October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween

October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween – Review (3.5/5)

A massive, uneven love letter to Halloween. The fiction is often strong—standouts like Pay the Ghost, The Black Pumpkin, Lantern Marsh, Masks, Boo, Halloween 25, and The Whitby Experience still carry real unease and sorrow. But the book keeps stopping to deliver “Halloween memories” that read more like sentimental campfire monologues than genuine recollections. The endless nostalgia—razor-blade myths and all—starts to dull the edge.

For readers who want cozy autumn warmth with a hint of darkness, it’s perfect. But if you come to Halloween for fear, atmosphere, and a sense that something wicked might actually come, this anthology feels too safe, too wistful, and a show more little dishonest. show less

After meaning to get around to this anthology for more than a decade, I've finally done it, and while I have to say it was a faster read than expected, it was also an up-and-down one...perhaps more so than I'd hope from an anthology containing so many big names.

The highlights here, for me, weren't the short stories, but the various "Halloween Memories" included as short anecdotes and stories from the authors' own lives. Many of these shorter works did more work in carrying the spirit of Halloween than the short stories themselves, though there were certainly some standouts among the stories. Unfortunately, the 'down' moments in the anthology are what I believe may stay in my mind longer--in particular, an overly long essay on Halloween show more films that I disagreed with on nearly every point made and an anti-abortion story by F. Paul Wilson that I only wish I could strike from my mind.

All told, I'm not sure I'd go into another anthology by these particular editors, but I'm glad to have finally gotten around to this anthology, and as I said, there were certainly some stand-out stories. The memories alone, though, I'd say, were more than worth the cost of admission. show less

Rereading snippets of this book for the season reminded me how solid and informative an anthology collection can be. The jewels in this book are various authors' recollections of their personal Halloween stories, in addition to many great horror tales. Highly recommended, whether this edition or the later reprint editions not put out by Cemetery Dance.

This book is a lovely holiday companion piece.

I am a seasonal reader. When the days become noticeably shorter, usually August here in my hometown, I start reading material of a supernatural, horrific type. This goes on until after Halloween, through the dark days of the winter solstice. After the solstice my head turns towards all those lovely floor plans, both the Victorian kind published by Downing, Sloan and Bicknell as well as all the more recent floor plans available online.

This is an essential volume in the library of everyone whose favorite holiday theme is black and orange. At times it is as nostalgic and sticky sweet as candy corn, at other times as bleak and atmospheric as a harvested cornfield guarded by one lone eerie show more scarecrow.

If only this book would emanate the aromas of candle wax, dead leaves and scorched pumpkin when the pages are opened.............it would be a perfect world. show less

Not bad. Even some of the (ostensibly all nonfiction) reminiscences by authors are quite good.

The inclusion of F. Paul Wilson's "Buckets," though, is the most egregious example of editorial misconduct I have ever encountered. Whether one likes it or not, it is far too politically charged (crudely so, at that) for a purported Hallowe'en/spook story and casts a pall on the rest of the book. That they even considered it in the first place was a travesty of Hallowe'en/spook story anthologizing.

The story selection is outstanding. There isn't a stinker in here. The Halloween reminiscences are pretty uneven. Some authors obviously put some heart and effort into it and others seemed to treat it as an uninspiring chore.

‘’The jack-o’-lanterns grinned and frowned and scowled and leered. They seemed to be staring at Tommy. Every one of them.
Their mouths were agape, little pointy teeth bared. None had the blunt, goofy dental work of ordinary jack-o’-lanterns. Some were equipped with long fangs.
Staring, staring. And Tommy had the peculiar feeling that they could see him.’’

‘’By day the marsh was a place of filtering, shifting patches of sunlight,cypress and live oak bearded with Spanish moss, velvety brown cattails that would bust into clouds of white snow if you smacked them against the back of your friend’s head, ad unfounded rumors of quicksand pools full of skeletons and treasure.

At night, the lanterns took over.’’

‘’The streets show more are filled with shouters tonight, one the same as another. Listen to the voices all over the neighbourhood, music against the sounding board of silence and the chill infinity of the afternoon.’’

The Whitby Experience (Simon Clark): A couple goes to Whitby for their dream Halloween getaway but the woman finds herself in the middle of a nightmarish custom. Extremely creepy with a heavy dose of Robert Aickman aura.

Gone (Jack Ketchum): A woman whose daughter was lost years ago faces the fear of the trick-o-treaters in a story that demonstrates the prejudices of a neighbourhood.

Yesterday’s Witch (Gahan Wilson): Sometimes, the rumoured witches turn out to be real, frightening, dangerous witches.

A Short History of Halloween (Paula Curan): Concise, informative, and entertaining.

‘’Swirling dry leaves maybe swept along in the wake of passing ghosts. The feeling that, on this one night, absolutely anything could happen.’’

Criswell Conquers the Alien Elvis-Nappers (Tom Piccirilli): Full of coziness, pop art references and an homage to the legendary Stanley Hotel.

‘’And when the music began to weep it filtered through the night, through wind, and across the street to ten-year-old ears. The three women held the night, or pressed it back. The young woman wept above her keyboard, wept with her keyboard. the two older women simply held each other and wept.’’

1942 (Jack Cady): A sad Halloween story about two mothers, a sister and the ones who died so we could be free.

Out of the Dark (David B.Silva): A boy that tried to trick Death has become a man whose wife is seriously ill. But can you trick Death twice? And if you do, what prize will be asked of you?

A Redress for Andromeda (Caitlin R.Kiernan): A mysterious tale that falls into the Folk Horror genre. Very cryptic and memorable.

The Circle (Lewis Shiner): A group of friends meet to honour their Halloween tradition of reading their very own horror stories. But what happens when the story written by an absent enemy becomes a frightening reality? So creepy and unique!

Pay the Ghost (Tim Lebbon): Two parents try to find their daughter who went missing one Halloween night. The ‘ghost’ demands its payment. This story would become an excellent, albeit menacing, film.

‘’I’ve never seen any of you before today.’;
‘’Not true’’, said another voice. ‘’After our fathers, you’re the second most important man in our lives.’’

This was insane. ‘I don’t know any of you!’’

‘’You should.’’ Another voice - were they trying to confuse him by talking from different spots in the room?

‘’Why?’’

‘’Because you killed us. [...] Some political appointees decided that we weren’t people and that was that. Pretty much like what happened to East European Jews back in World War Two. We’re no even afforded the grace of being called embryos or fetuses. We’re known as ‘products of conception.’ What a neat, dehumanizing little phrase. So much easier to scrape the ‘products of conception’ into a bucket than a person.’’

Buckets (F.Paul Wilson): A ‘doctor’ who has been involved in abortions aka. the murder of a hundred babies receives his comeuppance. And get that in that empty head of yours: Abortion is a crime and killing babies is NOT Healthcare, pink-haired bimbos.

Eyes (Charles L.Grant): A murdered boy returns to haunt the man who killed him. His father.

Deathmask (Dominick Cancilla): Better be careful with your children lest you lose them soon…

‘’He noticed the moon was high in the trees now. It still appeared to be a bloated sphere of pale harvest-orange, but it would be casting off the colour as it continued its journey skyward. Memories reach out for him like opened window curtains touched by the nightwind. The smells and sounds of the evening seduced him, carrying him into the mist of a time long ago, but not forgotten. he found himself longing for the innocence and the industry of childhood, forgetting the fears and terrors that nightly accompany most kids to their beds.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ show less