Dia de Los Slashers

by V. Castro

It’s a few weeks until Halloween and Día de Los Muertos. Tula’s friend Carmen has convinced her to go to a new event called Night of the Calavera. It’s meant to celebrate the two holidays in the nearby town of Driftwood, Texas, not far from Tula in Slaughter Creek.
Tula adores Halloween, but Dia de Los Muertos is the night she loves. Every year, she leaves Slaughter Creek and celebrates on her own in a different location.
Despite the forecast set for rain after a week of storms, Tula agrees to go to Night of the Calavera, held at an abandoned petting zoo on a farm. Plus, she wants to get her mind off someone she has admired from afar but is unavailable.
When they arrive, the event looks like a total flop with not many people there and even fewer vendors. Little does Tula know that the Calavera is real. And it’s out for blood.

Genres: Horror, Audiobook

78 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2023

About the author

Hi ! Thank you so very much for picking up my books. You can also check out www.lamuertemarket.com

Wishing you Blessings and Abundance!

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

With a creepy location, an enigmatic protagonist and a vicious killer, Dia de Los Slashers is a quick and gory read. I wish it had been longer and that the ending hadn’t seemed quite so rushed, but I still enjoyed the story nonetheless.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

impeccable spooky aesthetic, the blending of halloween and dia de los muertos, and a dark rural haunt on a stormy night. this short piece is a fun and creepy autumn read!

castro's work is typically a mixed bag for me, so i was pleased to find her it has more ease of execution in short form. there's not enough time here for her to get lost in the details - the story is short and effective.

our enigmatic main character, tula, has claws. her bullying retaliation backstory is intense, and well-balanced in the center of the narrative.

big scream vibes when the action picks up, with a costumed killer hiding in plain sight amongst spooky season trimmings. corn maze horror! love it!

gruesomely violent, unapologetically lustful, and ultimately empowering - i don't particularly care for the turn it takes at the end, but i respect it.

Dwelling in the terror of those who terrorize makes me feel like I'm living.

[Frida · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

YES! YES! YES!
V. Castro really showed up to slice, dice, and spill guts all over the pages with this slasher short story!

Let's unpack a few things:
-Extremely interesting characters owning their power, sex, and ambitions
-October setting with corn mazes, parties, etc
-Great references to horror icons like Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Art the Clown
-BRUTAL kills - like Tatum says in Scream, "Her insides on the outside. It's so sad."
-Clever twists and turns

Just a fun, smart, intense, and entertaining slasher story!

[Ashley (spookishmommy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect little read for Halloween night

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, twisted and entertaining. Enjoyed the audiobook a lot.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Good ole’ evangelical Christian’s are the reason we can’t have anything nice” … “brain matter oozing out like guacamole” … and the use of a molcajete for a weapon is an automatic five stars from me

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook I had originally picked up for Halloween ended up being a pretty big disappointment, so I crammed this short novella into Halloween night to try to make up for it, and it definitely did. It's a super fun Halloween/Dia de Los Muertos scary story with some very fun twists, perfect for a shorter piece of fiction. It's definitely worth the read!

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos is fast approaching, and Carmen convinces her best friend Tula to go to a new attraction. It's an attraction that combines both holidays and is called Night Of The Calavera. Once going they notice the place is a dump, and they are underwhelmed. Carmen ends up leaving with a boy she likes, leaving Tula by herself. But she's not alone for long. Before she knows it, this "dump" attraction will become bloody and deadly.

The descriptions in this were really good! Brain matter oozing out like rotten guacamole was my favourite description! I really loved the Latino representation, and we need more of it in horror! Finding out who Tula really is was fun and I want so much more from this story. There is a bonus story called Marigolds for Flesh, and that was really good! The holiday Dia De Los Muertos is talked about much more, and it was written so well! This was my first read from Castro, and I'm excited to dive into more.

[sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

if i could get 100 more pages to that ending i would be so content like. the goriness. the REVEAL???? v. castro you truly never miss

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Día de Los Slashers is a quick little summer slasher filled with blood and a little spice. The main character Tula heads to a Halloween event for a little fun and distraction from a crush she can’t have. What she finds at the event is far more than she bargained for when she realizes why the event grounds are so empty.

The story has plenty of surprises and some unexpected twists that I enjoyed. It’s a fun little slasher that unfortunately is over just as it’s getting started and rushes to a hasty conclusion. The ending reveal feels rushed and dare I say over explained itself. I really wish the book could’ve been a bit longer to develop the characters.

This wasn’t my favorite V. Castro book but it was overall an enjoyable, campy read. I could envision this story as a campy B movie slasher with some tweaks.

[Josh Buyarski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is an ode to Halloween, the day of the dead, and oddly enough a love story for slashers.
The way this mixed in the general spooky season vibes, sprinkled with horror icon references ( had a very natural born killers and dexter vibe) was perfect!
A fun quick read!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Idk what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this ha. The dialogue felt too YA for me and I guess most novellas don’t usually do it for me, but since I loved goddess of filth I gave this a try and will read another novella from her as well.

[Amy Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty lame.
Even for a short one hour story it still felt like it went on forever.

The dialog is stunted , the “ big reveal” is just dumb

If you have an hour to
Make a long drive and your standards aren’t too high , maybe go for it

If you have other options don’t bother

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.8 stars rounded up)

If you're a fan of slashers and V Castro then this is the perfect little treat for you. I just wish it was longer.

[Joselin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 slightly disappointed in this one- I found it predictable and underwhelming for a short story

[Norman Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced, fun slasher with a good twist. Love the violence!

[Ashton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Popcorn horror - not great but not bad

[Ransom's Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast paced short story with a great surprise twist at the end!

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy and twisty. Don't read right before going to sleep.

[Paw Manjar · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 short and fun

[Yazmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get that this is a short novella but the ending felt rushed to me.

[Doug Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Mexican-American slasher set in Austin during the Halloween season. The slasher here is The Calavera.
There is a second, shorter story about Santa Muerte. I may have liked it more.
More later

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Dia de Los Muertos/Halloween short story. I've really been enjoying V. Castro.

[Alicia Toothman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Day of the Dead party takes a violent turn. I wasn’t surprised by who it was but then was blindsided, forgiving the initial reveal.