior editor of Prime's soon-to-launch digital imprint Masque Books. Guran edits the annual Year's Best Dark Fantasy and Horror series as well as a growing number of other anthologies. In an earlier life she produced we...more
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“Then yesterday, in the dim watches of the night a dream came to me. A voice spoke and said: 'Love beyond price is yours. Take and cherish it, lest this priceless gift be withdrawn!'
I awoke, happy, myself once more, grateful that life could come to me again.”
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I awoke, happy, myself once more, grateful that life could come to me again.”
Oct 27, 2011 06:07am