Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Halloween

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a tradition I started a couple years ago that's getting harder to maintain of reading a Halloween themed antho all through October to get in the spirit. When I saw this by Marvin Kaye (who normally puts together fairly good compilations) I was thrilled. Sadly, it was only to be mostly disappointed when I read it for this year.

The book started out with some promise in "Auntie Elspeth's Halloween Story" by Esther Freisner, a fun little story-within-a-story told from the point of view of a curmudgeonly old woman forced to babysit pampered nieces and nephews. As stories went on however, I was less and less pleased with how the antho shaped up. A few weak stories in my opinion, a few good ones that I'd already read in better anthologies, occasionally broken by a decent little gem I hadn't seen before. "Into the Abyss" by RJ Lewis was amusing, "The Halloween Man" by William F. Nolan was a nice reminder of child's fears on Halloween and "Uncle Evil Eye" by Carole Bugge has a wonderful sense of wistful nostalgia for Halloween fun as a child.

The biggest problem I had was that several of the stories that were new to me (that I hadn't seen in every other Halloween antho) didn't really center around Halloween in my opinion, but used it as a device or backdrop for some different action that wasn't really based in the traditions and general feel of Hallow's Eve, Samhain, etc. One or two stories I might even enjoy in another format, if I hadn't been looking for a Halloween collection. And I'll also agree with the other reviewer that ending on "The Banshee's Comb" at 78 pages was not the best choice. I would rather have had three more shorter stories deeply rooted in Halloween/Samhain.

So in my estimation, if you want the real ultimate Halloween anthology, find a copy of October Dreams edited by Robert Chizmar and Robert Morrish. October Dreams:: A Celebration of Halloween Between all the original stories, one or two classics, a few essays on Halloween, and authors sharing real Halloween memories, it beats the socks off of this entry as having a true feel of Halloween old and new. And if you want a better introduction with a brief history of Halloween and some classic stories, find 13 Horrors of Halloween edited by none other than Isaac Asimov. 13 Horrors of Halloween (Thirteen Horrors of Halloween) Either one will be generally more satisfying for the feel of Halloween.

This is a pretty good book of halloween-themed stories. Overall, it's a good book with effective stories, but the stories themselves differ very much in themes. Some are humoristic, some are like fairy tales and others are more "classical" horror stories, including one of Lovecraft's hand. If you want an anthology of stories that have similar styles and atmospheres, don't try it, you will be disappointed, but if your objective is to remind yourselves about all of Halloween multi-facetted meanings, then indulge yourself with this wonderful book. Just don't expect the story you're starting to read to be like the one you've just finished. You will have your favorites, and you will have your not-so-favorites, but all the stories achieve what their authors sought to do with them.

As for me, I believe it's going to become an annual tradition for October.

I really enjoyed this book! I just stumbled on this compilation by accident, wanting a little Halloween ditty and couldn't put it down. There is a different tone to each story. From humor to fright, I loved each different story, especially the variety of styles.