All Hallows' Eve: 13 Stories

This collection of short stories provides a good mix of suspense, terror, and intrigue, with just the right amount of humor thrown in. Some of the stories are particularly innovative, and the various twists and turns are sure to keep you interested. A charming YA collection.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

I have been a fan of Vivian Vande Velde ever since I read CURSES, INC. AND OTHER STORIES. I quickly followed that up by reading several of her other books, including NOW YOU SEE IT... and COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT. Ms. Vande Velde is the master of spooky stories, whether they be contemporary, paranormal, or fantasy. What she's even better at, though, is writing short stories that have a way of staying with you long after you finish reading them.

With ALL HALLOWS' EVE, the author has brought us thirteen original short stories that, as a whole, scared the bejesus out of me. Whether the story is two pages long or ten, you find yourself immersed in the life of whatever tale the author is telling--and find show more yourself coming out, at the end of it, glad you're reading with the lights on.

The stories in this collection include:

COME IN AND REST A SPELL
MARIAN
MORGAN ROEHMAR'S BOYS
ONLY ON ALL HALLOWS' EVE
CEMETERY FIELD TRIP
BEST FRIENDS
PRETENDING
I WANT TO THANK YOU
WHEN AND HOW
WHEN MY PARENTS COME TO VISIT
EDWARD, LOST AND FAR FROM HOME
MY REAL MOTHER
HOLDING ON

There is nothing timid about this collection. I have always loved Halloween; it is, in fact, my second favorite holiday, beat out only by Christmas. After reading these short stories, though, I will never look at hay rides, cemeteries, school trips, cackling old ladies, or scarecrows on front porches in the same way. I read, on a regular basis, the stories of horror/paranormal authors Dean Koontz and Stephen King, and these stories by Vivian Vande Velde freaked me out just as much as those by my horror heroes. Be warned, though. Read MORGAN ROEHMAR'S BOYS, CEMETERY FIELD TRIP, and MY REAL MOTHER at your own risk--and with those lights on. show less

A collection of thirteen short stories all set on Halloween. Each story presents different characters in different places and times. In the first story, “Marian,” Justin is leaving a Halloween party in his recently purchased car. Hitting a speed bump, he awakens the car’s GPS system, or so he thinks. The system, calling herself Marian, gives him directions home, which he follows, but finds himself stalled on train tracks trying desperately to restart the car as the train approaches. In “Only on All Hallows Eve,” Martin tries to convince his cousin Raleigh to play a Halloween prank on mean Elfirda, whose husband Tomlin has not been seen since he left her to join the army. But Raleigh isn’t the same since he fell for the show more blacksmith’s daughter, and Martin is left to play his prank alone. In “When and How,” five friends are on a trip to find a psychic. The cheapest answers one question for each, but on the ride home, they realize they have each asked the wrong question.

Teens will enjoy these suspenseful stories, especially as Halloween approaches. Each story has a different feel: some are suspenseful, some serious and a few end with sharp punch lines. The short stories will especially appeal to reluctant readers and teens looking for a break from their school assignments. No matter what the length each story builds its tension steadily until the climax. show less

Celebrated Edgar Award-winning author Vivan Vande Velde, winner of several young adult reader awards, brings to middle-school aged young readers a compilation of thirteen scary short stories in the book All Hallows’ Eve. This chilling and haunting collection of short stories all take place on Halloween night-- frightful stories that range from the slightly forbidding and eerie to the fearful and gruesome.

The thirteen scary stories cover a wide range of topics from witchcraft (where Granny steals youth, beauty, and love through spells), to a cemetery ( where a young girl on her ninth grade field trip to a Victorian cemetery meets a group of ghosts), to best friends (Nikki, who is dead and wants Aimee Ann, her best friend, to join her), show more to parents (a boy whose ghost parents visit him every Halloween night and a young girl whose search for her real mother takes a drastic turn).

The thought of Halloween night brings to mind ghosts, goblins, and other scary creatures. It’s a time of year that everyone young and old should experience at least one good fright. The best way is to read a scary story and this book definitely fits the bill. So why not come on down to the library and grab a scary book or two to read this Halloween, just remember to lock the door and turn all the lights on. Michele, Three Rivers Public Library show less

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
From library catalog - Presents thirteen tales of Halloween horrors, including ghosts, vampires, and pranks gone awry.

Fun, scary stories! Short enough to read during a class (or around a campfire!).

Review from Booklist (October 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 3)):
Creepy and gruesome, these horror stories all take place on Halloween night when high-school characters bridge the gap between the living and the dead. "He opened the door, and a body fell out, a young woman with a bloody T-shirt and a knife sticking out of her back."Bodies are sawed into pieces and packed in plastic bags while a serial killer roams free. The grisly detail is sometimes funny, whether it's the threat to suck out a teen's brains through his eye show more sockets, or parents dressed as vampires offering their daughter's date a drink--A, B, or O-negative. The plots also have surprising twists and turns, with the trickster often outtricked. In a great story for readers'theater, two girls talk about their friendship in parallel narratives that present very different viewpoints of their relationship--which one will murder the other? Halloween fans too old for trick-or-treating will enjoy this, especially as a read-aloud. For more chilling tales, suggest Anthony Horowitz'sHorowitz Horror (2006). show less