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Four Octobers: A Collection of Novellas
The days are getting shorter, and the wind blows cold from the north. After the maple and oak leaves turn from green to bright reds, golds, and oranges, they wither, fall, and die, clattering like old bones as they blow down the street in the twilight. The sun isn't as bright as it used to be, and the nights are dark and cold and long. This is the time of the harvest … the time of Hallowe'en … and a time for reminiscences of the summer just past and of other summers, now long gone. This is a time of mystery and expectation as the earth prepares for the frigid onslaught of winter.
Four Octobers collects for the first time four loosely interconnected novellas from the vivid imagination of best-selling author Rick Hautala. Each story is set in October, the month of pumpkins and trick or treat, of skeletons and haunted graveyards, and each story is filled with nostalgia for times past … for summers and youth now gone … for chances not taken … for opportunities now lost forever.
"Tin Can Telephone," set in 1957, tells the story of a young boy and his friend who, in the pre-dawn darkness while waiting to see the Russian satellite Sputnik speed by overhead, experience a mystery and fear far more terrifying than the threat of Soviets in space.
"Miss Henry's Bottles," perhaps Hautala's best story to date, tells how the simple act of discarding two empty soda bottles on a neighbor's lawn brings to light secrets that should have remained buried … but like all secrets, this one eventually is revealed with devastating consequences.
"Blood Ledge," set in an Indian Summer of 1971, tells the tale of a young boy who discovers a dark family secret that leads him to accept a family inheritance that has horrifying results.
And finally, "Cold River" is the story of a man so lost in loneliness and depression following the death of his wife that he faces a horror worse … much worse than drowning in the cold, dark river that flows by his house.
Taken together, these stories show Rick Hautala writing at the top of his game, telling stories that will not only chill you when you read them, but will leave you with an icy dread in your heart … a dread much colder than any October wind blowing down the street at night.
Four Octobers collects for the first time four loosely interconnected novellas from the vivid imagination of best-selling author Rick Hautala. Each story is set in October, the month of pumpkins and trick or treat, of skeletons and haunted graveyards, and each story is filled with nostalgia for times past … for summers and youth now gone … for chances not taken … for opportunities now lost forever.
"Tin Can Telephone," set in 1957, tells the story of a young boy and his friend who, in the pre-dawn darkness while waiting to see the Russian satellite Sputnik speed by overhead, experience a mystery and fear far more terrifying than the threat of Soviets in space.
"Miss Henry's Bottles," perhaps Hautala's best story to date, tells how the simple act of discarding two empty soda bottles on a neighbor's lawn brings to light secrets that should have remained buried … but like all secrets, this one eventually is revealed with devastating consequences.
"Blood Ledge," set in an Indian Summer of 1971, tells the tale of a young boy who discovers a dark family secret that leads him to accept a family inheritance that has horrifying results.
And finally, "Cold River" is the story of a man so lost in loneliness and depression following the death of his wife that he faces a horror worse … much worse than drowning in the cold, dark river that flows by his house.
Taken together, these stories show Rick Hautala writing at the top of his game, telling stories that will not only chill you when you read them, but will leave you with an icy dread in your heart … a dread much colder than any October wind blowing down the street at night.
327 pages, Leather Bound
First published January 1, 2007
19 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Rick Hautala
137 books125 followersAKA A.J. Matthews
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 10, 2022
Отново част от октомврийското ми четене, с което все още наваксвам.
Четири новели от Рик Халута, с чието чудесно творчество можете да започнете запознанството си от тук. Четири истории, които се развиват през октомври през различни десетилетия и всяка носи неангажиращо духът на времето си.
Един телефон от консервени кутии ще разкрие мистерията на едно изчезване.
Две стъклени бутилки от кола ще насочат едно хлапе към скрити семейни тайни.
Едно предизвикателство ще открие мрачна прокоба и ще промени цял живот.
Една тъжна история за загуба ще ни отведе в свят по-лош от смъртта.
Чудесен Халута, силно препоръчвам.
Четири новели от Рик Халута, с чието чудесно творчество можете да започнете запознанството си от тук. Четири истории, които се развиват през октомври през различни десетилетия и всяка носи неангажиращо духът на времето си.
Един телефон от консервени кутии ще разкрие мистерията на едно изчезване.
Две стъклени бутилки от кола ще насочат едно хлапе към скрити семейни тайни.
Едно предизвикателство ще открие мрачна прокоба и ще промени цял живот.
Една тъжна история за загуба ще ни отведе в свят по-лош от смъртта.
Чудесен Халута, силно препоръчвам.
March 3, 2014
It's one of those sad realizations when an author dies and you know there's never going to be anymore new stories from them. In my case, I had only just become aware of Rick Hautala's work at the time of his death, and roundly bought quite a few of his books to add to my TBR pile after reading the outpouring of kind and considerate words from writers whose work I had already read and enjoyed. The first book of Hautala's I picked up to read was around Halloween time and fittingly was Four Octobers.
This collection of four novellas works at capturing a bit of that small-town sensibility with the underlying insidiousness that permeates through a lot of those otherwise bucolic little spots of Americana.
First up was "Tin Can Telephone." I had one of those as a little boy, myself, and I'll be danged if I could have gotten it to work right. Getting a cell phone to get a single bar in the Canadian outback would have been easier. In any case, the boys who build one in this story set in the 1950s have no such trouble. In fact, it's when one boy dies and the other receives messages through the tin can telephone, all while the wonder of the space race goes on. A huge nostalgia kick with this one and kind of traipsed into Bradbury territory, at leat to my way of thinking, with its tinges of horror and sci-fi while keeping focused on the young characters.
"Miss Henry's Bottles" felt like two stories in one, or maybe it's that the story started out as one thing and wound up turning into something else entirely. Two boys get into a bit of an argument on their way home, which winds up causing one of the boys sneaking onto the yard of a scary, old woman and getting caught. To keep his parents from finding out he agrees to do some back-breaking chores for her, but it's while he does this day by day that revelations occur that send the story in one very unexpected direction. While good, the drastic shift in tone didn't feel all that smooth, and I found this story to be the weakest of the four.
"Blood Ledge" turned out to be my favorite, with a strong sense of Stephen King's "The Body" as I read. At this point in the book, the recurring theme of boys facing unsettling fears was abundantly clear. Here, four boys head out to Blood Ledge to dare each other to jump off into the cool waters below, but one boy winds up seeing something that scares him to the point that he nearly brains himself on the Ledge. And what's worse, he might have to do it again to get a second look. Very creepy, great interaction between the boys, but a bit of a saw-it-coming ending to finish it off. Still, a really enjoyable read.
To finish things off was "Cold River," which strayed from the young boys in a bygone ear and went into one of my favorite avenues: a ghost story. Set in present time, or pretty close to, the story does a very good job of providing the most spinetingling tale, and a pretty good capper to the book as a whole.
All in all, a really good introduction to Hautala's work for me, which is certainly going to spur me into reading more of his work going forward. His death came too soon, but it's never too late to read one of his stories.
This collection of four novellas works at capturing a bit of that small-town sensibility with the underlying insidiousness that permeates through a lot of those otherwise bucolic little spots of Americana.
First up was "Tin Can Telephone." I had one of those as a little boy, myself, and I'll be danged if I could have gotten it to work right. Getting a cell phone to get a single bar in the Canadian outback would have been easier. In any case, the boys who build one in this story set in the 1950s have no such trouble. In fact, it's when one boy dies and the other receives messages through the tin can telephone, all while the wonder of the space race goes on. A huge nostalgia kick with this one and kind of traipsed into Bradbury territory, at leat to my way of thinking, with its tinges of horror and sci-fi while keeping focused on the young characters.
"Miss Henry's Bottles" felt like two stories in one, or maybe it's that the story started out as one thing and wound up turning into something else entirely. Two boys get into a bit of an argument on their way home, which winds up causing one of the boys sneaking onto the yard of a scary, old woman and getting caught. To keep his parents from finding out he agrees to do some back-breaking chores for her, but it's while he does this day by day that revelations occur that send the story in one very unexpected direction. While good, the drastic shift in tone didn't feel all that smooth, and I found this story to be the weakest of the four.
"Blood Ledge" turned out to be my favorite, with a strong sense of Stephen King's "The Body" as I read. At this point in the book, the recurring theme of boys facing unsettling fears was abundantly clear. Here, four boys head out to Blood Ledge to dare each other to jump off into the cool waters below, but one boy winds up seeing something that scares him to the point that he nearly brains himself on the Ledge. And what's worse, he might have to do it again to get a second look. Very creepy, great interaction between the boys, but a bit of a saw-it-coming ending to finish it off. Still, a really enjoyable read.
To finish things off was "Cold River," which strayed from the young boys in a bygone ear and went into one of my favorite avenues: a ghost story. Set in present time, or pretty close to, the story does a very good job of providing the most spinetingling tale, and a pretty good capper to the book as a whole.
All in all, a really good introduction to Hautala's work for me, which is certainly going to spur me into reading more of his work going forward. His death came too soon, but it's never too late to read one of his stories.
October 7, 2021
I've made no secret of that fact that I'm a big fan of Rick Hautala, and this collection of four seasonal novellas is some of his best work. The man certainly had a way of hitting the feels.
A wonderful way to start my autumn/Halloween reading!
A wonderful way to start my autumn/Halloween reading!
September 1, 2023
2.5 rounded up to 3 stars for the autumnal atmosphere and quality of the writing.
In his introduction to Four Octobers, author Rick Hautala writes that after the publication of his first novel, his writing for the next several years was by commission only. Short stories, screenplays and novels were written at the request of publishers, editors and film studios, and somewhere along the way, he lost his sense of enjoyment in writing. So he decided he was going to write something for himself without worrying about audience expectations, and that's how the novellas that make up Four Octobers came to be.
Unfortunately for this reader, you can tell that these works were written more out of a sense of personal nostalgia than anything else. The writing is undeniably good, but the stories just didn't do it for me. The main characters of three out of four of these tales, which are all loosely connected, are preteen or young teen boys growing up in simpler times in small New England towns in the mid to late 20th century. When I picked up this collection, I was hoping for autumn vibes and creepy chills. I got the former in spades, but the latter was nowhere to be found.
The individual novellas in the collection include:
"Tin Can Telephone" - This opening story set the autumnal tone right out of the gate. This story leans into science fiction, and ended with no satisfying resolution. 2.5 stars
"Miss Henry's Bottles" - This was a straight up drama, not horror, with just one pivotal scene taking place on Halloween night but nothing spooky to be found here. I found this story boring overall. 2 stars
"Blood Ledge" - This tale had elements that could have turned into something spooky but then, just like the first story, it ended really abruptly. 2.5 stars
"Cold River" - This was, finally, a horror story. It had a lot of elements I love (grief, fever dream atmosphere, isolation) but, ultimately, this one went on too long. 3.5 stars
I've read other stories by Rick Hautala, so I know he can deliver the goods when it comes to scares and I really like his writing style. I will definitely pick up more of his work.
In his introduction to Four Octobers, author Rick Hautala writes that after the publication of his first novel, his writing for the next several years was by commission only. Short stories, screenplays and novels were written at the request of publishers, editors and film studios, and somewhere along the way, he lost his sense of enjoyment in writing. So he decided he was going to write something for himself without worrying about audience expectations, and that's how the novellas that make up Four Octobers came to be.
Unfortunately for this reader, you can tell that these works were written more out of a sense of personal nostalgia than anything else. The writing is undeniably good, but the stories just didn't do it for me. The main characters of three out of four of these tales, which are all loosely connected, are preteen or young teen boys growing up in simpler times in small New England towns in the mid to late 20th century. When I picked up this collection, I was hoping for autumn vibes and creepy chills. I got the former in spades, but the latter was nowhere to be found.
The individual novellas in the collection include:
"Tin Can Telephone" - This opening story set the autumnal tone right out of the gate. This story leans into science fiction, and ended with no satisfying resolution. 2.5 stars
"Miss Henry's Bottles" - This was a straight up drama, not horror, with just one pivotal scene taking place on Halloween night but nothing spooky to be found here. I found this story boring overall. 2 stars
"Blood Ledge" - This tale had elements that could have turned into something spooky but then, just like the first story, it ended really abruptly. 2.5 stars
"Cold River" - This was, finally, a horror story. It had a lot of elements I love (grief, fever dream atmosphere, isolation) but, ultimately, this one went on too long. 3.5 stars
I've read other stories by Rick Hautala, so I know he can deliver the goods when it comes to scares and I really like his writing style. I will definitely pick up more of his work.
June 16, 2013
I'm a big fan of the "coming of age" genre." And having known Rick, my opinion may be a tad jaded. But I do believe this is some of his finest writing. It is an amazing collection and despite being out of print in the physical form, I hope it hits the Ebook market so more people can be exposed to it.
Read
November 4, 2022Rick Hautala’s Four Octobers captured four snapshots of bygone eras - if the camera doing the photography were from a Twilight Zone type place. His writing is graceful, his stories interesting and often open-ended for personal interpretation. The first in the collection of long short stories or novellas was titled “Tin Can Phone” and is set in 1957 when some young people sneak out to watch the Sputnik satellite pass through the heavens but experience something much worse than the threat of the cold war. “Miss Henry’s Bottles” tells of a young man who gets to know the local “lady in the scary house.” This story had heart. “Blood Ledge” followed a young boy who, during a warm October in 1971, found courage and a deadly family secret. The last story in the collection, “Cold River,” finds an older man dealing with grief - and horror. These stories are united by the place, telling of four distinct and memorable Octobers.
October 31, 2022
"One trick is to tell 'em stories that don't really go anywhere..." - Abe Simpson
A collection of four novellas that just didn't do it for me.
I really appreciated Hautala's writing. He really captured the feeling of the different eras these stories take place in. But I didn't care for the stories being told.
Two of the novellas, Tin Can Telephone and Blood Ledge were compelling stories that just suddenly... stopped. It was worse with Tin Can. I was certain the book would circle back in a later novella. But no. It just ended with a mystery. Blood Ledge at least had an ending. It was just sudden and abrupt and felt like the author intended to extend the story but didn't.
Miss Henry's Bottles was far and away the best story in the bunch. It's worth picking up the book on sale just for this tale. A very satisfying and excellent Gothic that throws a swerve at you just as you think you have everything figured.
The last story, Cold River, did that thing I don't like: the character starts questioning reality as stranger and stranger things begin to happen. At first, the story is gripping. But as strange things keep happening, I began to get the feeling there was going to be no rhyme or reason for any of it and I was pretty much correct. The story to me felt like it just dragged on and on and on.
A collection of four novellas that just didn't do it for me.
I really appreciated Hautala's writing. He really captured the feeling of the different eras these stories take place in. But I didn't care for the stories being told.
Two of the novellas, Tin Can Telephone and Blood Ledge were compelling stories that just suddenly... stopped. It was worse with Tin Can. I was certain the book would circle back in a later novella. But no. It just ended with a mystery. Blood Ledge at least had an ending. It was just sudden and abrupt and felt like the author intended to extend the story but didn't.
Miss Henry's Bottles was far and away the best story in the bunch. It's worth picking up the book on sale just for this tale. A very satisfying and excellent Gothic that throws a swerve at you just as you think you have everything figured.
The last story, Cold River, did that thing I don't like: the character starts questioning reality as stranger and stranger things begin to happen. At first, the story is gripping. But as strange things keep happening, I began to get the feeling there was going to be no rhyme or reason for any of it and I was pretty much correct. The story to me felt like it just dragged on and on and on.
October 16, 2022
4.5 ***
May 5, 2023
Cold River
The best story. It kept me interested and thinking. Sad what our minds can make us experience from great lost.
The best story. It kept me interested and thinking. Sad what our minds can make us experience from great lost.
November 1, 2016
These novellas were all either too long or too short. I didn't really like any of them. A great disappointment.
October 19, 2011
The first two stories were ok if a bit on the boring side. The third story was bad and the last story I couldn't even read after the first paragraph where he uses festering cat scratches to describe the sky.
May 20, 2014
The last story was one of the worst if not the worst novella I have ever read. The first three were readable
May 26, 2014
4.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews