Murder for Halloween: Tales of Suspense

by Michele Slung

In the bestselling tradition of Murder for Christmas, this collection features new and classic tales of eerie mystery and terrifying suspense. A Halloween party for some of the best modern mystery and suspense authors, the volume presents works by such luminaries as Peter Straub, Ray Bradbury, James Grady, and others.

Monsters / Ed McBain --
The lemures / Steven Saylor --
The adventure of the dead cat / Ellery Queen --
The odstock curse / Peter Lovesey --
The theft of the Halloween pumpkin / Edward D. Hoch --
Hallowe'en for Mr. Faulkner / August Derleth --
Deceptions / Marcia Muller --
The black cat / Edgar Allan Poe --
Omjagod / James Grady --
The cloak / Robert Bloch --
What a woman wants / Michael Z. Lewin --
Yesterday's witch / Gahan Wilson --
Walpurgis night / Bram Stoker --
Trick or treat / Judith Garner --
One night at a time / Dorothy Cannell --
Night of the goblin / Talmage Powell --
Trick-or-treat / Anthony Boucher --
Pork pie hat / Peter Straub.

Genres: Halloween, Horror, Short Stories, Mystery, Fiction, Anthologies

362 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to get in the mood for Halloween, for trick or treating, the night goblin, walpurgis night or some spook going on this is the right collection. From major to minor authors you'll come across all kind of eerie stuff featuring murder. The longest tale, Pork Pie Hat by Peter Straub was my personal highlight here. Excellent cover, carefully selected stories in this anthology. Highly recommended!

[Rachelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Most people will tell you growing up means you stop believing in Halloween things -- I'm telling you the reverse. You start to grow up when you understand that the stuff that scares you is part of the air you breathe."

This Halloween season I've read alot of short story collections, this one I happened to pick up this past winter at a used bookstore bc it seemed like it would be a great read. 18 tales by 18 fairly well known authors... but alas this wasnt as spooky as I was hoping it would be.. more crime/mystery than all out scary. Standouts for me were of course Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat, Robert Bloch's The Cloak, and I was suprised to have really enjoyed Talmage Powell's Night of the Goblin.

[John Lyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of cool stories related to Halloween. This book even has the "prequel" to Dracula by Brahm Stoker. I want to find more books by these authors and actually already purchased one. A very nice collection.

[Christine (KizzieReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these were really good. You didn't see the endings at all until the last bit. There was one or two that were a bit confusing as to what did I just read?? But overall, very good stories.

[Natazzz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, dated, badly written or otherwise uninteresting stories. I couldn’t get myself to finish this collection, not even on Halloween.

[Stormcrow Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with any short story collection, there are good and average and even a few stories I didn't care for, but that's to be expected. At one point I was enjoying this book just enough to keep going, but didn't think it was great. Then, somewhere along the way, I think it turned around.

I read the stories completely out of order at one point going from back to front, but there were good stories scattered throughout.

Preface - that's right, I'm going to rate the preface because I love a good one and it often sets the tone for the book. Unfortunately, this one was just okay. 3/5

Monsters by McBain -- I've tried reading McBain a few times and for whatever reason, I'm just not a fan of his writing, at least not as it relates to his 87th Precinct novels. But this short story was uncomfortably good and I'm happy to finally read something of his I like. (Not that I dislike his other stuff, it just doesn't appeal.) 4/5

The Lemures by Saylor -- Actually the last story I read (which I finished moments ago) and though the setting of ancient Rome initially turned me off, I was quickly turned around by the premise and story and thoroughly enjoyed this, the oddest of entries, in a Halloween book. The Roman setting was unique and it's still a detective story involving ghosts and demons (personal or otherwise). 5/5

The Adventures of the Dead Cat by Queen -- I haven't read much Ellery Queen, despite the name being a titan in the detective world. The story is kind of fun and, despite the horrific murder, the tone remains light throughout. A little silly that he keeps drifting off, but that might be a character trait since I might vaguely recollect that happening in one of the few other stories I read. 4/5

The Odstock Curse by Lovesey -- Gypsy curses, old legends, this one is rooted in the folktales of the past haunting the present. Interestingly clever ending, but for me the story was just above average. 3/5

The Theft of the Halloween Pumpkin by Hoch -- I've only recently discovered Lawrence Block's delightful Burglar series and this felt very reminiscent of that (maybe Block was inspired, I don't know). At any rate, it's kind of an odd situation involving a mistress, the mob, hot air balloons (!?!), a detective sent for a pumpkin -- it's all kind of weird and almost a little zany with the final reveal being more than a bit of a stretch (and since it involves a VHS counter, way outdated for today's younger audience), but I liked it enough without loving it. 3/5

Hallowe'en for Mr. Faulkner by Derleth -- I like Derleth, a lot! But this story of drifting through time back to the era of Guy Fawkes didn't do anything for me. I'll stick with his Lovecraftian lore. 2/5

Deceptions by Muller -- For a classic detective story with some fun twists and turns, this one was pretty good. Detective McCone is trying to find a woman who supposedly committed suicide except everyone suspects she faked her death. She just needs to find her to put her family at east (that she's still alive). But there's a lot more to it than just that. I liked it. 4.5/5

The Black Cat by Poe -- It seems you can't have any collection without at least one classic (and by that I mean public domain) story. Of course, you couldn't have picked a better one, but at least the majority of the stories here are set on or around Halloween. This was just chosen because Poe. Anyway, it's one of my favorites, but I wish modern anthologies would stop doing this. 5/5

OMJAGOD by Grady -- Not terrible, but I wasn't a fan of the style it was written in and the story itself was just okay. 2/5

The Cloak by Bloch -- It's funny, just earlier this year I watched an Amicus anthology which features a very similar story. Was it an adaptation of Bloch's or just a ripoff? I'm too tired to look it up, but it's very similar so I knew immediately where this story was going. A man buys a cloak from an odd costume store and then takes on the traits of a vampire whenever he wears it (and he wears it to a costume party). It is a little predictable regardless, but it's fun and delightful so who cares. 4/5

What a Woman Wants by Lewin -- Strange (for this collection) police procedural as we follow a writer doing a ridalong with a patrolman. I sorta liked this story (premise was good -- following patrolman on Halloween night) and sorta didn't, especially the ending so... 2/5

Yesterday's Witch by Wilson -- This was great. Some of these stories feel more Halloween than others and most are not supernatural since they lean more into the detective genre. Honestly, it doesn't even belong in this collection since there's no murder, but it's creepy, eerie, it follows kids on a dare to a supposed witch's house -- and it's fun! 5/5

Walpurgis Night by Stoker (aka Dracula's Guest) -- Make that two public domain stories. I've read it before, but it's been awhile so I read it again. Pretty good, but I'm guessing I have this story in at least a half dozen anthologies in my library. 4/5

Trick or Treat by Garner -- Very short, actually a good premise, but for some reason, it didn't work for me. 2/5

One Night at a Time by Cannell -- Perhaps my favorite story of the bunch. Two vampires (at least one was, not sure about our narrator though I'm sure a second reading when I wasn't so tired would clear it up) are basically Holmes and Watson who take on the case of a ghost who isn't sure who murdered her. The detective story, while certainly interesting, is fine, but I really delighted in the two leads and their backgrounds and banter. 5/5

Night of the Goblin by Powell -- A clever story, one I enjoyed, but didn't bowl me over. 3/5

Trick-or-Treat by Boucher -- You can immediately tell this was written in a bygone era right from the opening as the characters listen to a radio drama while holding out in a store on Halloween night that still gets trick-r-treaters. I loved the atmosphere and background details, but the overall mystery was just okay. 3/5

Pork Pie Hat by Straub -- This story / novella has apparently gone on to greater heights, published as its own novella, but here it's only 60 pages out of 350. To the best of my memory, I've never read Straub before, definitely not any of his novels, but I really enjoyed the writing style, the jazz setting, some of the details were really great. But the overall story... was just okay. By the end, I was a little disappointed. Still, I think I need to check out some of Straub's other work in the future. 3/5

And that's it. I wish I had the energy to do this with other book reviews, but I was just feeling this one. Overall, it's probably closer to a 3.5, but I almost always round up.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great Halloween collection! The stories presented here are mostly within the mystery and crime realms, but a few edge into horror and the supernatural. They range from the 1800’s all the way up to the mid 1990’s. Stoker, Poe, Straub, and even Gahan Wilson make an appearance. Overall, I was more than impressed with what I expected to be a so-so anthology. For fans of the spooky season this is one to seek out.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a few good stories here. As with any anthology, they ranged in quality, but there are enough good ones here to make this a worthy read. Absolute favorite is Pork Pie Hat by Peter Straub. It’s the second time I’ve read it, and it just pulls me in. Atmospheric, beautifully written, and haunting.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book 3 stars not because the stories were bad really but because it was a weird mix of stories that for some reason I didn't feel belonged in the same book together. Also cause I was mixed between liking a few stories a lot and then having a few that were so so.

[Brittani (Book_Byrd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this classic short story collection. Don't expect the "TikTok" short attention, fast paced, thriller with these. They take the time to breathe a story even though they are shorter.
I only skipped the one by Edgar Allen Poe because it was too much for me to handle with some animal cruelty/abuse, but the rest give more of a creepy, spooky fun or suspenseful vibe.
I've found a couple new authors to try out with these stories. Very fun to pick up in October.
The only reason this doesn't get a 4 star is because I only really LOVED a few out of the 18 stories. The rest were enjoyable, but just okay.
It was a fun book to find at my library and try out for spooky season!

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally got back to this book of short stories - some good, some not so good. I particularly liked Marcia Miller’s contribution Deceptions. Since I trashed her new book relentlessly, I’m was glad to read one featuring Sharon McCone in her early days that I thoroughly enjoyed. It took place at Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge, a place where I have explored the lighthouse and walked the brick ramparts. Wish she still wrote with such enthusiasm and not bland repetition!!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun combination of thriller and fantasy. I'm still not going to be a fan of Straub (very looooong story), but the McBain is good; and the Saylor story is the only one of his that I've liked. (I didn't actually like the Gordianus novels.) And sprinkled through the collection are stories fun and freaky.

[Abigail · Rating 1 out of 5]

I personally didn’t care for any of the stories. The writing was so subpar. DNF around page 200.

[Alison C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Murder for Halloween, edited by Michele Slung and Roland Hartman, in September, a good month and a half before the appropriate date, but no matter. This book was initially published in 1994 and contains a mix of original stories and reprints, the latter going as far back as Edgar Allan Poe ("The Black Cat"). The highlight of the anthology is Peter Straub's "Pork Pie Hat," a novella that was originally published in this volume, concerning a jazz musician and strange events that occur to him. Other good stories include Robert Bloch's "The Cloak"; Bram Stoker's "Walpurgis Night"; Steven Saylor's "The Lemures"; and "The Theft of the Halloween Pumpkin" by Edward D. Hoch. The conceit of the book is that each tale revolves, in one way or another, around Halloween or, in the case of the Saylor story, a predecessor of that holiday. There's nothing terribly exciting here, but it's a good read for whiling away an early fall evening.

[F · Rating 1 out of 5]

Paperback is a collection of 18 short stories written by well known mystery authors, namely Ed McBain, Steven Saylor, Ellery Queen, Peter Lovesey, Edward Hoch, Sugust Derleth, Marcia Muller, Edgar Allan Poe, James Grady, Robert Bloch, Michael Lewin, Gahan Wilson, Bram Stoker, Judith Garner, Dorothy Cannell, Talmage Powell, Anthony Boucher, and Peter Straub. I read the first two short stories, "Monsters" by McBain and "The Lemures" by Saylor. I decided this paperback was not my cup of tea.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

aA great read for the Halloween holiday. With a classic Poe story. Some of the stories are great short stories with great endings!!

I wish there was a newer or an updated version, since the newest stories are from 1994.

[Tracy]

Putting this one on hiatus for now.

[J. Allen Nelson]

This book keeps appearing every fall-- this year much earlier-- so I feel I must actually read the darn thing! The first quick story by McBain is great. . . . . :-)

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories in this volume were quite good and creepy and I enjoyed reading them late at night before bed!

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this book every Halloween for the last 5 years. It's become a Halloween tradition in my household. Eerie stories of suspense serve to create an atmosphere of fear of the unknown.