E. Reyes's Blog

Day One - Writing Prompt

I bought a 300 Writing Prompts book from @piccadillyofficial at Target, and I plan to write to a prompt every day and post it. This is day one... #piccadillyinc

Dead Leaves (9 Tales from the Witching Season) by Kealan Patrick Burke

Dead Leaves: 9 Tales from the Witching Season by Kealan Patrick Burke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is definitely a good collection of short stories for Halloween. Each story invoked the feeling of autumn, Halloween, and the darkness that lingers just around the corner as the witching season is upon us. The two stories that I absolutely enjoyed were "The Tradition" and "The One Night of the Year". I highly recommend this book to fellow Halloween enthusiasts and horror book lovers.

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Joe Hill - Full Throttle - Book Review

The stories in Joe Hill's FULL THROTTLE can go from meth-dealing bikers to a secret door that opens to fauns, from ghostly patrons returning way past-due books to a bookmobile to a field of tall grass that is like a fatal dose of LSD. Not one of these stories was a dud, and I enjoyed them.

I have read "Throttle" (a story about a biker gang being chased down by a ravenous semi), "Wolverton Station" (a train station that is populated with werewolves), "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" (A Loch Ness type monster washes ashore), "Thumbprint" (a story about a woman back from Iraq who is being hunted by someone in the states), "Twittering from the Cirus of the Dead" (a story composed of a series of Tweets by a young girl who takes a nasty trip with her family and they wind up at a strange circus), and "In the Tall Grass" (a pregnant woman and her brother are stopped by a voice yelling for help on the side of the road, in the tall grass, and end up lost and going in circles once they step inside), but it was years ago and, honestly, I feel as if I grew as a reader and I'm able to retain what I read a lot better. I don't know if that happens to other people (get better with reading the more you read), but it certainly happened to me, so it was like reading these stories for the first time. And I was surprised and still enjoyed them like they were new.

I am very happy that I purchased a signed edition of this book from Barnes and Noble because I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to many more short stories from Joe Hill.


⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

'Trick 'r Treat' Movie Review

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Trick 'r Treat (2007)
Directed by Michael Dougherty
Written by Michael Dougherty
Starring Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox

If an alien landed on Earth today and asked what Halloween was I would show that alien Trick 'r Treat.

Still gaining popularity twelve years after its release (Spirit Halloween has a lot of Sam merch), Trick 'r Treat is the Halloween go-to movie besides Halloween (1978) and, if you're too scared for horror flicks, Hocus Pocus (1993). And if it isn't your go-to Halloween movie it's either because you haven't watched it or you hate Halloween and having a good time.


I rewatched Trick 'r Treat for my Instagram challenge #OctoberMovieChallenge and I'm glad I've done so. I am trying to actually sit (or lay in bed) down and watch movies this October. I'm a dad and an author, so I rarely get the chance to really indulge in a movie unless I'm in a movie theater which is once a month (twice in a good month).

Trick ' r Treat is probably the best Halloween movie ever made. I love Michael Myers, but Trick ' r Treat is actually about the holiday of Halloween and includes myths and traditions and all that good horror stuff. and the fact that it is an anthology makes it even better. I really like how the characters intertwine somehow with the other stories being seen.

Sam (the embodiment of Samhain) is the cute little thing in an orange onesie and a burlap mask; carrying a bag of creatures? candy? and wielding a jack-o'-lantern lollipop that can be either very tasty or very dangerous. Take that burlap mask off and you have a pumpkin creature. I just love it. Sam is the icon of Halloween as much as Michael Myers is.



I love the werewolves, I love the crazy principal, but what the segment I really like is the ghost kids who drowned in the bus. That whole segment is spooky, sad, and so Halloween--just the vibes.

Trick 'r Treat has been in rotation every October ever since I first watched it on 2011 on Netflix.

And can someone tell Mike to put Godzilla on hold, please? What the hell happened to this? Is this the new Dr. Dre Detox album?

The Creepshow TV Series is Perfect Horror Television - Episode One Review!

Creepshow the TV series is what fans of the horror genre have wanted.

Watching the first episode of Creepshow made me feel like a kid again; watching something scary on TV that I shouldn't be seeing. This is great horror television. It doesn't need to rely heavily on sex, politics, or anything else that we've already seen. Creepshow brings us the weird, the twisted, the bizarre, and the spooky.

The intro is awesome. I love how they incorporate comic book style dialogue on some of the scenes. And the cinematography is beautiful.


The first episode "Gray Matter/The House of the Head" is a perfect introduction to the show. It highlights what the movie was about: monsters/creatures and the unknown/supernatural. I honestly can say that I had fun while watching this show and at the same time I felt the suspense and I felt creeped out.

"Gray Matter", directed by the great Greg Nicotero, is an adaption of the short story of the same name by the horror master Stephen King. I have read the story before, so I kind of got a jist of what to expect, but the ending was such a cool payoff. The gray matter monster is gross, scary, and looks awesome. It was also very cool to see Tobin Bell (Jigsaw) in the episode. The episode is about a boy's father who is an alcoholic, drinks some beer with some weird ooze in it, and slowly loses himself.


The second half of the first episode was "The House of the Head" which is an adaption of Josh Malerman's short story of the same name and is directed by John Harrison. This episode was my favorite because it was so damn creepy and suspenseful. And that little severe head is f*cking spooky! This episode was really suspenseful and kept me on the edge of my bed. The episode is about a creepy, zombie-like severed head that appears in a little girl's dollhouse one day. Someone is moving the dolls inside of the dollhouse and things get creepy fast.

I love that Shudder is bringing us Creepshow, and I hope they bring it back for another season because 6 episodes are not enough.

It Chapter Two is Like a Throwback to '80s Horror with a Modern Twist

Rating: 🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃/5
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Written by: Gary Dauberman
Story by: Stephen King
Starring: James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, Bill Hader, James Ransone, Bill Skarsgard, Isaiah Mustafa, and Andy Bean

It Chapter Two , to me, is better than the first chapter and feels like a throwback to '80s horror films, but of course, with a modern twist.

I honestly did not know what to really expect before watching It Chapter Two. I remember being kind of like "WTF is going on?" when the Beverly and Mrs. Kersh teaser was released. I was like, "Why is there an old lady doing the running man in the darkness of her kitchen?" and then "Why does this horror movie trailer feel like Avengers: End Game?" Aside from that, everything else looked great. And now, after watching the film, I found out that It Chapter Two is without a doubt horror movie of the year and better than its predecessor.



One of the things that I really liked about the film was that there was so many monsters and creatures. It felt weird and strange and awesome like A Nightmare On Elm Street. It felt as if I was watching something that started in the 80s and then was finished and rendered in the 2010s. And the fact that there is a Lost Boys poster and A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 showing at a theater adds to that flare. The monsters, whether CGI or practical--or a mixture of the two--are just crazy cool to see. Let me tell you, this movie is f*cking weird and I like it.

The other thing I enjoyed about the movie was its humor. It is exactly the kind of humor that I like. My humor is basically Superbad, Deadpool, David Sedaris, and Stephen King rolled into one, so I loved the comedy in here best held by Eddie Kaspbrak (James Ransone) and Richie Tozier (Bill Hader).

And of course, Bill Skarsgard, once again, does a brilliant job portraying the alien clown known as Pennywise. His performance is always a treat to see and I loved every moment that It was on the screen. Somebody, please give this man an Oscar!



The casting was perfect. All of the adult Losers did a really good job playing the adult versions of their characters. True Story: I fan-casted James Ransone to play Eddie Kaspbrak back when the first movie was still in theaters. I watch Sinister and Sinister 2 a lot, so as I was watching young Eddie Kaspbrak, I couldn't help but see the resemblance to Deputy So and So--even the way he was acting. So I had posted about this on Instagram and bam! Andy Muschietti--the freakin' director of It --messaged me and told me that he had "been thinking about PJ" and told me "good thinking". That was probably one of the coolest things that have ever happened to me. Then, a couple of months later, we get my fan-casting a reality! I'm very happy they went with James Ransone and not Fred Savage like everyone else wanted.

James Ransone as Deputy So and So in Sinister

I also liked that the best parts of the book were adapted to the film. And although the turtle (Maturin) does not have a role in the movie, I love how Andy Muschietti gives us an Easter egg of a turtle in a classroom, There are some things that just can't be adapted (like a certain sex scene).



The movie has a lot of heart, emotions, scares, weirdness (I keep saying it's weird because it bloody is!), and gnarly Pennywise scenes.

I'd love to say more about the film, but this is a spoiler-free one!

But if you haven't watched It Chapter Two , do yourself a favor and go watch it!

Maria the Wanted and the Legacy of the Keepers (Book Review)

Title: Maria the Wanted and the Legacy of the Keepers
Author: V. Castro
Publisher: Neilsen 
My Rating: 4/5


Maria the Wanted and the Legacy of the Keepers is a very unique, thrilling, and a fresh new take on the vampire genre. V. Castro has created something very special that I want to continue to read more of. In a world where we need more Latinx voices in literature, Maria the Wanted is a perfect addition to the cause.

I honestly didn't know what to really expect before I read this book. I read a tiny bit of the summary, but I wanted to go into this book fresh. I'm glad I did because there are a lot of twists and turns and crazy surprises; even up to the end!

The Keepers are an organization of vampires who are based in England and care for humanity. They're not the killing-human type.

We get Lucifer, a funny vampire named Vlad from Vegas, ancient vampires, a runaway-slave with a very sad story, a man who owns a boxing joint -- there's a whole lot going on and I thought that was awesome. I just hope to hear more about Vlad.

Personally, I'm really happy that V. Castro wrote this vampire tale about a woman from Mexico who comes to terms with her new vampire self and becoming a new and stronger person. We need more stories with diverse voices and characters of different races who aren't stereotypical.

V. Castro's writing is outstanding, pure, realistic, and even poetic at times. Each character is perfectly tailored and has their own way of talking and interacting. The book--besides the awesome Maria--is filled with strong characters we actually care about.

Check out Maria the Wanted and the Legacy of the Keepers now! You won't regret it!

Get the book here:

Joker Final Trailer is GREAT

The final trailer of JOKER is here! I am very excited for this one.

Awesome Horror and True Crime Books From Target

Since spooky season is around the corner, and Halloween season starts on September 1st, Target has been rolling out some awesome things!
Here are some really cool books that I saw:




Which one looks most awesome to you?! 

The Trailer of AHS: 1984 is Here, and It's 80s Slasher Awesomeness

The new season of American Horror Story which is titled 1984 , seems like a break-away from all of the other seasons, and to me, that is a good thing,

American Horror Story: 1984 is about a group of counselors who venture off to Camp Redwood where they are instantly met with a body in the road, learn about a sketchy chef, and hear about a psychiatric hospital escapee who is called Mr. Jingles, and a slasher running around on the campgrounds. And I'm not totally sure, but I think Emma Roberts gets attacked by who could very well be the Nightstalker aka Richard Ramirez.

Returning cast members are Emma Roberts, John Carroll Lynch, Billy Lourd, Leslie Grossman, and Cody Fern.

This season looks very promising! I love the 80s vibe, and I especially dig that it is a slasher season paying homage to the Friday the 13th franchise.

American Horror Story: 1984 will premier on FX on September 18th at 10:00 p.m.