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The Ultimate Halloween
A ghoulish and haunting anthology of fantasy and horror tales dealing with Halloween night features new and classic short stories by Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Jessica Amanda Salmonson, Arjay Lewis and Al Sarrantonio. Reprint.
336 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2001
2 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Marvin Kaye
140 books82 followersMarvin Nathan Kaye was an American mystery, fantasy, science fiction, horror author, anthologist, and editor. He was also a magician and theater actor. Kaye was a World Fantasy Award winner and served as co-publisher and editor of Weird Tales Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 5, 2017
I enjoyed this book of Halloween stories. I had not read any of these before, so they were all new to me. Nothing known from the past anyway. This deff got me into the Halloween spirit!
October 30, 2021
3.5 stars
October 31, 2023
An eclectic collection of Halloween stories, ranging from humorous to chilling. As with most anthologies, it was a mixed bag. It was still a good collection, and great for Halloween reading.
November 23, 2020
As one of my favorite holidays, I love to get into the Halloween spirit by reading a good collection of spooky stories- this was the first I have read that featured only stories based around the 31st of October. This is an entirely adequate anthology of Halloween tales, including both old and new stories. Classics from the pens of Edith Wharton and H.P. Lovecraft are found side by side with works by more modern authors, and a wide variety of genres are represented, from horror to memoir, mystery to fantasy.
While this mix of things keeps the anthology from becoming stale, it also makes for an uneven tone, placing stories of childish whimsy next to some pretty dark tales. I have nothing against either, but it is a bit jarring to go right from one to the other, in my opinion. The stories themselves are generally entertaining, though hardly memorable, with a few only marginally featuring Halloween at all. My favorites were R.J. Lewis’s “Into the Abyss,” a story about a makeup artist’s greatest costume challenge, and “Uncle Evil Eye,” an autobiographical and nostalgic look at childhood Halloween. For the most part, though, this bag of Halloween candy was mostly candy corn and Bazooka Bubblegum, with only a few candy bars to be found.
While this mix of things keeps the anthology from becoming stale, it also makes for an uneven tone, placing stories of childish whimsy next to some pretty dark tales. I have nothing against either, but it is a bit jarring to go right from one to the other, in my opinion. The stories themselves are generally entertaining, though hardly memorable, with a few only marginally featuring Halloween at all. My favorites were R.J. Lewis’s “Into the Abyss,” a story about a makeup artist’s greatest costume challenge, and “Uncle Evil Eye,” an autobiographical and nostalgic look at childhood Halloween. For the most part, though, this bag of Halloween candy was mostly candy corn and Bazooka Bubblegum, with only a few candy bars to be found.
October 16, 2012
BOTTOM LINE: Mixed bag of stories centered around Halloween doings and beings; some old stories, most new, several excellent, some funny, all with a horrific edge.
The best IMO, are Al Sarrantonio’s “Pumpkin Head” 1982, Edith Wharton’s “All Souls”, William Nolan’s “The Halloween Man”, 1986, and Parke Godwin’s “A Matter of Taste” 2001, plus Edward D. Hoch’s Nick Velvet story is lots of fun, “The Theft of the Halloween Pumpkin” 1983.
Also includes:
John Gregory Betancourt, “The Devil’s Own”, 2001
Mark Bilgray, “Evening Spirit”, 2001
Marilyn Mattie Brahen, “Trick or Treat with Jesus”, 2001
Carole Bugge, “Uncle Evil Eye”, 2001
Esther Freisner, “Auntie Elspeth’s Halloween Story, or The Gourd, the Bad and the Ugly”, 2001
Ron Goulart, “The Phantom Highwayman”, 2001
Herminie T. Kavanagh, “The Banshee’s Comb”
Terry Kaye, “The Witch who Hated Halloween”, 2001
R.J. Lewis, “Into the Abyss”, 2001
H.P. Lovecraft, “The Unspeakable”, 1939
Terry McGarry, “Miasma”, 2001
Darrell Schweitzer. “Tom O’Bedlam’s Night Out”, 1977
The best IMO, are Al Sarrantonio’s “Pumpkin Head” 1982, Edith Wharton’s “All Souls”, William Nolan’s “The Halloween Man”, 1986, and Parke Godwin’s “A Matter of Taste” 2001, plus Edward D. Hoch’s Nick Velvet story is lots of fun, “The Theft of the Halloween Pumpkin” 1983.
Also includes:
John Gregory Betancourt, “The Devil’s Own”, 2001
Mark Bilgray, “Evening Spirit”, 2001
Marilyn Mattie Brahen, “Trick or Treat with Jesus”, 2001
Carole Bugge, “Uncle Evil Eye”, 2001
Esther Freisner, “Auntie Elspeth’s Halloween Story, or The Gourd, the Bad and the Ugly”, 2001
Ron Goulart, “The Phantom Highwayman”, 2001
Herminie T. Kavanagh, “The Banshee’s Comb”
Terry Kaye, “The Witch who Hated Halloween”, 2001
R.J. Lewis, “Into the Abyss”, 2001
H.P. Lovecraft, “The Unspeakable”, 1939
Terry McGarry, “Miasma”, 2001
Darrell Schweitzer. “Tom O’Bedlam’s Night Out”, 1977
October 22, 2018
When I started reading the last story I thought, oh some wrote some Darby O'Gill fanfiction haha, no, it's the actually story the movie was based on. I actually have wanted to read that since I was 8. However not just the dialog in the story but the entire thing was written in dialect and I hate reading in dialect. Still interesting to finally read it. Overall, this book of short stories was ok. I liked Pumpkin Head, Halloween Man, and Uncle Evil Eye. Those are probably the only ones I'd reread.
October 21, 2020
A mish mash of meh stories
November 13, 2012
It’s never too late or too early for Halloween. For those who think Halloween is the best time of year, that it’s even better than Christmas, that it was high time it was made a national holiday in America, dammit, this book of short stories revolving around the holiday is for them.
These stories are, by turns, funny, scary, quirky thought provoking or simply entertaining. However, I would have preferred an inclusion of eroticism or the sexual among these stories. Given the proliferation of naughty costumes that appear on Halloween, it didn’t seem too much to expect a tale of sexy capering on October 31st. Presumably the editor was aiming this towards a different kind of readership.
The editor also eschewed most of the usual suspects. There are no vampires, werewolves, mummies or beings of that ilk. There are however visits from the devil, witches and the odd fairy or two. “The Ultimate Halloween” has stories that feature annoyed elders, devilish children, intrepid detectives, unnamable horrors and, of course, pumpkins. I picked my favorite almost right away. Which one will you choose?
These stories are, by turns, funny, scary, quirky thought provoking or simply entertaining. However, I would have preferred an inclusion of eroticism or the sexual among these stories. Given the proliferation of naughty costumes that appear on Halloween, it didn’t seem too much to expect a tale of sexy capering on October 31st. Presumably the editor was aiming this towards a different kind of readership.
The editor also eschewed most of the usual suspects. There are no vampires, werewolves, mummies or beings of that ilk. There are however visits from the devil, witches and the odd fairy or two. “The Ultimate Halloween” has stories that feature annoyed elders, devilish children, intrepid detectives, unnamable horrors and, of course, pumpkins. I picked my favorite almost right away. Which one will you choose?
October 13, 2009
This is a nice little anthology, with a few outstanding stories. Most are pleasantly mediocore, while one was just horrible, which I'll get to in a minute.
The first story, "Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story or The Gourd, The Bad, and The Ugly" was charming and fun and got the book off to a good start. Other favorites included "The Halloween Man" and "Pumpkin Head." "Uncle Evil Eye" was a nice memory of a Halloween past, and "The Phantom Highwayman" was a solid mystery. Beyond that, the stories don't tend to stand out.
The one story I hated was "Trick or Treat with Jesus." The characters were cardboard stereotypes and it was over-the-top preachy, which is very ironic considering that the author was obviously trying to make a point against overly preachy people.
In summary, not the best Halloween anthology out there, but probably not the worst either.
The first story, "Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story or The Gourd, The Bad, and The Ugly" was charming and fun and got the book off to a good start. Other favorites included "The Halloween Man" and "Pumpkin Head." "Uncle Evil Eye" was a nice memory of a Halloween past, and "The Phantom Highwayman" was a solid mystery. Beyond that, the stories don't tend to stand out.
The one story I hated was "Trick or Treat with Jesus." The characters were cardboard stereotypes and it was over-the-top preachy, which is very ironic considering that the author was obviously trying to make a point against overly preachy people.
In summary, not the best Halloween anthology out there, but probably not the worst either.
October 16, 2014
I would give this book 3.5 stars. As with most anthologies, there were some stories I didn't care for and some I loved. My favorite one in this collection, is: The Halloween Man. It was about a spooky character who carries a sack around to steal little kid's souls on Halloween, the only day of the year that is he is allowed on earth. Some of the stories just didn't have enough of a Halloween feel to them that I would expect from a Halloween book. But for the most part, it's worth the read!
October 5, 2011
eh - decent in the Halloweentown, Goosebumps kind of way. Not really scary, not really original.
Decent stories:
* Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story or the Gourd, the Bad, and the Ugly (Esther Freisner)
* Inter the Abyss (R.J. Lewis)
* All Souls (Edith Wharton)
* The Halloween Man (William F. Nolan)
* A Matter of Taste (Parke Godwin)
Decent stories:
* Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story or the Gourd, the Bad, and the Ugly (Esther Freisner)
* Inter the Abyss (R.J. Lewis)
* All Souls (Edith Wharton)
* The Halloween Man (William F. Nolan)
* A Matter of Taste (Parke Godwin)
October 8, 2011
i read this every october and am never disappointed. so good!
October 6, 2014
A mixed bag. Some very good stories, some real stinkers.
Definitely Read: ALL SOULS by Edith Wharton; THE UNNAMEABLE by HP Lovecraft; PUMPKIN HEAD by Al Sarrantonio
Definitely Read: ALL SOULS by Edith Wharton; THE UNNAMEABLE by HP Lovecraft; PUMPKIN HEAD by Al Sarrantonio
November 18, 2015
1.5
most of these stories sucked! the first was the best by far.
most of these stories sucked! the first was the best by far.
October 13, 2016
"It was ok" pretty much sums up my thoughts on this particular collection. There were a few decent stories, but, none that really stuck with me and a few of the older ones I found downright boring.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews