The Halloween Grindhouse: A Collection of Short Horror and Supernatural Stories

by E. Reyes

“If you love horror… you must read this book.” —Julie Hiner, author of Final Track

On Halloween night, four friends use a new app that takes users to random weird, creepy, and haunted locations. The location generated for them is an abandoned house in a sketchy neighborhood. Inside, they discover a series of VHS tapes, each revealing a blood-curdling tale that pushes the boundaries of fear and darkness…

Encounter a terrifying zombie uprising born from the depths of drug cartel torture chambers. Navigate a haunted house alongside a group of unsuspecting friends, where the supernatural lurks around every corner. Witness the brutal karmic justice delivered by an evil entity on Mischief Night. And hold your breath as a kidnapped girl struggles to escape the twisted clutches of a monstrous captor and his sinister grandmother.

From supernatural nightmares to the macabre realities of human evil, each story in this anthology offers a unique and harrowing journey, filled with twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. So, dim the lights and brace yourself for a heart-stopping descent into the darkest corners of The Halloween Grindhouse .

Praise for The Halloween Grindhouse

“This was a fun read. Think Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adult version. Great concept.” —Stephanie Reads Reviews

“This book has it all. E. Reyes has definitely caught my attention and has left me thirsty for more!” —Rose Devours Books Reviews

“E. Reyes enthralled me with this Halloween themed collection. ...I found a new favorite author.” —Andrew Robert, contributor to Slice of Paradise

“If you're looking for a bloody book for this Halloween season, you can't go wrong with this one.” —Michael R. Goodwin, author of Smolder

“I adored this… if you're a fan of old school horror movies/vibes, then this is highly recommended.” —H. Everend, author of Cursed Legacy

Genres: Horror, Halloween, Short Stories, Fiction, Supernatural, Holiday

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 19, 2023

About the author

E. Reyes is a writer, a horror fanatic, and the author of the novel The House on Moon Creek Avenue. Overloading on books and movies and working retail, Reyes brings terror and the unimaginable to everyday life with his experiences and transcends them into a different range of characters and situations. When not watching scary movies and reading books, E. Reyes is busy being a father and a husband and putting in time playing Xbox. He resides in Arizona.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four teenager try to explore a haunted house on Halloween Eve. Inside they found four video tapes with different stories. Who has prepared those tapes? What's on them and will they get out of the house alive? Great frame story and even better inset tales. The author orientates himself on all the classic horror stuff on Halloween (he probably knows what you did last Halloween, LOL) and does a great job in his recombination of classic Halloween motifs. This is creepy Halloween at his best. Trick or read... Highly recommended Halloween preparation!

[Ga.selle (Semi-hiatus) Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7🎃🔪🩸👌

THE WATCH PARTY (INTERMISSION) -
THE RANCH - 4🎃
THE WATCH PARTY (2ND INTERMISSION)
THE GIRL - 5🎃
THE WATCH PARTY (3RD INTERMISSION)
MISCHIEF - 4.5🎃
THE WATCH PARTY (4TH INTERMISSION)
HERBERT’S HALLOWEEN - 5🎃
THE WATCH PARTY (FIFTH AND FINAL INTERMISSION)
SLASHER - 5🎃

[Ayden Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of “Halloween Grindhouse : An anthology by E. Reyes”

This was the new book I started for the New Year. I wanted to start it with a little Halloween spirit after the crazy year of 2020. Halloween is a state of mind, right? Let’s read it all year! I was pleased that this anthology had a story connecting all the other stories which I really loved! Something like “Treat or Treat” but with a Grindhouse gritty new age feel to it.

The story starts off with a group of teens on Halloween night using this “Randocation” app to take them to a haunted house. No big deal , right? Everyone is using it and hasn't died or anything. It’s all just for a little spooky fun. When they arrive, they are met with an old box TV with VHS tapes. I can only imagine them being some kind of black and white underground low budget files. They are labeled Halloween #1, #2 and so on. So the group decides to have a little Halloween movie night courtesy of the “Randocation” app.

Each movie had a different twist that I loved but of course with any anthology or short story collections there are so I love more than others. My favorites were The Girl, Herbert’s Halloween and The Slasher. I love how every story ended in a twisted messed up way that I wasn’t expecting. The only thing I didn’t like was the lack of connection to the characters , which I feel is hard to do in short stories but can be done , and the little bit of foreshadowing in the beginning. I am not big on foreshadowing because I’d rather be surprised. Only in very few cases has foreshadowing work for me. All in all I’d say this is a pretty solid collection for a fun gory Halloween read! I also enjoyed the Foreword and Behind the Scenes for this book and I think more short stories and anthologies should include that. I really enjoy finding out what inspires the author’s stories. I gave this 4 ⭐️.

And for the nit-picky people there are a few typos but that didn’t hinder my reading experience.
Thank you to the author for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

[Paul Preston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want to know how I can tell that a book is good?
Sure, some books you can’t put down and some books make you get lost in the pages, but there are the special books that you can’t stop thinking about when you are doing other things. Books that distract you at work because your minds wanders back to those pages. Books you can’t wait to start reading again but at the same time, you don’t want to read because you know it will eventually have to end and that is a little depressing.
I have never had an anthology have this kind of effect on me until I picked up The Halloween Grindhouse by E. Reyes. I had to stop my car on the side of the road to jot this down because I was thinking about my book and when I could get back to it. Mind you, while I was driving, I was listening to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King but I couldn’t stop thinking about Vicki, Adriana, James, and Michael and wondering if they were going to survive the rest of the book. It wasn’t looking good for them.
I don’t want to get into what these stories are about except to say they get a little messy. I hate spoilers and I truly believe going into a story blind is best.
While I am sad that The Halloween Grindhouse has come to a gristly end, I am very happy that I have two other books by E. Reyes waiting for me to get up my nerve, and jump back into his horrific world.
I would also like to thank Mr. E. Reyes for providing me an ebook of The Halloween Grindhouse in exchange for an honest review. Trust me, getting the book free in no way influenced my opinion, it just moves it to the front of the line.

[RoseDevoursBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can I just say...woahhh E. Reyes, I was caught off guard! I had NO IDEA I was in for a wild and GRUESOME ride! Haha.

I downloaded the e-book since the author had it listed free for a limited time and thought I'd check it out. I didn't even read the sypnosis or other reviews so I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I remember pausing during the first story and actually laughing out loud thinking "wow looks like I need to buckle in my seatbelt for this one" lol. It was actually a pleasant surprise since I thoroughly enjoyed each and every story. Gallons of blood and gore to go with such entertaining horror stories.

This book has it all. From sweet revenge to menacing creatures, the living dead, black magic, slashers and more! It's the perfect Halloween anthology for those who love a variety of creepy stories mixed in with lots of body horror. Definitely a good collection to reread every Halloween. E. Reyes has definitely caught my attention and has left me thirsty for more!

[Stephanie_Reads_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun read. Think Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adult version.

There were some spelling and grammatical errors but all in all it was pretty good I enjoyed it. I like the idea of 4 friends breaking into a house and watching some dusty ole horror vhs tapes they find. Each tape is separated into chapters. Great concept. I do have a favorite line which leads me to believe the author will be one to watch for.

“Laying on the floor was a shirtless man whose thoughts and memories had leaked out of his head from an exit wound. The bloody pulp by his head resembled ground chicken”

Chefs kiss 💋

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

[Joshua Rainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, I'm giving this book two stars because I'm feeling generous. This author is self published and chasing his dream and I can respect that. I've always dreamt of being an author, and I haven't managed to do what I've set out to do yet. But two stars is as generous as I can be, unfortunately.

On the plus side we have the cover. E Reyes has done a great job branding himself. His covers are catchy and capture a feeling that people want. They promise a spooky good read, and more importantly; an E Reyes cover looks like an E Reyes cover. I love most of the covers for his books.

I follow E Reyes on Instagram and TikTok and he engages with his audience, which undoubtedly helps. He has successfully branded himself and made a niche for himself in the market.

That said, "The Halloween Grindhouse" was a poorly written book. That doesn't mean it's unenjoyable. I enjoy plenty of movies that are admittedly bad. But they are fun. Personally, I did not enjoy "The Halloween Grindhouse".

Why do I say "The Halloween Grindhouse" is poorly written?

First off, E Reyes is a storyteller, and not a story "shower". It feels like it was written by a high schooler. It's all very straightforward. The whole book is pretty much "He did this. Then he did this. The thing was big. The air was cold. After he did this he did that. The man was large. He had red eyes. The room smelled like decay." There is no finesse to it. There is no craft to it. But, it's concise, and it's clear. There's very little room to be confused as to what is happening. And it apparently works for a lot of people. I think that his books are probably great for people who want to read, but are not looking for challenging reads. This book was quick and clear.

Second off, the fat phobia. There are two fat characters in this book, and more attention is paid to their looks than to any other character's. And; you guessed it, they're gross. Authors know that their audience has no problem believing that fat equals gross, and they have a lot of fun with it. In "The Girl", George is the only fat friend. He's the fifth wheel. He's picked on. He's notedly a virgin. He's so pathetic that he can only dream of being wanted by a girl. When he gets out of the car he's mocked with "Damn, George, you trying to flip the car over?". His weight is brought up multiple times. In "Herbert's Halloween", the titular character, Herbert is a pedophile, a catfisher (because he's fat), a kidnapper, and a murderer. He's also described as freakish. He's so fat that even his tongue is fat. His underwear are described as pee stained. He's described as pathetic and freakish and a pervert. And maybe it wouldn't come across as fat phobia if any other character received the level of description as the fat characters do. But it's something I'm tired of seeing. You don't have to be fat to be physically gross.

And since I'm talking about "Herbert's Halloween", Herbert is also a Norman Bates knock off, and a cheap one at that. He's also an amalgamation of every petulant, mama's boy, kidnapper in media. He murdered his grandmother, but has kept her corpse in the house. And he talks to her, and replies to himself as her. He was made in a mold and does nothing to break the mold. But he's also the character that we spend the most time with in this book. His character, in general, received the most attention.

There are also several instances where he just chooses odd words, or words that are almost, but not quite the appropriate word. And before I list any of them, these are not why I'm giving this book two stars. For the most part I understood what the author was getting at, and I rolled with it. I understand that he's self published, so I allow some leeway for this. As somebody who is an aspiring writer, I know that after you've read your own work a dozen times or so, it's easy to gloss over it because you know it so well, and that's why you don't proofread your own work. You have at least one other set of qualified eyes do it as well.

From "The Ranch"

"We're almost at the ranch. I'm going to tell you this now and only now: you cry or fight or hesitate or RESTRAIN, I will cut your heads off with a dull pocketknife..."

Restrain doesn't fit into this sentence. The man speaking is speaking to men he is holding captive, Restrain just doesn't work here. Hesitate doesn't quite fit either, but it stands out less than Restrain.

From "The Girl"

When the girl lifted her head, the beautiful face and hair were gone. There was now a dark green demonic head with bright yellow eyes and an almost reptilian face. Small horns protruded from the top of its head. The clothes were gone, and it was now a NON-BINARY creature with skinny legs and chicken feet with claws long and black and sharp-looking. The smell of sulfur entered the room.

Non-binary is just such an odd word choice there. It's just so clunky and weird that it stands out like a sore thumb. Androgynous or genderless would have worked better.

From "Herbert's Halloween"

The women started to pray together. "Great horned one, come into the circle. We evoke you to MAINTAIN the evil of the man who has altered the balance of beasts and wild things. We are forever GREAT for your wisdom, insightfulness, and protection. Cernunnos, Lord of the hunt, for PROTECTION OF THIS wicked man, we wish to bring you forward."

Maintain should probably be contain. Great should be grateful. And protection of this wicked man should be protection against this wicked man. The way it is worded makes it sound like they want to protect him, not themselves.

Overall, it's an okay book. I wanted it to be better. I really wanted to enjoy it, but it was hard to wade through these 180+ pages.

Pretty much every story in here is "people doing something they shouldn't, and then somebody turns into a monster and kills them". This is especially true of the first three stories.

I understand that this is an anthology, but the characters are weakly drawn. For the most part it's teens, and none of them are differentiated, except George who's a fat, pathetic, virgin tag along. I just finished this book last night, and I can't tell you anything about any character outside of George and Herbert.

I think my biggest issue here is that I really wanted to like this book. Collecting books is just as much a hobby of mine as reading them. Having books that I like on my shelf comforts me. I love the covers to his books. They are evocative of old school spooky fun. I wanted them on my shelves.

And here's the thing: I think if we had some professional editors weigh in they would tell you that objectively E Reyes is not a good writer. E.L. James isn't a good writer either. Neither was V.C. Andrews (come at me). But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them. That doesn't mean there is no room for them at the table. E Reyes posted a negative review that he received on Amazon, and people are defending him. He has an audience. This review is simply my opinion. This review is simply me, trying to give a picture of what you can expect purchasing this book. And he's writing plenty, and writing plenty is one of the ways that you increase your skill. What I would maybe do if I were E Reyes, is make sure that I had at least one critical person as a beta reader, one person who I knew for a fact wasn't telling me what I wanted to hear. I would make sure that I had one reader who was challenging me.

If you're looking for a quick, straightforward anthology filled with monsters and blood and guts and gore, that isn't too challenging than "The Halloween Grindhouse" might be for you. Or it might be for your older teenager.

[Escapereality4now · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come

[Benjamin Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MUCH FUN, had not idea what to really expect with this and it was an absolute gem. I loved the way the book was split with the friends and the tapes. This booked genuinely felt like some classic horror. I'm really excited to read more from this author! Mischief is probably my favourite of the stories in there.

[E. Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote The Halloween Grindhouse during the Toilet Paper Sh*tpocalypse. I already knew that Halloween wouldn't be what it was, so I had to release a book with stories begging me to write them in my mind. I wanted to make Halloween fun for myself and the readers who needed the escapism.

I first published it in 2020, but like Devil's Hill, Strange Tales of the Macabre, and Christmas in the Empty Cabin, it had its fair share of minor typos, name mix-ups, and grammar errors. I rereleased it in 2021, and Velox Books reissued it in 2023.

This was the most fun I had with writing stories. "The Ranch" came about because I wanted to make a story about cartels and mix in some zombie action. In "The Girl," I used my experiences with a supposed haunted house and my experience of being constantly made fun of about my weight when I was younger. "Herbert's Halloween" was my favorite to write, even though it was disturbing. "Mischief" was inspired by two guys who would record their grizzly adventures and the horrible things they did. And I added a demon in it. "Slasher" was the perfect ending.

I was inspired to write this story because I wanted something with an old-school Grindhouse feel, and I wanted to make a story about the Randonautica app that was popular on TikTok.

When people ask me which book of mine they should read, I point them to this one.

If you want a taste of my newest books, I suggest The Love Song of Nathan Crane, Jack Forest, Soul Collector, and Evening of the Mutated Undead. Thank you all, and keep it spooky!

Here's some more info taken from my how-to-not-f*ck-it-all-up-from-the-get-go manual:

I got back into writing and reading after I figured out that making rap music wasn't really for me--especially the business and politics part. The last music project I did was in April 2013. I immediately returned to my roots (I was an avid Goosebumps books reader), and, as you can tell by some of my earlier works, I started reading R.L. Stine books again. I started reading the new Goosebumps, Fear Street, and Goosebumps Series 2000 (I was too absorbed in music to even think about reading). When I read Stephen King for the first time, the book was Cell, I was instantly drawn into the more adult side of horror literature, and I knew in my heart and soul that writing books is what I was born to do.

My first short stories were horrendous, but I loved writing them. Most of those got nuked, never to have a life on a page inside a book. And I started reading and reading like the kid I used to be. I knew this was what I was meant to do. I knew it even more after reading more of King's work. In 2016, when I found out that I could publish my books without having to send them off and wish for the best, I was thrilled. But, man, oh man, I wish I could have sat on those stories a little longer while I read more, learned more, wrote more, and had a whole plan before self-publishing.

My mistakes in publishing too early, jumping the gun before proper editing, proofreading, and having some critical insight into my work should be every aspiring author's how-to-not-f*ck-it-all-up-from-the-get-go manual. I was so happy, inspired, and anxious to publish and have a book of mine out there. Little did I know, I needed more insight into the grammar (I got my GED after being out of high school for eight years and had just started community college, taking Writing courses, of course), I needed professional editing, and I needed to let my stories sit somewhere safe while I forgot about them for a while and went on to the following stories.

[Cody Daigle-Orians · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s Halloween, and a group of friends decides to make an adventure out of it, using an app that sends you to a randomly-chosen geographical location. Maybe they’ll find something cool. Maybe something spooky. Maybe nothing at all.

The app sends them to an abandoned house, and once inside, they find a working TV and VCR with a stack of labelled videotapes. They decide to watch them. What’s the worst that could happen?

The Halloween Grindhouse is an homage to the horror anthology film, with Reyes unspooling a different horror tale with each video that runs through the VCR. At the end of each story, we’re brought back to the framing tale, which eventually becomes a standalone story of its own. Several flavors of horror are represented — haunted houses, zombies, witches, slashers — and they’re all pulsing with the energy of low budget 80s horror (which is a compliment).

Standout in the collection is “The Girl,” a haunted house story that pits five teenagers on Halloween night against a supernatural force with an intense bloodlust. Reyes is good with the teen group banter, also evident in the book’s framing device, and he serves up some fun scares and kills along the way. We also get a fun supernatural backstory that tips its hat to stories like Rosemary’s Baby, which adds to the proceedings.

Also a standout was “Mischief,” another kill-those-teens-one-by-one story with a supernatural twist. Here, Reyes has some fun with his supernatural slasher, sprinkling some brutally gory kills with a little The Wizard of Oz energy. It’s satisfying and fun.

My favorite story was Herbert’s Halloween, a sinister tale of obsession that owes a debt to Psycho. It’s the most ambitious of the collection, charting one man’s pursuit of both the girl he loves and his grandmother’s approval. Both pursuits take some really dark turns, and in the story’s final act, we take an unexpected leap into a whole new sub-genre of horror. It’s the one that takes the most risks, and it’s the one that surprised me most.

Throughout The Halloween Grindhouse, Reyes shows us his love of all things horror and finds interesting ways to mashup genres, references, and homages. The B-movie spirit keeps us from taking anything to seriously, leaning into the fun of rock-scored 80s horror. If you were a fan of MonsterVision, you’ll find something to love here.

[Michael Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of short stories that, taken separately, would stand up fine on their own. Instead, Reyes takes these stories and entwines them all together in a creative and gruesome way.

All set on or around Halloween, these stories are gruesome and relentless. They read like a horror movie transcribed, and as action and violence pervade nearly every page you can't help but visualize it. Reyes is clearly a horror movie fan through and through, and that vividly apparent in this book.

Not every story hit the mark for me, but I really liked how each one ramped up more than the last. The finale was well executed (pun intended) and I appreciated the author's note at the end where he gave his inspiration for each story.

If you're looking for a bloody book for this Halloween season, you can't go wrong with this one.

[Ethan’s Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great Halloween themed book. I enjoyed reading this. It was a fun book to sit down and begin my October reads a little early this year.

E. Reyes is a very talented writer. Among the new authors around he is one of my favorites. I can always count on him to bring scares, and fun fast paced reading material.

Plus, the guy mentions The Wanderers. Do you know how many times I quote this movie a year and no one knows what I’m talking about… a ton. Lol but E. Reyes gives a shout out to the movie which I can appreciate.

I hope E continues with his craft.

Cheers!

[C.C. Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've talked with Reyes briefly online through a few interactions. His books always looked so good and he himself seemed like a really cool person.

I am so happy to have read this book! It spooked me quite a few times and really set the tone for Halloween. Definitely recommend this one!

[Chris Arteaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, brilliant brilliant! Some of the best Halloween stories I have listened to in a while! Definitely recommend to get your Halloween spirit going.

[Erin Talamantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I was kindly sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This is an anthology of stories all connected by a story called The Watch Party, which is broken up into intermissions.
In this story, 4 friends decide to use an app called RandoCation for some Halloween fun. The app gives them a random location to go to. They are unsure of what actually awaits them there, but they have nothing else to do, so why not?
When they arrive at their location they find a room with a television and several vhs tapes labeled by it.
They decide to watch the tapes because they’re obviously harmless and just a Halloween prank by the app.

The First tape is the story The Ranch. This is about two guys who participate in a major drug deal, but end up in trouble with a drug cartel.
The second tape is the story The Girl. This story is about a group of friends who decide to go to a haunted house where a little girl is supposed to lurk. However, it is not exactly what they imagine.
The third tape is the story Mischief. This is about a gang who like to cause trouble, but they end up picking on the wrong person
The fourth and final tape is the story Herbert’s Halloween. This tells the story of Herbert and his interesting Halloween activities.
The last story is Slasher, which has the characters from The Watch Party and shows the aftermath after they finish the tapes and how their night comes to an end.

I loved loved loved the whole vibe of these stories. I really liked how everything revolved around The Watch Party and how each story was a different video tape they were watching.
Gave me major found footage movie feelings and I really like the whole found footage genre. I think it can be really awesome when done correctly.
I also really liked the RandoCation app, if you’ve been on tiktok or heard about the Randonauting trend that’s been going on, then I think it makes the story very fresh and modern.
Each story is very different from each other and I think it does a great job of showing a different type of horror in each one.
I enjoyed every single story, I thought they were all interesting and gripped me from beginning to end.
My favorite story was Herbert’s Halloween. You know I’m a very big fan of realistic horror and this is definitely that. I don’t want to give too much away about this story because it’s just...better when you’re not expecting it.
I also really liked the story Slasher, I’m a sucker for a good slasher story and I think this was a really good one to end the whole book on. This one reminded to me of Michael Myers a lot, which is my favorite slasher.
I think The Ranch was probably the most surprising story because I had no idea where it was going. The drug cartel plot was very different and something I don’t see too much of in horror. It was a good story to start on because it was a nice surprise opening the rest of them.
This book is pretty descriptive and gruesome, so if gore is not your thing, then this might not be a collection for you.
Overall, very pleased with this collection and I think it’s a perfect Halloween read, I’ll definitely have to re-read it next year!

[Lauren Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kindly sent this book by E. Reyes himself in exchange for my honest review. I have manyyy thoughts and I’m about to explain.

This book is an anthology of short stories, but they are all linked by ‘The Watch Party’. The watch party is set apart into different intermissions and is about a group of 4 friends who use an app called Randocation on Halloween, and I think you can guess it may not have been a terrific idea.After reading the first part it makes sense& I think the concept was extremely clever. I liked how the chapters shows what the characters saw and what their reactions was afterwards.

The other short stories are as follows; The Ranch, The Girl, Mischief, Herberts Halloween and Slasher.

The ranch: This short story follows 2/3 characters who have done a major drug deal and it all goes wrong. They get taken into a place where crazy things happen and it really was not what I expected. I enjoyed the mix up of horror and the topic of drug cartel. This story had many twists and was so so gruesome I loved it!

The girl: This short story follows a group of friends who go to a ‘haunted house’ only to find it’s not quite what they thought. I always find children in horror to be super creepy. This one referenced some of the authors other work such as Devils Hill and Moon Creek Avenue. This reminded me of Stephen King and I dig it!

Mischief: This short story follows a childhood gang causing mischief, they take it too far and cross the wrong person. It was so full of action and there was no waiting around for something to happen. It was great and low-key reminded me of Dexter.

Herberts Halloween: This short story follows Herbert who lives on his own after his Grandmother dies and how he spends his Halloween. I don’t want to give anything away, but this one was the hardest to read for me. It literally gave me goosebumps and I found it so disturbing which isn’t a bad thing I just think the characters really creeped me out.

Slasher: This one follows the characters in The Watch Party and the end of the night. This gave me hella Friday the 13th vibes which I’m guessing it was supposed to hense the title slasher.

This collection was so fun to read and was so modern. It was gruesome, scary, chilling and all the things you want in horror. I wanted the stories to be longer, the only thing stopping it being 5 stars for me was just the characters in Herberts Halloween. It disturbed me too much and if you’ve read it, you’d know why. But hey, it did the job right? It gave me the creeps!

I can’t wait to read more of his work, and thank you to E.Reyes for letting me read this I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Gab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: this isn't really my kind of horror. I am more for that subtle kind of horror that gives you a couple of hints about what could be hiding in the dark and lets your mind torturing itself, rather than the on the nose, offal flying on the walls kind of horror.
This said, the fact that I enjoy a subgenre more than another doesn't mean that one is less valid. Beside, it isn't like this book tricked me into thinking that I was getting into something different: it has "Grindhouse" right in the title and it delivers what it promises, which is always good.

This is an anthology of short stories that has a structure like the "Decameron" by Boccaccio or - to make an example a little less outdated - "Haunted" by Palahniuk: there is a main narrative that strings together the stories.

First and foremost, this book is Reyes' love letter to Halloween. The atmosphere that he wanted to convey is right on the money and you can feel the orange leaves under your feet and the bonfires in the air. Also, there are so many reference to pop-culture that just scream how much the author lives and breathes horror.

Another couple of praises: Reyes is very good at presenting different scenarios, which often involve the human wickedness, and he's very good at descriptions. It really feels cinematic.

My one "negative", ironically comes from a positive: without spoilers, in the first story Reyes pulled a Kansas City Shuffle on me. He made me look to one side thinking the horror was coming from that direction, only to hit me from a different angle. That was great, but inevitably made me expect "plot-twists" in every story. Now, while the other stories are good, aren't surprising. To make an example: when a story starts with a character saying " we should check out this haunted house", do you ever go "I wonder if they'll find a ghost?"
I can't tell whether I would have felt this way without the first story's surprise.

I also have a neutral: I found the characters of the story that strings all the other together rather annoying. The reason why this isn't a negative is because I feel like that with more or less any horror in which a group of early 20s people exchanging juvenile conversations goes looking for a scare. I always find myself rooting for the psychopath. So, Reyes made me feel like when I watch multi-millionaire budget slasher films, so he probably did it right.

In short, if you are a Grindhouse horror fan, this anthology will really speak to your heart. It was written by someone who clearly loves what he does and knows how to do it, it really felt like sitting with friends during Halloween seasons for a marathon of horror flicks. And it'll bring a bit of Halloween to your day, no matter the time of year.

[Nicole Trouten · Rating 4 out of 5]

When four friends get together and decide to try out a new app that sends users to local spooky destinations they find themselves at an abandoned house. Inside they discover a tv and videotapes featuring short, scary movies. They’re having a blast, but...do these movies look a little too real? And do some of these victims look a little familiar?
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What a clever way to showcase your short stories! Reyes takes these individual scary tales and puts them together into a cohesive storyline that was really fun to read. The stories were disturbing, bloody, and unique to each other. I enjoyed them all, especially The Ranch (such a creative concept), and Mischief (I love revenge stories), but I enjoyed the all encompassing storyline as well as I felt myself pulled along to each successive story as the characters themselves were. I could understand their curiosity and their hesitation as they turned on each movie.
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Another thing I really like about E. Reyes is how he embraces our current culture (the good and the bad) in his writing. You find characters talking about popular social media websites, apps, music, etc. It makes his writing seem very present.
If you haven’t picked up The Halloween Grindhouse yet, give it a try. E Reyes is a very creative guy.

[Julie Hiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A raw, gritty collection of Halloween themed, terrifying tales.

The Halloween Grindhouse is a truly terrifying tale of four friends on Halloween night. Their need for something scary and exciting leads them down a dark path. They find themselves in a house that is apparently haunted. When they find a collection of VHS tapes labeled Halloween #1, #2, etc., their curiosity consumes them.

The old school vibe of the cover, the art work within, and the stories themselves is a true horror lover's delight.

Each film increases the intensity with raw terror and horrifying events. The author brilliantly creates characters in a matter of a sentence. Their fear seeps from the page.
The portrayal of Herbert the serial killer and the Pumpkin headed slasher were both well done and terrifying. I love that this author clearly distinguishes between the two breeds.
The theme of Halloween is strong right to the end, and the path of the four friends becomes more terrifying right to the surprising end.

If you love horror and Halloween, you must read this book.

[Elizabeth Gonzalez-Collazo IG - Shereadswithcoffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Halloween Grindhouse!! What can I say!!?!?? I truly enjoyed reading this anthology by E. Reyes. I was fortunate enough to get a copy from the author himself in exchange for an honest review so here it goes!

The anthology is comprised of four different, creepy and gory stories but what’s so clever about the concept is that we read the stories from the perspective of four friends who are watching the videos to each one. No Spoilers: Four friends are bored on a Halloween night and look to app called Randocation for some fun. The app is supposed to guide the user to creepy homes or locations. They are lead to a creepy and abandoned house where they stumble upon a room with only a TV, a couch and some VHS tapes labeled Halloween! Each of the stories had a classic slasher element that I truly enjoy in any slasher book/movie! It brought with it great imagery, creepy and gruesome scenes, disturbing and bloody and of course the final Slasher story was amazing.
If you’re still thirsty for Halloween or if you’re like me and like gore all year round, definitely give this a read! Gore Galore!

[Niko · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read! It definitely could have benefit from a editor but the Author did address that recently on Instagram. I get it and can over look that.

I've always loved a story with multiple story lines that tie back together at the end. I thought all the stories were great but really loved The Girl

[H. Everend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another collection of gruesome short stories tied together with a "main" story. I adored this story from Reyes (and was not the first time I've read one of his works). Each story stands out on their own from one another, but one thing they all had in common (at least to me): solid gore! In all fairness, if I HAD to choose a favorite, I think it would have to be "The Girl", but the others are just as well written. Reyes knows how to tell a good story and more people who love horror need to give it a read, especially if it's to help out an indie author. If you're a fan of old school horror movies/vibes, then this is highly recommended.

[The_5ft_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girl and Herbert's Halloween were my 2 favourites from this short story collection. It's definitely a good spooky Halloween read!

[Katie (DoomKittieKhan) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Full review to come!

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another perfect Halloween read! I loved the format of this one, it is like watching a movie.

[Anthony Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! Each short story is gory and twisted, exactly how I like them!

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Props to the author for self publishing and living the dream. The only other positive thing I can say is that I like the cover art.

The experience of reading this book is not entirely dissimilar to watching a bad V/H/S compilation movie. Mostly because it rips off that premise for the frame story.

But reading a collection of stories like this is far more tedious than watching a movie. This anthology reads like it was written by a pre-teen who grew up on exclusively D-movie horror. Not even B movies.

The writing is painfully bland. "He did this. And she totally did that. And it hurt! Blood and guts." And sometimes the author uses words incorrectly, which a good editor could have fixed.

The stories themselves are unoriginal for the most part. You can see shades of Halloween, Psycho, etc. The author relies on pop culture and movie name dropping too often: it won't age well.

I was intrigued by the mention of the RandoCation app. Clearly inspired by Randonautica, which was a creepy idea for an app. This could make a killer frame story, but it falls flat here.

[Stuart Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Halloween Grindhouse” is an anthology collection by noted indie horror author E. Reyes. The collection, as the title suggests, is all themed around Halloween but the five short stories contained within are linked together by a clever framing narrative. Not unlike the “V/H/S/” film series (Various, 2012 to present), the author has the four main characters of the framing narrative (which introduces the concept and then appears between each short story) stumble upon a collection of macabre VHS tapes. Convinced it’s all part of an elaborate, Halloween-themed social media experience, they watch the tapes, growing increasing perturbed by their content and slowing realising that they’re the next target of a malicious Dark Web snuff show.

I’ve wanted to read some of E. Reyes’ work for a long time and this was a fantastic first experience. “The Halloween Grindhouse” offers a fair amount of horror variety and showcases, the author’s way with dialogue, characters, and different horror tropes, acting as a great introduction to his work. E. Reyes’ channels his inner Eli Roth with “The Ranch”, a story of two unlucky middlemen who are targeted by a vicious drug cartel that dabbles in the dark arts. “The Girl” follows a group of friends as they check out a haunted house and are toyed with and brutalised by the bloodthirsty monster that dwells within. “Mischief” follows a gang of hoodlums as they cause chaos in their quiet small town, and get a bloody comeuppance when they target the wrong demonic vagrant. “Herbet’s Halloween” is probably the most unsettling tale, following a disturbed man with a violent temper as he desperately tries to win the affections of his captive and appease his grandmother. Things come full circle as the framing narrative becomes the final story, “Slasher”, in which the characters we’ve been following the whole time are stalked by seemingly unstoppable brute in a jack-o-lantern mask.

This was really great, to be honest. I enjoyed that the author peppered in references to his other works and was clearly pulling not just from his own experiences (as detailed in the “Behind the Scenes” section) but some horror classics. There’s plenty of gore, suffering, and brutal slasher vibes at work here, alongside some reprehensible characters, scenes of torture and abuse, and a fair sprinkling of the supernatural. “Herbet’s Halloween” was probably my favourite of the stories; it goes into some really dark and unsettling areas and I really felt for the Herbert’s captive, and it had a surprising end that I didn’t see coming. “The Ranch” also stood out for me, especially as it reminded me of the “Hostel” films (Roth/Spiegel, 2006 to 2011). It also had a fun conclusion that I didn’t see coming, and E. Reyes continues to use surprising twists in “Mischief” and even a dose of pitch-black dark humour at the end of “Slasher”. Overall, this collection was a great slice of horror fun; genre fans will find plenty to like in these stories and I’m eager to check out more of the author’s work after reading this solid collection.