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Prank Night
In Autumn Creek, Halloween is no longer a harmless holiday of make-believe for children. It’s a night of survival.
The onslaught starts with the brutal murder of a woman. The following night, cars are vandalized, stranding the residents, rendering them vulnerable to the looming chaos. With no chance of escape, the town becomes a battleground as, one by one, the residents fall prey to Prank Night. Terror will flow through the quaint village, flooding the streets with blood.
The onslaught starts with the brutal murder of a woman. The following night, cars are vandalized, stranding the residents, rendering them vulnerable to the looming chaos. With no chance of escape, the town becomes a battleground as, one by one, the residents fall prey to Prank Night. Terror will flow through the quaint village, flooding the streets with blood.
305 pages, Unknown Binding
First published October 8, 2013
21 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Kristopher Rufty
69 books242 followersKristopher Rufty lives in North Carolina with his three children and pets. He’s written over twenty novels, including ALL WILL DIE, THE DEVOURED AND THE DEAD, DESOLATION, THE LURKERS and PILLOWFACE. When he’s not spending time with his family or writing, he’s obsessing over gardening and growing food.
His short story DARLA'S PROBLEM was included in the Splatterpunk Publications anthology FIGHTING BACK, which won the Splatterpunk award for best anthology. THE DEVOURED AND THE DEAD was nominated for a Splatterpunk award.
He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more about Kristopher Rufty, please visit: www.kristopherrufty.com
His short story DARLA'S PROBLEM was included in the Splatterpunk Publications anthology FIGHTING BACK, which won the Splatterpunk award for best anthology. THE DEVOURED AND THE DEAD was nominated for a Splatterpunk award.
He can be found on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more about Kristopher Rufty, please visit: www.kristopherrufty.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 31, 2025
What an extreme ride into terror!
Small backstory:
Halloween is slowly approaching for Autumn Creek citizens, but what they don't know is that Prank Night has arrived as well for the days leading up to Halloween. These are not normal pranks as there is something far more sinister associated with what happens to the people in the community.
The beginning of the pranks is when all the town experiences slashed tires on their vehicles, but when a woman is murdered in a grisly fashion that is when a chain of events starts the most horrific escapade into the town of Autumn Creek. Pranksters dressed in Halloween costumes terrorizes the town and the citizens find out what true terror is as the pranks turn into murders.
Who are the pranksters? Why have they targeted Autumn Creek? What is the purpose of the pranks? What is Prank Night? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
Thoughts:
The book started out a little slow with world building and there was a little bit of a back story for certain citizens in the town. Once I got past the backdrop setup of the town and characters which took up a few chapters, then the pranks went into high gear and every chapter from then on had something happening! The pace picked up and then the gore started flying as the bodies started piling up!
This was a great romp into twisted insanity and lots of blood/gore to add as well which kept me turning the pages at the speed of light and I had to grab my gore suit as well! This book would be a great movie as I could literally see the images coming to life from this story! Giving this book five "Blood Splatter" stars!
Small backstory:
Halloween is slowly approaching for Autumn Creek citizens, but what they don't know is that Prank Night has arrived as well for the days leading up to Halloween. These are not normal pranks as there is something far more sinister associated with what happens to the people in the community.
The beginning of the pranks is when all the town experiences slashed tires on their vehicles, but when a woman is murdered in a grisly fashion that is when a chain of events starts the most horrific escapade into the town of Autumn Creek. Pranksters dressed in Halloween costumes terrorizes the town and the citizens find out what true terror is as the pranks turn into murders.
Who are the pranksters? Why have they targeted Autumn Creek? What is the purpose of the pranks? What is Prank Night? No spoilers here as you will just have to read the book!
Thoughts:
The book started out a little slow with world building and there was a little bit of a back story for certain citizens in the town. Once I got past the backdrop setup of the town and characters which took up a few chapters, then the pranks went into high gear and every chapter from then on had something happening! The pace picked up and then the gore started flying as the bodies started piling up!
This was a great romp into twisted insanity and lots of blood/gore to add as well which kept me turning the pages at the speed of light and I had to grab my gore suit as well! This book would be a great movie as I could literally see the images coming to life from this story! Giving this book five "Blood Splatter" stars!
October 22, 2023
It started with the brutal murder of the librarian Cali Fortner. Soon the whole town was under attack. By who? Why did the trick-or-treat scenario get out of control this year? Can Sheriff Holly do something against the evil pranksters? Will they stop by themselves? This is one of the most nail biting and eeriest books on Halloween I ever came across. Dark, violent and murderous. You don't want to see a Halloween like that. Never. Ever. Be warned. Highly recommended Halloween scare!
November 14, 2022
“Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death…” Matthew 10:21 (NASB)
Local librarian brutally murdered a few days before Halloween was just the start, following night cars tires are slashed, stranding Autumn Creek’s residents with phones not working and rendering them vulnerable when Prank Night starts.
Leaning back into the house, Cali flipped the light-switch next to the door paneling. Expecting her porch light to come on, it remained dark. What the…? She tried a couple more times to no avail, and looked up at the fixture. The bulb was gone. Her throat tightened. Her scalp went prickly. She always kept a working bulb in there. Someone, whoever smashed her window and the pumpkin no doubt, had taken the bulb.
So, when a very different kind of trick-or-treating begins, with terror, blood and mayhem flowing through the previously quiet town, is really going to be a night to remember for an elementary school teacher, local pastor and his family, and a couple of survived law enforcers… assuming they survive Prank Night.
Finally the other ghost, whose sheets were plaid and white, stopped taking pictures. He joined the other ghosts, towering over her. None of them spoke. They just gazed at her blankly and motionless. “What do you want from me?” It was pointless to ask, because she doubted they would answer. And, even if they would, she didn’t want to know what they would say.
Kristopher Rufty’s Prank Night was a real blast of a read for me, a just perfect Halloween tale filled with plenty of thrills, twists, shocks and suspenseful moments that gave me chills at times, with its deliciously Richard Laymon’s vibes and creepy atmosphere, keeping me on the edge and leaving me guess who was going to survive in the end… if any had survived.
“Of course.” Ben paused. “Murderers? Plural?” Warner put his glasses back on and nodded. “Yes. There were multiple knives used on her and, now I’m only guessing, but I believe they were used simultaneously. From the numerous points of penetration, it looks as if there were at least five different knives…used by different hands. This is just an assumption, but I believe there were two, maybe more, killers.” “Shit.”
I totally love how the author's style is similar to Richard Laymon’s one with adding a personal cinematic touch, let’s say that I was just expecting an Halloween slasher before reading this book but what I got was instead one of the most brutal incipits I’ve ever read in my life followed by a slow burn worldbuilding/characters fleshing read turning quickly into a fast paced page turning horrific roller coaster that kept me nailed to my kindle reading it.
They headed outside. The cool air was a frosty slap on her warm skin. She wished she’d have thought to grab her jacket. She decided to leave it, not wanting to risk another groan from her son for having to go back inside. And because of the phone call, for the first time since moving to Autumn Creek she locked the door.
Just imagine Halloween (1978) meets Trick ‘r Treat (2007), The Crazies (1973, but I enjoyed the 2010 remake too) Children of the Corn (1984), The Strangers (2008), Sinister (2012), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), The Purge (2013) and you still have no idea what is waiting for you here, with so much to keep you intrigued right to last page.
A crudely fashioned hood covered his head, and for a face, black ovals had been painted for eyes and a mouth. As disturbing as the attire was, it wasn’t what bothered Greg the most. What had him nervous, had his back feeling as if it were being scraped with an icy fork were the knives. One was clasped in each hand, gummy spatters of blood blemishing their surfaces.
One of best Halloween reads I had in my life, far better, horrifying and entertaining, than expected, that left me craving for more.
“Why did you kill her?” Nothing still. “What is going to happen tonight?” She looked at him. “It’s already happening.” “What’s been happening?” “Prank Night.” “Prank…what?” He shook his head, grimacing as if he’d eaten something fetid. “And you’re too late to stop it.” Suddenly she looked away, revolving back to the blank, mannequin-like persona she had been as if her batteries had died.
Highly recommended to all grown up trick or treaters out there who don't mind reading a scary gore drenched story or two on cold October nights.
November 23, 2021
This book is terrifying. Starts out at 100mph and doesn't stop until the last page.
Reading this book will put you in a Halloween state of mind no matter what time of year it is. And you'll always make sure to have candy for the trick or treaters.
Reading this book will put you in a Halloween state of mind no matter what time of year it is. And you'll always make sure to have candy for the trick or treaters.
November 19, 2015
Prank Night. Sounds just like harmless Halloween fun, right? Until the citizens of Autumn Creek wake up to find their tires slashed. And that's only the beginning of the horror that awaits, as mysterious, oddly costumed figures torment and prey upon those unlucky enough to be in their sights. But the real truth behind Prank Night is more horrifying than anyone ever imagined.
Kristopher Rufty is one of the best of the new crop of horror writers publishing today, and this nasty but fun Halloween novel is a must read for the harvest season...or any time!
Highly recommended!
Kristopher Rufty is one of the best of the new crop of horror writers publishing today, and this nasty but fun Halloween novel is a must read for the harvest season...or any time!
Highly recommended!
October 27, 2022
What a fun ride this was!! I’ve been saying this often lately but this was the best October read! It was a fun fun story! I loved the town of Autumn Creek. The story immerses you into what’s about to unfold right from the very beginning! This read very cinematic to me and it was just so much fun to read! I loved the costume descriptions. I could see this being a horror movie one day!
October 20, 2021
This is the perfect horror book to read in October. Kind of had the children of the corn meet The strangers on Halloween type vibe to it plus so much more. I would love to see this book turned into a movie! I highly recommend all horror fans read this book during Halloween season!
December 8, 2013
2.5 stars
The overall idea behind this story was good, and the author's writing flowed at a smooth pace. The beginning started out promising enough, but the rest of the story just seemed like the same thing happening over and over again with little to differentiate between the scenes. As I stated, I liked the premise of the story, but the end just didn't deliver for me. I felt like there was so much more that "should" have been said, and was left with an unsatisfied feeling when I had finished. Rounded up for good writing in general, and some genuinely chilling scenes. I will try something else by this author, and hope that the storyline is a little better fleshed out.
The overall idea behind this story was good, and the author's writing flowed at a smooth pace. The beginning started out promising enough, but the rest of the story just seemed like the same thing happening over and over again with little to differentiate between the scenes. As I stated, I liked the premise of the story, but the end just didn't deliver for me. I felt like there was so much more that "should" have been said, and was left with an unsatisfied feeling when I had finished. Rounded up for good writing in general, and some genuinely chilling scenes. I will try something else by this author, and hope that the storyline is a little better fleshed out.
November 29, 2013
The quaint little town of Autumn Creek is having a very bad Halloween! Citizens are being killed and mutilated by children dressed in devilish/vampirish clothes....and that's it!! for 300 pages (how did I ever finish) I followed the antics of the children as during "Prank Night" they attempted to annihilate the good citizens. There are no likeable characters here, there is no story of any note here, this is not classic horror...it is not gory horror...it is not literate horror...it is not intelligent horror (in fact it is an insult to my intelligence)I can honestly say this is the worst story I have ever read on the kindle (yes even worse than Night of the Nazi Zombies)I am frankly astounded by the number of 5 star reviews and wish I had never downloaded and wasted my hard earned cash!! I will never read anything by this author again....However for those of you who would like to see and understand just how a good intelligent, witty, memorable Halloween story is written I recommend Jonathan Mayberry's trilogy based around the evil happenings in the small Pennsylvanian village of Pine Ridge...Ghost Road Blues, Dead Man's Song and Bad Moon Rising...they are truly stunning in terms or character (both good and evil) and story development throughout the three books...read and enjoy and leave Prank Night to the uninitiated horror lovers!
November 1, 2024
I found this story extremely creepy and scary. Especially reading it over Halloween, there were some moments when my heart was racing!
It’s not a 5 star read though, because I found the female characters to be written incredibly horrible. Like, were any women actually asked how they would respond to any of the situations the FMCs ended up in? It’s either ironic or satirical, that all of them obsess over their bodies at one point or another in the story. To the point of actually describing their “rumps” and nipple sizes. wtf? No male characters have their asses or moobs critiqued…
Plus they are all so helpless. Ok, I’m sorry, but if someone is hammering on my door unexpectedly at midnight I’m not going to A) throw a robe over my naked body and open the door. B) realizing that someone stole the lightbulb from the porch light, after hammering on the door, throwing stuff, and then disappearing, I’m not going to keep standing vulnerably outside….
There’s even a woman who, after being psychologically tortured and almost killed several times, and seeing a friend killed by these people, then apologizes for attacking them and feels bad about defending herself.
These aspects just totally tainted the story and sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of it.
It’s not a 5 star read though, because I found the female characters to be written incredibly horrible. Like, were any women actually asked how they would respond to any of the situations the FMCs ended up in? It’s either ironic or satirical, that all of them obsess over their bodies at one point or another in the story. To the point of actually describing their “rumps” and nipple sizes. wtf? No male characters have their asses or moobs critiqued…
Plus they are all so helpless. Ok, I’m sorry, but if someone is hammering on my door unexpectedly at midnight I’m not going to A) throw a robe over my naked body and open the door. B) realizing that someone stole the lightbulb from the porch light, after hammering on the door, throwing stuff, and then disappearing, I’m not going to keep standing vulnerably outside….
There’s even a woman who, after being psychologically tortured and almost killed several times, and seeing a friend killed by these people, then apologizes for attacking them and feels bad about defending herself.
These aspects just totally tainted the story and sucked a lot of the enjoyment out of it.
July 10, 2020
A mixed bag, not alot of treats or tricks in it. If you have read Richard Laymon, Brian Keene, Bryan Smith, and some others, you have read this type of thing before, only better. I don't mean to be harsh. There are some very effective passages, but overall this novel felt rushed and amateurish. This novel could have used a good look or three by a skilled editor.
February 8, 2021
Great Halloween slasher. Rufty's writing is so similar to Laymon. I love everything I've read by him. Filled with gore.
October 26, 2022
All tricks no treats
I thouroughly enjoyed this read and perfect timing since it is so close to Halloween. Imagine if the movie Children of the Corn and Trick 'r Treat had a baby that's the product Rufty's Prank Night resulted.
I thouroughly enjoyed this read and perfect timing since it is so close to Halloween. Imagine if the movie Children of the Corn and Trick 'r Treat had a baby that's the product Rufty's Prank Night resulted.
October 18, 2022
Perfect Halloween book! Prank Night is a lot of bloody fun! It was hard for me to put down. Probably my favorite Rufty book now 🎃📖
November 23, 2013
What happens when Halloween gets cancelled and kids have no outlet for which to expend some pent up energy? It becomes a night of survival for the adults of Autumn Creek. It begins with a murder and most of the tires in the town being slashed and quickly escalates into something monstrous and you will never look at Halloween the same way again. A very creepy story that had me up late into the night to finish.
July 8, 2015
The spirit of Richard Laymon lives on in Kristopher Rufty! This is a fun story about the children of a small town going crazy on Halloween. There are many shocking and sudden deaths to keep the reader on their toes. Recommended for pulp and B-movie fans.
October 24, 2021
4.5*- I really enjoyed this one. It’s a great slasher read and perfect for Halloween. Kept me interested to find out who was going to survive the night. I thought it was fast-paced and well written.
December 8, 2024
Prank night was a mixed bag for me. The beginning was amazing while the second half left me disappointed.
Disappointed in half the book but still giving 4 stars??? I’ll explain.
Prank Night started off with a bang and oh my word, it was a page turner. The first 150 pages was probably some of the most fun I had reading in quite a bit. Basically a Halloween slasher with different perspectives and it doesn’t slow down.
But it kept going… and going… and going…
We’re only down to a few characters at this point and the second half goes on way longer than it needed to. The scenes felt repetitive but the pacing was different. Stuff started to drag on.
Prank Night could have ended much sooner and it would have been an amazing S-tier slasher. But I’m not gonna lie, had to skim through some of the ending parts to just finish it. Seriously, this one needed to know when to end.
It averages out to 4 stars because I still can’t get over how good the beginning was. Kristopher Rufty’s writing was also good so that has to be recognized.
Disappointed in half the book but still giving 4 stars??? I’ll explain.
Prank Night started off with a bang and oh my word, it was a page turner. The first 150 pages was probably some of the most fun I had reading in quite a bit. Basically a Halloween slasher with different perspectives and it doesn’t slow down.
But it kept going… and going… and going…
We’re only down to a few characters at this point and the second half goes on way longer than it needed to. The scenes felt repetitive but the pacing was different. Stuff started to drag on.
Prank Night could have ended much sooner and it would have been an amazing S-tier slasher. But I’m not gonna lie, had to skim through some of the ending parts to just finish it. Seriously, this one needed to know when to end.
It averages out to 4 stars because I still can’t get over how good the beginning was. Kristopher Rufty’s writing was also good so that has to be recognized.
November 4, 2013
This is the 2nd novel by Kristopher Rufty that I have read and he is improving his craft. The Citizens of Autumn Hollow are in for one hell of a Halloween. The morning of Halloween the city wakes up to find that somehow 95% of the vehicles in their town have had their tires slashed. And the police start their morning investigating a grisly murder in their quiet town. From there things quickly spiral violently out of control.
Prank Night is a fun Halloween story but I felt it was missing something. I don't know if it was too long or if it wasn't flushed out enough. Contradicting I know but something just didn't feel right. That being said the plot was interesting and you were kept guessing most of the time at a good pace. The characters were a little one dimensional and expendable but I felt the same way about Rufty's first novel Angel Board. His talent as a writer is improving though and I look forward to reading more horror tales by him in the future.
3.5 Stars
Prank Night is a fun Halloween story but I felt it was missing something. I don't know if it was too long or if it wasn't flushed out enough. Contradicting I know but something just didn't feel right. That being said the plot was interesting and you were kept guessing most of the time at a good pace. The characters were a little one dimensional and expendable but I felt the same way about Rufty's first novel Angel Board. His talent as a writer is improving though and I look forward to reading more horror tales by him in the future.
3.5 Stars
October 6, 2025
Prank Night… once it’s given life, it needs to feed.
3.87 stars (= the average rating as of this review, which I will round up)! Kristopher Rufty's "Prank Night" is just what the doctor - you know, the one who lives in a spooky castle up on the mountain and is quite obviously up to no good especially during stormy nights - ordered in time for Halloween. This is a story filled to the brim with mayhem, murder, and some other good alliterative word beginning with m that I just can't think of right now. Maliciousness? Yeah, that'd work. But seriously, if you want a book that from start to finish has, um, a ton of those mentioned things, then this is a great place to start and a fun read to boot.
This is no stopping once it’s started. Like an illness, it just has to…run its course.
"Prank Night" is my third foray into Rufty's catalogue and I think I'd place it squarely between "Bigfoot Beach" - which to me is still one of the most under-appreciated cryptid books in circulation today - and "Machete Mama", an entertaining though somewhat rushed homage (I went with the English spelling this time) to all those fantastic Hong Kong produced karate films from the 70s! However, PN is perhaps not as easy to explain to the casual observer as these other books, as it just is. Is what, you may ask? Again, it just is. There's no slew of demons that show up to destroy yet another small town in the backwoods of the Old North State, no curses, no strange glowing lights that explain why everyone under the age of 18 has rushed out on this night to commit atrocities that would make the current administration blush. It just, well, happens.
Tonight is Prank Night. Tonight, you meet God.
One thing Rufty does very well is he gets the spirit of small-town North Carolina and its denizens just right. I would note after careful research (yeah, I googled it), that of our exactly 100 counties in NC, there are none named Webster County and neither is there an incorporated Autumn Creek town or even RFD (though there is a wedding venue with that name so, um, Mazel Tov!). Anyway, in true form, you'll get to see that the stubbornness of local, elected law enforcement has to of course lead to decisions that mean the doom for so many (yeah, there's a lot of "if only, if only" going on). That's a given. And naturally, your high school football heros have to appear and shock us all that they are not acting like the idols we so want to worship every Friday night. And speaking of worship, dang but that young couple at the church sure are swell, aren't they? It's a shame about… well, no spoilers. But like I said, scrape the tar off your heels and feel the absolute isolation that some of these one factory towns that are only accessible by one road off the main drag truly present. And whatever you do, if you lose cellphone coverage when you're driving nearby, keep on keeping on!
Wiping out a whole town in less than a day can really wear somebody out…
And though I think I've hinted at it pretty strongly before, let me emphasize again: this story is just non-stop "action". Now you may define the kind of action you're looking for a tad differently but this Hallow's Eve is just wall-to-wall terror and truly splatterpunky shenanigans. Which makes it kind of fun because we get all brands of terror, from home invasions, screaming chases through the woods, and a gun battle to end all battles right smack dab in the middle of the sheriff's office. And if that's not enough, then wait until you see the gory and gruesome ways that nooses, axes, scythes! (perfectly normal in small towns!), machetes (homage to the homage!), and more are employed on a night. And again, what's the cause you ask? Would you believe me if I said all the kids were just bored? I mean, usually it's hard drugs that take over these no horse places, right? So at least the locals found a different hobby…
Awful, agonized bellows that ripped through the night like the wails of sirens.
I will say that there were a couple of aspects that I was less than enamored with throughout. First, and just quickly here, the editing needed to be a bit better. No, it wasn't terrible but there were just a few more hiccups than I like to see in terms of wrong words (e.g. 'of' vs. 'off', 'titled' vs. 'tilted', etc.) and what not. Secondly - and I say this as a fully breast-appreciative red-blooded neanderthal, I mean, male - we need to watch out for the number of scenes where nipples are getting hard or people are checking out other's breasts (or even their own) or things are flopping in and/or out of shirts left and right (or both). It just got a little odd especially if it doesn't get balanced out with Cousin Floyd checking out his ball-sack to see if there are any strange moles popping out or if Mr. Johnson is still as perky as he used to be. Just thinking about expanding the reading audience here and if it made me a little uncomfortable, well…
She hadn’t been able to shake this icky feeling inside.
But overall, this was a lot of truly gruesome fun. Just when I thought things might be calming down a bit, boom-choppa-choppa Rufty gave us another jumpscare to enjoy! Throughout the tension is just out the roof where cowards became heroes, heroes became roadkill, and I will never ever look at carving a jack'o'lantern the same way again ("A guttering candle was in each of her hollowed eye sockets like a dancing yellow pupil.")! So now, during this the most special holiday season of them all, is the perfect time to pick this up. And who knows, you may just want to go on a rampage of your own afterwards. You know, just because! Enjoy.
3.87 stars (= the average rating as of this review, which I will round up)! Kristopher Rufty's "Prank Night" is just what the doctor - you know, the one who lives in a spooky castle up on the mountain and is quite obviously up to no good especially during stormy nights - ordered in time for Halloween. This is a story filled to the brim with mayhem, murder, and some other good alliterative word beginning with m that I just can't think of right now. Maliciousness? Yeah, that'd work. But seriously, if you want a book that from start to finish has, um, a ton of those mentioned things, then this is a great place to start and a fun read to boot.
This is no stopping once it’s started. Like an illness, it just has to…run its course.
"Prank Night" is my third foray into Rufty's catalogue and I think I'd place it squarely between "Bigfoot Beach" - which to me is still one of the most under-appreciated cryptid books in circulation today - and "Machete Mama", an entertaining though somewhat rushed homage (I went with the English spelling this time) to all those fantastic Hong Kong produced karate films from the 70s! However, PN is perhaps not as easy to explain to the casual observer as these other books, as it just is. Is what, you may ask? Again, it just is. There's no slew of demons that show up to destroy yet another small town in the backwoods of the Old North State, no curses, no strange glowing lights that explain why everyone under the age of 18 has rushed out on this night to commit atrocities that would make the current administration blush. It just, well, happens.
Tonight is Prank Night. Tonight, you meet God.
One thing Rufty does very well is he gets the spirit of small-town North Carolina and its denizens just right. I would note after careful research (yeah, I googled it), that of our exactly 100 counties in NC, there are none named Webster County and neither is there an incorporated Autumn Creek town or even RFD (though there is a wedding venue with that name so, um, Mazel Tov!). Anyway, in true form, you'll get to see that the stubbornness of local, elected law enforcement has to of course lead to decisions that mean the doom for so many (yeah, there's a lot of "if only, if only" going on). That's a given. And naturally, your high school football heros have to appear and shock us all that they are not acting like the idols we so want to worship every Friday night. And speaking of worship, dang but that young couple at the church sure are swell, aren't they? It's a shame about… well, no spoilers. But like I said, scrape the tar off your heels and feel the absolute isolation that some of these one factory towns that are only accessible by one road off the main drag truly present. And whatever you do, if you lose cellphone coverage when you're driving nearby, keep on keeping on!
Wiping out a whole town in less than a day can really wear somebody out…
And though I think I've hinted at it pretty strongly before, let me emphasize again: this story is just non-stop "action". Now you may define the kind of action you're looking for a tad differently but this Hallow's Eve is just wall-to-wall terror and truly splatterpunky shenanigans. Which makes it kind of fun because we get all brands of terror, from home invasions, screaming chases through the woods, and a gun battle to end all battles right smack dab in the middle of the sheriff's office. And if that's not enough, then wait until you see the gory and gruesome ways that nooses, axes, scythes! (perfectly normal in small towns!), machetes (homage to the homage!), and more are employed on a night. And again, what's the cause you ask? Would you believe me if I said all the kids were just bored? I mean, usually it's hard drugs that take over these no horse places, right? So at least the locals found a different hobby…
Awful, agonized bellows that ripped through the night like the wails of sirens.
I will say that there were a couple of aspects that I was less than enamored with throughout. First, and just quickly here, the editing needed to be a bit better. No, it wasn't terrible but there were just a few more hiccups than I like to see in terms of wrong words (e.g. 'of' vs. 'off', 'titled' vs. 'tilted', etc.) and what not. Secondly - and I say this as a fully breast-appreciative red-blooded neanderthal, I mean, male - we need to watch out for the number of scenes where nipples are getting hard or people are checking out other's breasts (or even their own) or things are flopping in and/or out of shirts left and right (or both). It just got a little odd especially if it doesn't get balanced out with Cousin Floyd checking out his ball-sack to see if there are any strange moles popping out or if Mr. Johnson is still as perky as he used to be. Just thinking about expanding the reading audience here and if it made me a little uncomfortable, well…
She hadn’t been able to shake this icky feeling inside.
But overall, this was a lot of truly gruesome fun. Just when I thought things might be calming down a bit, boom-choppa-choppa Rufty gave us another jumpscare to enjoy! Throughout the tension is just out the roof where cowards became heroes, heroes became roadkill, and I will never ever look at carving a jack'o'lantern the same way again ("A guttering candle was in each of her hollowed eye sockets like a dancing yellow pupil.")! So now, during this the most special holiday season of them all, is the perfect time to pick this up. And who knows, you may just want to go on a rampage of your own afterwards. You know, just because! Enjoy.
December 18, 2013
It all begins with seemingly harmless pranks : car tires vandalised all over town, the words 'Prank Night' written on a chalkboard, but when the first body is found, its eyes hollowed out with candles burning inside, the words take on a more sinister meaning.
I was engaged all the way through this book. The plot was interesting and fast-paced with believable characters. This is a very different kind of halloween book with killers' you wouldn't expect — the horrific things they do to their first victim would send the boogieman running — but this makes them more terrifying.
Another great read from Kristopher Rufty.
I was engaged all the way through this book. The plot was interesting and fast-paced with believable characters. This is a very different kind of halloween book with killers' you wouldn't expect — the horrific things they do to their first victim would send the boogieman running — but this makes them more terrifying.
Another great read from Kristopher Rufty.
October 23, 2013
I've been on a Kristopher Rufty bender for some time now, but this book is one of my favourites so far. Released just in time for Halloween, this is one of his more fast-paced and fun books, infused with lots of colourful gory scenes which are reminiscent of all the classic 80's slasher movies. Rufty has made children the centre of this creepy story in the same tradition as The Children of the Corn and other such films. He has done it so well, that I think we're all better off loading up with sweet treats in time for Thursday and keeping our kids happy....
September 14, 2023
A fun and spooky read reminiscent of The Strangers and the French film Them.
December 14, 2021
3/5
*I'm not going to give you the 'what this book is about' blurb - you can read that elsewhere.
1. Kids are assholes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. They're little creeps!
2. I don't do well with a ton of gore or 'splatter' in horror. I tend to prefer more supernatural or monster or mental type horrors, and I have to say that there was definitely SOME gore/blood/etc. in this book it wasn't overly bad. AND - I wouldn't have rated it any less if there were because that's kind of what I was expecting. If it had been overly gross I would have just stopped reading and known it wasn't really for me. But I made it through and enjoyed the book a lot.
3. Throughout the book I just kept wondering WTF was happening. Why it was happening - there were some little clues speckled throughout but it didn't really make much sense at the time, but at the end it was all wrapped up nicely. I know some people (including myself) don't like to be left hanging, and this book doesn't do that to the reader.
4. In my opinion the backstory could have used a bit more detail - like....Okay - it's hard to really say this without maybe giving stuff away, so if you don't want a maybe spoiler stop reading now. The things that went down on Halloween or 'Prank Night' happened previously in the town as well. Just kind of wondering what the original stemmed from or want a bit more detail in to the first go around. Maybe there is another book - honestly this was my first book of this author and I wasn't even sure I was going to like it (I Did!) so I didn't look into more of his work prior to writing this review. After saying that - I 100% would read another of his books if it were like this. Anything more gory/splatter-y wouldn't be for me, at least at this time.
*I'm not going to give you the 'what this book is about' blurb - you can read that elsewhere.
1. Kids are assholes. I've said it before and I'll say it again. They're little creeps!
2. I don't do well with a ton of gore or 'splatter' in horror. I tend to prefer more supernatural or monster or mental type horrors, and I have to say that there was definitely SOME gore/blood/etc. in this book it wasn't overly bad. AND - I wouldn't have rated it any less if there were because that's kind of what I was expecting. If it had been overly gross I would have just stopped reading and known it wasn't really for me. But I made it through and enjoyed the book a lot.
3. Throughout the book I just kept wondering WTF was happening. Why it was happening - there were some little clues speckled throughout but it didn't really make much sense at the time, but at the end it was all wrapped up nicely. I know some people (including myself) don't like to be left hanging, and this book doesn't do that to the reader.
4. In my opinion the backstory could have used a bit more detail - like....Okay - it's hard to really say this without maybe giving stuff away, so if you don't want a maybe spoiler stop reading now. The things that went down on Halloween or 'Prank Night' happened previously in the town as well. Just kind of wondering what the original stemmed from or want a bit more detail in to the first go around. Maybe there is another book - honestly this was my first book of this author and I wasn't even sure I was going to like it (I Did!) so I didn't look into more of his work prior to writing this review. After saying that - I 100% would read another of his books if it were like this. Anything more gory/splatter-y wouldn't be for me, at least at this time.
November 2, 2023
PRANK NIGHT is my first book by Kristopher Rufty and it's so intense and bloodsoaked and fun to read! I really had no expectations since I am new to this author's work, but I know that what I read exceeded any sort of excitement or enjoyment I thought I had in store for me. The story just flew by in a night or so of absolute chaos, fear, and gore. There is a nice level of suspense and mystery as the reader navigates what all is going on (alongside the police, etc), who will be the next victim and why, and what is the goal of everything happening? Does it connect to the past? Is this a "sins of the father" type horror story? All these questions raced around in my head and I got my answers in the end! I can't wait to read more from Rufty -- and that's a good thing because he's got quite a collection of works for me to catch up on!
October 14, 2024
Nope... when a writer has to go into excruciating detail about every minor action by every character it's time to throw in the towel. I don't want or need second by second coverage of women taking showers and using the toilet. There is so much gawddamn filler, the first 30 pages could have been told in 3 pages.
grrrr... I know when a book irritates me this much this quickly it's best to just close it up and find something else in my towering stacks of books to read.
grrrr... I know when a book irritates me this much this quickly it's best to just close it up and find something else in my towering stacks of books to read.
June 18, 2025
Not to bad of a book
I didn't know what to expect with this book, but it turned out to be pretty good. Would have liked to see more about why everything happened, and a little bit more backstory on it. The ending didn't really give to much info about the aftermath like I thought it would. Still though I thought it was a decent book and I'm glad that I read it. Might go check out his other stuff and see what it is like.
I didn't know what to expect with this book, but it turned out to be pretty good. Would have liked to see more about why everything happened, and a little bit more backstory on it. The ending didn't really give to much info about the aftermath like I thought it would. Still though I thought it was a decent book and I'm glad that I read it. Might go check out his other stuff and see what it is like.
April 30, 2019
Great idea but the writing left a lot to be desired.
August 18, 2022
Great premise but some of the characters were so over the top stupid it was hard to get past
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