During the month of October 2017, Brian James Freeman and the folks at Hydra, have gotten together to present a total of twenty-five Halloween tales of horror from twenty-five of the best genre writers working today. Every Tuesday during October there will be a new volume in the Halloween Carnival anthology series.
Volume one was a top-notch set of four shorts and a novella and while the second book is not quite as strong. It's still worth your time this Halloween reading season.
Halloween Carnival Volume Two begins and ends with novella length stories with three shorts in between. The fun starts with..
Mr. Dark's Carnival by Glen Hirshberg - This novella's been published before, including an ultra-limited hardcover edition from Earthling Publications, which became the first of many Halloween limited edition books. Is it possible that Mr. Dark's Carnival—the inspiration for all our Halloween festivities, the most celebrated attraction or event in the history of Clarkston, Montana—never really existed. if you've never read Mr. Dark's Carnival, you're in for a treat. The best story in this volume.
The Facts In the Case of My Sister by Lee Thomas - The horrors of spousal abuse told in this story of a brother's unwavering love for his sister.
Mischief Night by Holly Newstein - In Pennsylvania, the night before Halloween is known as Mischief Night. Kids play harmless but annoying pranks, like throwing toilet paper into trees, soaping windows, and egging cars. Occasionally lines are crossed, and what was annoying becomes malicious. Sometimes even deadly...like what happens when a group of boys decide to prank Mr. Worrall, the assistant principal.
The Ghost Maker by Del James - What happens when a mob hit-man goes to a Halloween party.
The Pumpkin Boy by Al Sarrantonio - Al Sarrantonio is one of my favorite Halloween storytellers. I love his stories set in his fictional Orangefield which is where he takes us for this novella of child abduction and the Pumpkin Boy. The Pumpkin Boy had a bright orange pumpkin head with cold night steam puffing out of the eyes, nose and mouth cutouts, and a body consisting of a bright metal barrel chest and jointed legs and arms that looked like stainless steel rails.
Recommended and already looking forward to Volume Three.
Halloween Carnival Volume Two is published by Hydra, a division of Random House, and is available as an ebook.
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