All Hallows Eve

by Ellen Datlow (Editor), Josh Malerman (Contributor), Lee Murray (Contributor)

Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow presents this chilling horror anthology of 19 original short stories from a world-class line-up of the masters of horror, delving into the histories and traditions of the spookiest season of the year.

Featuring stories by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix and many more.

Halloween, Samhain, Día de los Muertos—festivals across the world where we can commune with those we have lost, when spirits can cross over, and when the boundary between the living and the dead is far, far too thin.

A young boy encounters a woman with an ancient and terrifying link to the holiday, a group of college students attend a Halloween party to die for, and a troubled girl exploits a local urban legend to try and turn her life around.

From America to New Zealand via the rural Romanian wilderness, this anthology explores our worldwide obsession with the spookiest season of the year, when the veil is lifted and the spirits come alive. Featuring 19 original stories from bestselling and award-winning masters of the genre, and from Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus, Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson award-winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, this anthology invites you to carve a pumpkin, light the lanterns and welcome in trick or treaters from across the world. 

With stories
Josh Malerman
Lee Murray
Rich Larson
Clay McLeod Chapman
Livia Llewellyn
Michael Marshall Smith
Stephen Graham Jones
Linda D. Addison
Christopher Golden
Alma Katsu
Brian Evenson
Siobhan Carroll
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
Theresa DeLucci
Garth Nix
Jeffrey Ford
Richard Kadrey
Nathan Ballingrud
John Langan

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Halloween, Anthologies, Fiction, Audiobook, Adult

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2026

About the author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and editor of Event Horizon and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, The Devil and the Deep: Horror Stories of the Sea, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, Edited By, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.
She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, and the 2012 Il Posto Nero Black Spot Award for Excellence as Best Foreign Editor. Datlow was named recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

Title/Author: All Hallows Eve:
Format Read: Audiobook on hoopla with the Night Worms Fable Book Club
Pub date: September 08, 2026
Publisher: Titan Books
Page Count: 336
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978183541...
Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- Short Stories
- Halloween themes
- Nostalgia vibes
- Finding new authors to read
- Seasonal reading
__
Minor complaints: Animal cruelty and a weird common thread of children as victims of abuse or death or something pervy like the SGJ story
Final recommendation: 


That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman: 2/5
I love a Josh Malerman anthology story—he’s so good at them! I highly recommend his book, Spin A Black Yarn, a collection of short stories and Goblin-a collection of 4 connected novellas. This story is not great. It’s from the POV of a teacher who hates Halloween and his story of a woman who is too old to be trick-or-treating and he sees her talking to nobody over her Halloween candy—I dunno, it was…odd (the MC says he's a Kindergarten teacher, then says the kids are 9 yrs. old)

On the Path: Bleeding by Lee Murray: 4/5
I always love Lee Murray’s short stories and this is no exception. Infused with Māori culture and folklore, this had a great pace, great start and finish. I loved that the criminal wore a Trump mask ;) Didn't have strong Halloween vibes though

Good Kids by Rich Larsen: 3/5
This has a really creepy kid in it and some religious horror overtones that I enjoyed. There were some pervy vibes I didn’t really like, but it is an unsettling story—

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman: 4/5
Grief Horror centered around the ghost of a child who died by suicide at Halloween and his parents are having a difficult time emotionally—very upsetting and realistic

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn: 1/5
I disliked this story. It’s very dialogue heavy and struggled with establishing setting. The storytelling meanders, I couldn’t even remember what it was about just now…

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith: 2/5
Ugh, this shitty dad story. That age old conflict of a dad who thinks he’s forced to babysit his own kids just because his wife (the mother) wants to go out with her friends and then something terrible happens *scowl*

The Devil’s New Year by Stephen Graham Jones: 3/5
Content Warning for animal violence-AND he had animal violence in the Never Whistle at Night anthology—I’m just more sensitive to it than ever during this hellhole timeline. I did enjoy the first half of the story and pictured Juliette Lewis as the MC with the B-I-T-C-H tattoo

***Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison: 5/5
Every good antho needs a Linda D. Addison poem or it's incomplete. This one is GRUESOME

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden: 3/5
A decent werewolf story but it felt too on the nose? The transformation is a very standard description, he shreds the woman's dress...I don't know, nothing new was added here

***The Kuker by Alma Katsu: 5/5
A solid story about a costume--lots of folklore and history/setting--all the things Alma Katsu does best. I loved it

Ankou’s Night by Brian Everson: I enjoyed the tone, and the writing style--but MORE child abuse and pervy shit?? It's a real bummer man. 1/5

***The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll: 5/5
LOVE this historical vampire tale set during the Potato Famine in Ireland. I forgot I was listening to a short story--wanted this to be a novel

***Saturday by Chikodili Emelumadu: 5/5
a "naughty child" who is an inconvience to his mother is basically lured into a dark situation that threatens his eternal soul. SO GOOD


Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci: 3/5
points for being set in the 90s and for that Agent Scully costume

Her Mother’s Business by Garth Nix: DNF
I just could not get into it and it felt long

The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford: 4/5
I enjoyed the writing style and this one felt the most Halloween themed out of all of them beside's Clay's

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey: 4/5
I'm starting to really, really enjoy Richard Kadrey's storytelling--one of the better stories. I liked that it was set in the 50s and captured the no-good misbehaving that happens on Halloween night

On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud: 3/5
This also felt too long for the anthology. I usually love Nathan Ballingrud's stories so I was really looking forward to it--but it just fell flat to me. I liked the coastal town setting

The Auld Woman With the Broom by John Langan: 2/5 another long wind-up and an odd choice to close an anthology. I typically like when anthologies close with a real banger. I would have put Clay's story or Christopher Golden's werewolf one here. You know, I was missing a Cass Khaw tale too--usually an Ellen Datlow antho has a Cass Khaw story :(


Comps: Doorbells at Dusk edited by Evans Light (a much more consistent anthology and feels more Halloweenish, get you in the Holiday spirit)

[Ginger · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

All Hallow’s Eve starts off with a whimper and ends the same way.

I don’t know why this collection was categorized the way it was. I would think as an editor that you would want to grab the reader at the beginning, throw in the least memorable stories in the middle, and then do a slam dunk at the end.

In this case, All Hallow’s Eve gives us That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman which put me to sleep.
And at the end, I didn’t even finish The Auld Woman with the Broom by John Langan because I didn’t care.

I know both horror authors can write bangers so I’m not sure what happened in this collection?
Even my beloved Stephen Graham Jones wrote a tame story as well, minus the animal stuff which could be tough for some readers. It’s head scratching for sure.

There are a few stories in this collection that were unique and memorable. The rest, about as memorable as eating an Almond Joy or Mounds candy bar.
To all the ANTI-Almond Joy and Mounds fans, you’ll get what I’m saying. I’m also sending you a virtual fist bump.

Now if you LOVE this abomination of a candy bar, you’re wrong. 🤷🏼‍♀️😂
Maybe imagine PEEPS **shudders** or one of your least favorite candy bars when you would Trick or Treat?!

Yeah, the rest of the short stories are in that group. I wonder if some of the authors just didn’t have time to write something good or is this just a short story collection that feels off? At least to me it did.

And with no further ado, here are my favorites out of the 19:

On the Path, Bleeding by Lee Murray
Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman
The Kuker by Alma Katsu
The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll
Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci
On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud

As reading is subjective and horror is highly subjective, you might find a few gems in this collection and like it more than I did.

I still stand by the Almond Joy and Mounds comment though. No amount of influence will change my mind.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My fave stories were by Clay McLeod Chapman, Alma Katsu, Brian Evenson, and Stephen Graham Jones

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 1 out of 5]

Overall thoughts:
These stories feel very edgy. I didn't feel chilled or any ounce of atmosphere for almost every single entry. Many of them seemed only tangentially related to Halloween, almost as if they were resentful of writing a story for a Halloween collection. Perhaps it's on me and my prior experiences with Titan, but I also expected these stories to be a lot more speculative in nature instead of the sorts of things a student would turn in for a Contemporary Litfic course.

Something like AG Slatter or the creak of tree branches, the wind softly picking up damp leaves to carry them further down the road, feeling like you're being watched but no one is there behind you every time you look was more the vibe I was looking for. But I feel like the vibe I got from these stories was a tangle of sweaty, cheap, discarded costumes from Spirit Halloween that smell of stale BO.
--------------------
I'm sorry I have to also add this, but it's 2026 and this is the world we live in now: I'm cautiously concerned that some of this book may have been created with the use of AI.

In the very first story, without even changing paragraphs, the narrator both states that they're a kindergarten teacher AND that their students are ten years old. I think the only way a human would make that error is if there were multiple draft revisions and the story changed shape in that time, but it seems unlikely since neither detail is essential to the story. In Forever Again the narrator is complaining about their sore stomach, thirst, and hunger and then there's this nonsensical sentence-- "These circumstances have obtained indefinitely." I wasn't sure if I was in a bad mood and losing objectivity, so I asked some friends if it made sense and several immediately stated no, they thought it was written with AI. Again, I can see how human error could plausibly be behind it, but I can't deny that it sets off alarm bells for some readers.
--------------------
Anthologies are tricky for me both as a reader and as a reviewer, so I like to break down my thoughts by short story--

That Hannie Agnes:
Josh Malerman. Not a great start, but then again I didn't like the only other Malerman I've read. I kept waiting for something fantastical or chilling to happen, but it was just a middle aged man giving a barebones recounting of a memorable (for him) Halloween where he made eye contact with a neighbour twice. 1/5

On the Path: Bleeding:
Lee Murray. I liked the way this was written in a very contemporary, urban voice (as soon as it said "Yeah-nah" on the first page I perked up) and I liked the inclusions of Māori culture. But overall I didn't find the tale that interesting or fantastical, just a punkass dude getting ferried around town in other people's cars and mildly haunted by a ghost (or his own conscience, hard to say). 1.5/5

Good Kids:
Rich Larson. Disturbed little boys egg each other on during a sleepover. Man, I am really not liking any of these stories so far. 1/5

Treats:
Clay McLeod Chapman. A man struggles with grief on the anniversary of his 13 year old son's suicide. This was bleak af. Emotionally well-written, I guess? But I really feel like this was for a literary audience and honestly now I just feel bad. unrated/5

The Levels:
Livia Llewellyn. Girl goes to a college party at a haunted house, drives herself insane. 1.5/5

Forever Again:
Michael Marshall Smith. PSA against drunk driving. Half the story actually has a sense of atmosphere and intrigue to it, half the story is a deadbeat dad being an asshole husband and arranging to meet up with his affair partner. Unlikable af, but I'm so desperate for anything interesting at this point that I feel like it's a beacon of light compared to the others. 2/5

edit: looking back on this one, I really like the hell aspects and the demon is kinda hilarious. I just wish the rest of the read wasn't soooo insufferable to drag it down.

The Devil's New Year:
Stephen Graham Jones. Can't tell if it's intended to be perverse fetishes or overall degradation of moral character spread from person to person like an STI, but I honestly have no idea what the intent was here. Felt like the whole thing was supposed to be funny based on the tone? But I genuinely winced while reading it.-1/5
TW for multiple counts of animal cruelty that were very unpleasant

Merciless Feast:
Linda D. Addison. Macabre poetry. I like the horror of the ritual, even if I don't understand why it's taking place. Overall it felt too poetry (infamously not my thing) and too short (hardly two pages) to form much of an opinion on it. unrated/5

Or So the Story Goes:
Christopher Golden. Finally some monsters up in here! Strigoi and vârcolac and an unexpected ending. 3/5

The Kuker:
Alma Katsu. Grieving widow reconnects with her deceased husband by putting on his kuker costumer. 1.5/5

Ankou's Night:
Brian Evenson. Abusive French grandfather beats his grandson with a cane, scars his face, and squeezes his crotch until he nearly passes out from pain. After he dies, his spirit takes over his son's body and the grandson doesn't miss nor mourn his father but expects years of more abuse to come. 1/5 wtf

The Hungry Grass:
Siobhan Carroll. Author of my all-time favourite short story (For He Can Creep which you can read for free here). THANK GOD there was finally a story in this collection that gave the vibes I was looking for. Set in Ireland during a famine (likely the famous Potato Famine of the mid 1800s) there's a mysterious young woman who's a patient/guest in the young general's house who has her own cutlery and won't touch the silverware... 4/5

Saturday:
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. [SKIPPED]
Give Me Something Good to Eat:
Theresa DeLucci. [SKIPPED]
Her Mother's Business:
Garth Nix. [SKIPPED]
The Thinning of the Veil:
Jeffrey Ford. [SKIPPED]
Dare Me:
Richard Kadrey. [SKIPPED]
On the Night of the Welcome Stranger:
Nathan Ballingrud. [SKIPPED]
The Auld Woman With the Broom:
John Langan. [SKIPPED]

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan for providing me with an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Matt Milu · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite short story in the collection was “Forever Again” by Michael Marshall Smith - I can’t stop thinking about it! For animal lovers, skip “The Devils New Year” by Stephen Graham Jones - I wish I would have! 3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️!

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Eclectic and engaging, this collection is a bit subdued but still dark, and delivers the chills.

In her introduction the editor says that she asked her authors to not give her any typical monster style story, but to go somewhere else. As most associate Halloween with a time when the veil between the living and dead thins then it makes sense that death, loss, and grief is a recurring theme across these stories. However, it is not the only theme! There are fun stories about local curses, neo-folk horror, more classical occult horror, and just general dark thrillers.

Overall, the stories are a diverse lot. There aren’t any bad stories in the bunch, though a couple of them were just okay, stories that felt like they were holding back and maybe had more to say. However, most rose above that and were solid stories, and they delivered on what was promised in interesting and fun ways. There are a few that rise above that and are genuinely great, with the two final stories in the collection, by Nathan Ballingrud and John Langan falling into that category, the first being a love story from the point of view of a ghoul and the latter being, as is his Langan’s style, a story-within-a-story, the outer story having crime-thriller vibes and the inner story being more in the tradition of campfire-tale folk horror. There are other notable stories, too (in no particular order): Lee Murray’s bit of neo-folk horror from New Zealand, Clay McLeod Chapman’s wonderful meditation on grief, Stephen Graham jones playful exploration of local legends and just what it is that animals know about us, Christopher Golden’s dark fantasy that feels like a contemporary fairy tale, Alma Katsu’s heartwarming exploration on what we lose and what stays behind when we lose a partner, and Richard Kadrey’s story about “Boy on Bikes” (but up to no good).

It isn’t the strongest collection curated by Datlow that I have read, but it was consistently fun and offered some unique and engaging takes on what a Halloween-season story might look like. The stories by Ballingrud and Langan alone make it worth the read for me, and as I said I enjoyed my way through the whole volume, including the authors not mentioned above. I appreciate seeing new ways to approach familiar material and this anthology is a celebration of that.

[Tabitha (Reading Tabby) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A not terrible collection of short stories but not a great collection either. I usually have one or two 5 stars in a collection but most of these were 3 stars, a couple were 2 stars, and only 5 hit 4 stars. I'm sad there weren't any bangers in a collection about Halloween and nearby holidays of the dead because I love this season and I wanted VIBEY reads. Some of these had nothing to do with Halloween or the season at all, which I found odd.

The stories that stood out (all 4*):

That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman - a kind of spooky yet properly Halloween-y tale

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn - a spooky house party in a spooky old house, felt like a VHS series short lol

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden - not very of the holiday but I like a good monster story

Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci - an interesting and spooky witch/ghost story that I actually think might be my favorite of the bunch

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey - this actually annoyed me at first but I was sold by the end. This is a mean story but spooky in a good way, and another one that reminded me of a VHS series short lol

Overall it's not a terrible collection, and it averages at 3.5 stars for the rating. Again, I didn't hate it I was mostly just disappointed. I wanted something a lot more atmospheric and vibey for the season, or to at least read some really good short stories... as it is, only a few of these will stick with me, the rest were kind of forgettable.

[Nina The Wandering Reader · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Favorite Stories in this Anthology:

-On the Path, Bleeding by Lee Murray
-Good Kids by Rich Larsen
-Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman
-Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith
-The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll

[Brittany · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

I had such high expectations for this one, especially considering the lineup of authors. With so many great names in horror contributing to this collection, I really thought I was in for something good. Unfortunately, it just fell flat for me.

There were a handful of stories I enjoyed, but the majority were either forgettable or just didn’t deliver. The ideas were there, but the execution wasn’t. I was expecting creepy, unsettling stories that would really capture the Halloween spirit, and instead I found myself pretty underwhelmed.

And as far as the horror goes…where was it? 😅 I wouldn’t even call most of these stories scary. Mildly spooky, maybe, and even that feels generous at times. I wanted something that would give me the creeps, not just a collection of strange stories loosely tied to Halloween.

Overall, a disappointing read considering the talent involved. A few decent stories just weren’t enough to save this collection for me. 🎃

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded upwards

Although a lot of people won’t want to hear, think about or accept this, Halloween is around the corner. So, too, is fall, which is the best season of the year. Summer is too hot — disgustingly so — and too long, whereas fall (or autumn, if you prefer) is too short. The weather is perfect when the two start to blend into each other, though.

With fall and Halloween comes a glut of scary, creepy and shadowy content. This comes by way of horror movies in theatres, old ones being run in marathons on TV, and conveniently timed releases of horror and thriller books. One such title, which will release during the autumn of this year, is All Hallow’s Eve. Curated and edited by Ellen Datlow, it’s a collection of short stories based around Halloween itself.

As expected, All Hallow’s Eve brings together some of horror’s best and brightest, including authors Josh Malerman (one of my favourites), John Langan, Stephen Graham Jones, Siobhan Carroll, Alma Katsu, Clay McLeod Chapman, Christopher Golden, Garth Nix, Lee Murray and Michael Marshall Smith. I could have listed all of the authors, but don’t want to bore anyone. Either way, there are 19 short stories to be found here, each written by a different person.

As a sucker for these types of collections, I read this book as soon as I received it, and didn’t take long to do so once I actually sat down to read. I took it on holiday with me, but finished it when I got home. Overall, I found it to be a good compilation of tales, but not the best I’ve read. Some stories were really good, while certain others kind of bored me. Perhaps part of this is because I brought personal biases into it all, as despite trying, I have always struggled with period pieces. Then again, we all have our own likes and dislikes.

Let’s get to it, and go over this story by story.

That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman: This story starts things off, and I was excited by that because Josh Malerman is one of my favourite authors. I particularly love his book, Inspection. However, That Hannie Agnes — a story about a woman who is only seen at Halloween, and is too old to be trick-or-treating, didn’t do a lot for me I’m afraid.

On the Path: Bleeding by Lee Murray: This was a better tale, about a wanna-be gang member in Hawaii, who takes on an initiation assignment that he shouldn’t have. It involves old customs, superstitions and the like.

Good Kids by Rich Larsen: A churchgoing boy becomes friends with a recent newcomer who is invited over for a sleepover. Alone together in his room in the basement, the new friend starts to act strangely and does things that one wouldn’t think a human could. I liked this one.

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman: A tale about grief and letting go, this is a standout of the collection. I was really impressed with its originality, its themes and how it handled such tough subjects. It’s one of my favourite parts of this book.

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn: This story is about a loner who goes to a party with friends from college. Said party is at a strangely designed and constructed house in town, which looks like it has levels. However, it’s a strange and surreal party that is unlike any other. Overall, this was a good story, but I thought it could have done more with the setting and premise.

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith: Easily my favourite story found in this collection, Forever Again is a dark, depressing and haunting tale about eternal suffering. It’s stuck with me since I read it, and scared the existential shit out of me.

The Devil’s New Year by Stephen Graham Jones: Another unique and strange story from the vivid imagination of Native author, Stephen Graham Jones. It centres upon a young-ish woman who’s made bad choices and has a rather unfortunate tattoo on her face. After hearing about a local legend, she attempts to be reborn, but it comes with some side effects. I liked this one, but there were parts that I was not a fan of. If you love animals, maybe skip this one.

Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison: The shortest of the shorts, it’s essentially a poem about a strange village with a dark festival. It’s pretty good, and also very visceral, dark and gruesome.

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden: Seemingly set somewhere in Europe, this story is about a very young woman and her grandmother, both of whom reside in a small cabin in the woods. There’s a cart trail by them, but that’s about it. With it being Halloween, the grandmother asks her granddaughter to come inside early, and tries to protect her from the evils of the night, while legends say she will dream of her future husband. However, things don’t go as hoped. Overall, this is a good story, with a surprising twist, and one of the best.

The Kuker by Alma Katsu: A grieving woman has a hard time bringing herself to go into her late husband’s study, where a strange costume sits in a mannequin stand. She thinks about the time they went to Europe and took part in an odd festival where villagers dressed up in homemade costumes made to depict a being called the Kuker. Overall, it’s a solid story.

Ankou’s Night by Brian Everson: Told from the perspective of a young boy who’s growing up in a foreign country, this is a tale about old superstitions and a mean old man. Said old man is the boy’s grandfather, who passed away but may return during a specific holiday. It’s a good story, and one of the better ones.

The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll: As I said, I struggle with period pieces, and this is one. I also struggle with vampire stories, which it also is. I honestly found this one a bit overlong and a tad boring, but that’s just me. This is a story about a British man who’s stationed in Ireland during the potato famine, and is struggling. After a carriage accident, he invites a young woman to board with him.

Saturday by Chikodili Emelumadu: A misbehaved boy is taken to school by his mom, who’s dating a new man who doesn’t want a kid — let alone such a mean and unruly one — around. When he gets to school, something is wrong: there’s a group of strange children with deformed faces and bodies, and they aren’t acting like regular kids. A good story.


Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci: One of the better stories in this collection, this one is set in approximately 1993. There, we meet a teenage girl who’s become obsessed with The X-Files (my first favourite adult show), and is dressed as Agent Scully. She’s recently moved to a small town, and doesn’t know many people because she spent the summer isolating while recovering from major corrective jaw surgery. However, the one friend she does have has invited her to a bonfire in the woods to celebrate Halloween. Something happens, but I won’t spoil it.

Her Mother’s Business by Garth Nix: This story is about a twenty-two year-old woman who’s been roped into helping her mother con people all around the world. On this particular Halloween night, they are running a spirit medium con on a wealthy lady in Europe, who wants to speak to the son she lost in the War. Their chosen location isn’t a good one, though. Overall, this is a good story and one I enjoyed.

The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford: Another of my most liked stories from this release, this one begins as a group of friends have a few drinks on the porch while giving candy to children who are trick-or-treating. They talk about how the veil between the living and the dead is currently thin, and about how a friend who passed away could visit if conditions are right. However, they get more than they’ve bargained for.

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey: Set in the early 50s, this short is about a group of unruly boys who are up to no good during a small, rural, town’s Halloween festivities. They mess with the wrong people, and disturb the wrong grave. This was one of the better stories found within.

On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud: It’s funny how opinions differ, because early reviews I’ve read seem to place this as the best story in the collection. However, it didn’t do a lot for me, and I found it to be overlong. It’s a tale about a small town called Hob’s Landing, which has welcomed ghouls to live amongst its human population, instead of forcing them to live underground. Human meat is sold in grocery stores, and ghouls are expected to not feast on recently deceased people, let alone kill them. However, two single ghouls who’ve recently moved there find each other on the beach, then stumble onto something they shouldn’t have. The rest is a story of their lives, which are not so normal. I applaud the originality, but didn’t enjoy this one like I had hoped. I also thought there were some inconsistencies within the text.

The Auld Woman With the Broom by John Langan: An odd story to end this collection with, in my opinion, this is about a Scottish gangster who’s gotten out of prison after serving a very short sentence for a very heinous crime. Why? It was hard to prove his guilt, for reasons explained within the story. This tale mixes old folklore with somewhat a somewhat modern story, and was slow to get going. I enjoyed the last part, but it took a while to get there.

Overall, All Hallow’s Eve presented by Ellen Datlow is a good, but not great, collection of horror stories. There were some shorts that I really enjoyed, including two that I feel will stick with me forever, bad memory be damned. However, the rest of the 19 tales were hit and miss for me, and none were as good as those two. Some I struggled with and didn’t really enjoy.

As a whole, I do think that this is a good collection that is worth your time and energy, especially during the Halloween season. It just could have been better.

This review is based on a copy of the book which we were provided with.

[The Blog Without a Face · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

Ellen, we need to talk about the veil. Nineteen pieces in here and I lost count of how many of them stop dead to inform me that on Halloween the veil between the living and the dead gets thin, like I wandered in off the street and needed onboarding. You also asked these people for no stereotypical monsters and they handed you a werewolf, a vampire, a witch, a possession, and roughly nine thousand ghosts. In fairness, they're nice ones.

And a third of this book genuinely rules. There's a doorbell story so mean I had to set the thing down and go pet a dog. There's a ghoul couple celebrating their anniversary that is the most fun anybody has had in print this year and it isn't close. There's a pack of Texas shitbirds in 1952 that goes exactly as far as you're scared it's going to go and then keeps walking. The other two thirds are the issue, and they've all got the same disease: somebody remembers a weird thing, the weird thing gets weirder, then there's a short italicized sentence where our hero Understands Something and the story just sort of wanders off. Gorgeous sentences, no floor underneath them. Also there's a poem, because there is always a poem. Still worth the money for the four or five that land. Just don't read it front to back like I did, because by story twelve you'll be hearing the word "veil" the way a suspect hears a cop reading the Miranda card.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 2 out of 5]

….Halloween as we know it now is first and foremost American. It may have its roots in an ancient Celtic New Year celebration, and it likely gained its macabre side from stories of malevolent creatures called sidh (pronounced “she”) that were told during Samhain feasts two thousand years ago, but most of the things we associate with Halloween—trick or treat, pumpkins, candy—were added to the holiday after it had migrated to America with the Irish and Scottish in the mid-nineteenth century. Later, it would be America that would add haunted attractions, horror movies, and “Treehouse of Horror” episodes of The Simpsons to the holiday’s celebration, and it would be American capitalism that would export Halloween to the rest of the world.

Lisa Morton, Prologue to All Hallows’ Eve (2026)




"That Hannie Agnes" by Josh Malerman
While trick-or-treating with his father on Halloween, the nine-year-old narrator locks eyes with Hannie Agnes—an adult Irish woman who inexplicably trick-or-treats alone—becoming obsessed with her mysterious nature and deciding that night to sneak out of his house to follow her back to her home.

"On the Path, Bleeding" by Lee Murray
As an initiation requirement to join the Kiore street gang, Travis breaks into a deceased Māori elder's house during the man's funeral and steals a sacred greenstone mere (club) from the bedroom.

"Good Kids" by Rich Larson
The young narrator hosts a Halloween sleepover for Noel—a missionary's deeply unsettled son relocated from Africa—who introduces his disturbing belief in demonic possession and ritualistic self-harm by using a concealed thorn to puncture his own tongue.

"Treats" by Clay McLeod Chapman
On the one-year anniversary of his son Jordan's suicide, a grieving father's darkened house is interrupted by the doorbell ringing, revealing a silent trick-or-treater wearing the exact same black cat costume his late son wore at age three.

"The Levels" by Livia Llewellyn
College student Beryl's roommate Gloria brings home a mysterious orange invitation flyer to a secret Halloween party hosted inside "the Levels"—an enigmatic, sprawling house that the two have been obsessively wondering about for months

"Forever Again" by Michael Marshall Smith
After drinking three beers, a husband agrees under pressure from his wife to drive their three young children to a Halloween party, while secretly scheduling a roadside rendezvous with his mistress.

"The Devil’s New Year" by Stephen Graham Jones Desperate to rid herself of a regretted face tattoo reading "BITCH," the protagonist enlists two teenage boys to row her onto a polluted lake on a Halloween night with a full moon so she can perform a mythic rebirth ritual by diving into the moon's reflection.

"Merciless Feast" by Linda D. Addison
A village elder willingly swallows an offered vial of red liquid to act as the sacrificial "Feast" during the Feast of Merciful Abundance, intended to appease hungry, returning spirits and protect the village.

"Or So the Story Goes" by Christopher Golden
On Noaptea Strigoilor (the night of the undead), Jacheline's grandmother gives her a fresh basil leaf to place under her pillow, prompting an erotic dream of a rugged farmer that manifests as an actual violent werewolf in her bedroom.

"The Kuker" by Alma Katsu
While looking for a missing red Halloween candy bowl, grieving widow Maggie enters the closed study of her late husband Bryan and confronts his eerie, life-sized Bulgarian kuker monster costume.

"Ankou’s Night" by Brian Evenson
Following the death of Judoc's abusive grandfather, his parents argue and decide to observe the Breton tradition of leaving out a plate of food on the night before La Toussaint to honor Ankou and appease the dead man's spirit.

"The Hungry Grass" by Siobhan Carroll
Amid the devastation of the Irish Great Famine in 1847, relief officer George Nicholls is summoned into the fog to attend to an upturned carriage and takes an injured, suspiciously aristocratic young woman named Millara into his inn to recover.

"Saturday" by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
Chibuzo's mother abruptly bathes him early in the morning and abandons him with a warm food parcel at the locked gates of his school, which turns out to be a trap on a Saturday that pulls him into the supernatural realm of "yesterday-that-is-coming" and its monstrous masquerade.

"Give Me Something Good to Eat" by Theresa DeLucci
In the early 1990s, May—an isolated, X-Files-obsessed teen recovering from major corrective jaw surgery and dressed as Agent Scully—is drawn out of her shell when her only friend invites her to an ominous Halloween bonfire gathering in the woods.

"Her Mother’s Business" by Garth Nix
A 22-year-old woman roped into assisting her con-artist mother stages a fraudulent spiritualist seance on Halloween night to swindle a wealthy European client seeking contact with her war-dead son, holding the ritual in a location far more dangerous than they anticipate.

"The Thinning of the Veil" by Jeffrey Ford
While handing out candy and drinking on a front porch on Halloween, a group of friends begin discussing the supernatural thinning of the veil and attempt to entice the spirit of a deceased companion to visit them.

"Dare Me" by Richard Kadrey
Set in the early 1950s, a group of unruly boys pulling malicious Halloween pranks in their rural small town cross a line by targeting the wrong locals and desecrating a grave.

"On the Night of the Welcome Stranger" by Nathan Ballingrud
In Hob's Landing—a coastal town where ghouls openly integrate into human society—two solitary, newly arrived ghouls meet on the beach and stumble upon something forbidden that disrupts their community's delicate coexistence.

"The Auld Woman with the Broom" by John Langan
A ruthless Scottish gangster is released from prison after serving an unusually light sentence for a heinous crime, only to find himself pursued by an ancient folkloric force of retribution.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ellen Datlow brings together 19 stories written by some of the biggest names in horror for an anthology of tales taking place on Halloween. I mostly enjoyed the book, though there were only two that I really liked - those by Clay McLeod Chapman and Alma Katsu. There were only one or two I would say weren't that good, but the rest were mostly good but not all the memorable.

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

All Hallows Eve, Edited by Ellen Datlow is an anthology of horror stories related to....Halloween.




I’d like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Titan Books, and the authors, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 




My Synopsis and Opinions:
There is a good mix of authors here, and the stories are of Halloween/Samhain and other yearly celebrations from around the world.  The stories all relate to that time of year when the thin veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead, where spirits can sometimes cross over, whether for good for for bad.

As always, I will be providing a brief synopsis and review of each individual story.  Here goes!


That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman: A young boy goes in search of a woman who is always around on Halloween, and that was the last year he enjoyed the celebration.  Interesting, but a bit boring.  So disappointed that this leads the pack of stories, and that he's one of my favorite horror writers.   2 stars.

On the Path, Bleeding by Lee Murray:  A young man who wants to join a gang, must first steal something.  The job has serious repercussions.  Quite good.  4 stars

Good Kids by Rich Larson: Two children with somewhat different religious views, spend Halloween together, as neither is allowed to go out, and they both learn from their different backgrounds.  A little scary.  Loved it!  5 stars

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman: A family closes the curtains, turns off the lights, to wait for Halloween to be over.  They are mourning the loss of their son.  The doorbell rings.  Great story.  5 stars

The Levels by Livia Llewelyn: An invitation to a Halloween party at an interesting house excites Beryl, but the house is strange.  Suspense builds nicely, but the ending left a lot to be desired.  2 stars

Forever Again by Michael Marshal Smith: A man makes a number of bad decisions, and eventually pays, again and again.  A little confusing at first, but WOW.  5 stars

The Devil's New Year by Stephen Graham Jones: A woman changes internally, but certain animals can see the original, and she must deal with them.  Interesting. The ending made it really good.  4 stars

Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison: An elder is chosen to be the Giver.  Their job is to protect the children of the village, but the Giver is not truly prepared for this ritual.  Short and sweet, and perfect!  5 stars 

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden: A young girl, is confronted with the superstitions that her grandmother believes, and which her father had laughed at.  Surprise ending!  Great story.  5 stars

The Kuker by Alma Katsu: A woman who has lost her husband, finally cleans out his office, and tries to figure out what to do with a costume that had been his pride and joy.  Interesting.  4 stars

Ankou's Night by Brian Evenson:   A small boy who is beaten by his grandfather, plots his revenge after the man has died.  Okay  3.5 stars

The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll:  In a time of famine and disease, a man meets a young girl who seems to have control of him.  It was okay.  3 stars

Saturday by Chikodili Emelumadu: A rather bad boy is sent to school early one day, but nothing there is as it seems.  Didn't enjoy this one.  2 stars

Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci: The new girl in town tries to fit in,  and the group she is trying to join is a little odd.  But she can be odd too.  Interesting.  Loved the ending.  4 stars

Her Mother's Business by Garth Nix: A con artist/medium convinces her victim to come to the standing stones so that she could talk to her lost son, but more than her son shows up.  Quite good.  4 stars

The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford: A couple follow a friend to the house of a loan shark, and who seems bent on revenge, but they aren't sure who they are really following.  This was really good.  4 stars

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey: A 12 year old boy, trying to fit it with some older kids, suddenly gets his courage.  Surprising end.  4 stars

On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Balingrud: A married couple of ghouls decide to relive the night they met, and their first shared meal.  This was wonderful.  5 stars

The Auld Woman With the Broom by John Langan:  A man meets his son-in-law after he gets out of jail, and tells him a story about an old woman.  Not a fan of criminals and mobs, and this was overly long.  2 stars




Overall, I was impressed with these stories.  Yes, there were a couple of duds, but I was impressed that there were so many really great ones.  Well worth the read.

Anyway, until next time .... 


For more of my book reviews, please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

 

[ellie ♈︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

A really mixed bag of short stories, with some being incredible, and some being either totally forgettable or just straight-up bad. For me, the stand-outs were:

- Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman
- Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith
- The Devils New Year by Stephen Graham Jones (my FAV!)
- Or So The Story Goes by Christopher Golden

These were fabulous and I wish the whole collection was at this 5-star level, but sadly plenty of the stories here weren't great. I enjoyed the various themes at play and liked the connection to Halloween and how its celebrated in different cultures, but some of these short stories were just so bland. But when the stories were great, they were GREAT. So hats off for that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

decided to read this book for halloween! while some of the stories were only okay or I didn't end up enjoying them at all, I did really like some of the others.

these are the few stories that I actually enjoyed: treats, ankou's night, and the hungry grass.

it was definitely a perfect read for the season 🍂

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2.5/5) With Ellen Datlow at the helm, this anthology features a stacked roster, with many impressive names in modern horror (Stephen Graham Jones, Alma Katsu, Brian Evenson) and some unexpected ones (Garth Nix, what are you doing here?) All of this contributed to my high hopes, which were swiftly dashed right from the start.

The anthology starts with a whimper (cementing my apathy for Josh Malerman), and most of the subsequent ones don't rise to the occasion. The only ones that really stood out to me were Theresa DeLucci's Give Me Something Good to Eat, in the vein of your classic Halloween teen slashers, and Nathan Ballingrud's On the Night of the Welcome Stranger, with the tenuous peace and subsequent chaos that descends upon an integrated human-ghoul society.

Perhaps I went in with mismatched expectations, given the editor and featured authors' stalwart reputation in horror, but these barely elicited any emotional response, much less the thrills and chills I'm expecting in a Halloween anthology. 

If you're looking for a stellar anthology to accompany you this fall, I'd highly recommend the recent Never Whistle at Night sequel instead.

[Katrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

In what could have been a hastily cobbled together horror anthology set for a Halloween release, All Hallows' Eve is a carefully curated collection of stories from authors based around the world, exploring that time of year when the veil between the living and the dead thins.

In the introduction, the anthology's editor, Ellen Datlow, stated that the only real rule for submission was that the authors were to avoid submitting any stories with any stereotypical monsters.

Quite the refreshing change of pace. I was impressed by the sheer range and variation of the stories in All Hallows' Eve. Naturally, with that much variety, not every story was my personal cup of tea, but every one of them was well crafted.

Personal highlights were Treats, Levels, Forever Again, Or So the Story Goes, Her Mother's Business, Saturday, and Dare Me.

Worth a look.

With thanks to Titan Books for the ARC.

[Chuck Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty decent collection of stories both centered around the actual day of Halloween, or involving some kind of Halloween legend/story, etc. Not every entry in this collection was a banger, but for the most part, they worked well together as a whole to make this a good entry into spooky season. Thanks so much to RB Media and Tantor Media for the audiobook copy of this collection to read/listen to in exchange for an honest review.

That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman - 2/5
Creepy-ish, yeah, but it did not leave a strong lasting impression on me. Interesting story of a creepy old lady, but it just fell flat for me.

On The Path, Bleeding by Lee Murray - 4/5
Really nifty story about gang initiation and family heirlooms/legacy taking pieces of you whether you like them or not. I'm a little biased, as my mother grew up in Hawai'i and I'm a bit knowledgeable about some of the legends/terms of the Māori/Hawaiians, but I really liked the overall tone of this story and how it took a dark swing towards the end against the MC's wishes.

Good Kids by Rich Larson - 4/5
Very creepy story of the ultra-religious taking things with their kids a bit too far and the damage that it can cause not only for them but for others. I couldn't help but feel so sorry for Noel in this story for the things he must have endured growing up, but just a big sense of ick with this story.

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman - 5/5
My goodness, this story was the clear "top dog" for this collection. It was so emotional and devastating. I think this one resonated with me more due to the fact that I'm a father, but it was so well done.

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn - 2/5
Kind of a dude. I liked the liminal space vibe of this story, but it just wasn't super creepy or weird, and I just never got sucked into this story.

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith - 4/5
Very cool story about getting your comeuppance in this world and the next due to your actions. I loved how bleak this story was and enjoyed the visuals the author was able to portray here as well.

The Devil's New Year by Stephen Graham Jones - 4/5
I don't usually enjoy SGJ's stories too much because I find them too wordy, but this one was the perfect blend of descriptive without being too wordy for me. I liked the theme of "be careful what you wish for" and the way the MC carried herself throughout. I also really liked the cliffhanger-ish way this story ended and left the reader to imagine how things in the future went. Good mix of sassy main character and creepy living-dead vibes in this one.

Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison - 5/5
Really strong, creepy poem! I loved the lore it presented and how it did so in such a short amount of time, and loved how unhinged it got at the end. Very well done!

Or So The Story Goes by Christopher Golden - 4/5
Really well-done werewolf story with just the right mix of story/lore and gore/violence.

The Kuker - by Alma Katsu - 2/5
I had high hopes for this one since it was written by Alma Katsu, but it was very underwhelming. Not a whole lot happened and it was very "meh". I understand the grief aspect of the story and why the wife did what she did; this just wasn't a terribly interesting story for me.

Ankou's Night by Brian Evenson - 3/5
Interesting possession/body-snatcher story here from Brian Evenson. I'm a big fan of his work, but this was not one of his strongest stories in my opinion. Not a bad story: it was full of great descriptions, eerie occurrences, and dread, but I've read better works from him before.

The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll - 3/5
Pretty decent old-timey vampire story, nothing too crazy.

Saturday by Chikodilo Emelumadu - 4/5
Really creepy kids, strange ritual, solid/spooky ending. This one was strange but pretty good!

Give Me Something Good To Eat - by Theresa DeLucci - 3/5
Pretty good, creepy revenge story. I thought this one was a bit too long in the descriptions/dialogue, but I did really like the ending. Not too bad.

Her Mother's Business by Garth Nix - 3/5
Not a bad witch, weird ritual story, but another entry that didn't solidly suck me in. I liked the cast of characters and the plot of this story, but it was just missing some "wow" factor to really latch me to it.

The Thinning Of The Veil by Jeffrey Ford - 4/5
Really cool possession/revenge story! I loved the creepy vibes that trickled in around the midpoint that led to a very satisfying ending.

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey - 4/5
I really got into this story of mischief that went awry (way awry) that read like an old movie. The creepiness just kept getting higher and higher, and I really loved the twisty ending to this one.

On The Night Of The Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud - 4/5
This was a "fun" Beetlejuice-type story about ghouls and how they live. I liked the idea of looking at Halloween from the monsters' perspective and how the story progressed. Not too gory, but it left things open for your imagination to run, and I enjoyed that.

The Auld Woman With The Broom by John Langan - DNF
Not sure if it was the subject matter or the writing style, but his story was a no for me, dog. Just could not get into it, and after about 10-12 pages, I decided to call it.

[ElphaReads · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this novel!

This was a bit of a mixed bag for a horror short story collection. The ones that were strong were VERY strong (I loved TREATS, THE KUKER, and THE HUNGRY GRASS) the most, and then there were others that I liked a lot, some that were okay, and others that really didn't work for me. In terms of being fun Halloween collection this will probably have something for everybody, though I had hoped that there would have been more 'I liked this a lot' than 'this was fine' reactions on my part.

[Sophie Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favourites were:
Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman,
Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden,
The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll

[Meghan McKinney · Rating 2 out of 5]

can’t get past Josh Malerman reiterating twice that kindergartners are 10 years old

[Lauren · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

Another day, another disappointing short stories collection 🥲

There are so many great horror writers included in this collection, but I can honestly barely remember half of the stories. I do think a lot of these short stories were handicapped by the constraints of each story having to be set during Halloween -- perhaps if it was more generalised, halloween vibes and horror without having to take place on the same night every single story these wouldn't have felt so similar. Two stories in a row featured the same grief-horror type vibe and that just sums up this collection. It just feels all done before.

The short story about teeth and jaw surgery messed with my brain though, that one got me good 😭

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐½
All Hallows Eve is a fantastic collection of horror stories that perfectly captures the eerie spirit of Halloween. With stories ranging from creepy folklore and ghostly encounters to psychological horror and supernatural chills, there was a great variety, and I loved that each one brought something different to the table. Like any anthology, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but overall, it was an incredibly strong collection that kept me entertained from beginning to end. PenguinRandomhouse.com
What I loved most was how atmospheric the entire anthology felt. Whether the stories were unsettling, emotional, or downright terrifying, they all embraced the feeling of the season when the veil between worlds feels just a little thinner. This is the perfect book to pick up during spooky season, especially if you enjoy sampling different horror styles from some of the genre's best authors. It definitely put me in the Halloween spirit and left me wanting more. 🎃📖

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

All Hallows Eve arrives with the promise of genuine Halloween dread—an anthology primed to thin the veil and let something truly unsettling through. On paper, it looks like the perfect seasonal read: atmospheric setups, a lineup of stories built around the night when the living and the dead are said to mingle, and the kind of thematic unity that should deliver more than the usual costume-party thrills.

Instead, what you get is a collection that never quite sinks its teeth in. Most of the pieces lean on familiar tropes—urban legends, restless spirits, parties that go wrong—without pushing them into territory that feels dangerous or new. The scares stay polite: a chill here, a mild jump there, but little that lingers once the lights come back on. Atmosphere is present, yet it rarely thickens into real unease. By the final pages, the overall effect is more gentle spook than genuine horror, leaving the high expectations the book invites largely unmet.

There are a few stronger moments where a story finds a sharper edge or a more personal sense of dread, but they are the exceptions rather than the rule. For readers hoping for an anthology that actually haunts, All Hallows’ Eve ultimately feels like a missed opportunity—pleasant enough for a mild autumn evening, yet far too tame for the holiday it claims to serve.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read and review this Advanced Reader's Copy

[Dave Musson · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

This sort of collection - Halloween-themed short stories - is an absolute no-brainer and should be a mandatory release every October. There's nothing to better help get me in the mood for spooky shenanigans than a literary haul of horror treats to snack on as the nights draw in and the wind gets that bit chillier.

The cast list here is mightily impressive - some not inconsiderable names from the genre lending their words to the overall smorgasbord of creepy stories. And all of the tales gathered here feel like they were crafted with love for the season and a respect for the editor's brief to bring smething fresh to this particular holiday. The finished harvest of shorts is varied, engaging and highly readable.

As is always the way with collections like this, some stories stood out to me more than others. Here were my favourites:

On the Path, Bleeding, by Lee Murray: very cool and very creepy story from New Zealand. One man steals from a dead Māori, and regrets it.

Good Kids, by Rich Larson: dark and sad and not really a Halloween romp more a bleak thing set on Halloween. Powerful.

Treats, by Clay Macleod Chapman: really excellent portrait of loss and grief of a father mourning the son who died on Halloween. Brilliant.

The Levels, by Livia Llewellyn: discombobulating, mind-melter of a story about the weirdest Halloween party you’ve ever been to. Great stuff.

The Devil’s New Year, by Stephen Graham Jones: a truly excellent and original Halloween fable with a cracking stinger. Lovely stuff.

Or So The Story Goes, by Christopher Golden: a strange but wonderful story seemingly rooted in Romanian lore but that also feels like an allegory for women in the modern world. Effective.

The Kuker, by Alma Katsu: a tale based on Bulgarian traditions - pretty cool with a heart-warming end.

Saturday, by Chikodilo Emelumadu: fascinating story based on an African tradition. Creepy kids doing creepy things.

Dare Me, by Richard Kadrey: fun tale of boys doing hijinks that really escalated quickly. Great ending.

Overall, a banging release for this time of year that I had a lot of fun reading. Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy - add it to your TBR this spooky season!

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Трошки дивнувата збірка: таке враження, що авторам видали подвійні аркушики, всадили за парти, дали завдання написати твір і відбирали аркуші одразу, як автору або авторці вдавалося придумати гарну зачіпку для читачів.
Очікувано добрі страшні оповідки у Ґарта Нікса (про фальшиву медуіма, яка догралася, і її доньку, яка виявилася справжньою) і Стівена Ґрема Джонса (про цікавий спосіб звести тату, коли немає грошей на лазер).
Підвибісили історії Джоша Малермана (з якого переляку жінка, яка раз на рік має можливість вигуляти померлу дитину на полювання за цукерками, монстр, якщо ні вона ні малеча нікому шкоди не роблять?) і Майкла Маршалла Сміта (ну тобто чувак повертається не туди, де взагалі вирішив, що сісти за кермо після пива є гарною ідеєю, а туди, де усього лише зманеврував на дорозі не так — о та, це заслуговує на другий шанс, авжеж). І «Кукер» Алми Кацу, «він добре знав російську, тож ми без проблем подорожували Східною Європою» — і хоча об'єктивно це дійсно так (в тексті йдеться зокрема про Болгарію), ця згадка пригнічує й виморажує.
Деякі оповіді дуже прохідні (про пограбованого мерця, про вечірку в загадковому будинку, про жертвоприношення, про «тонкий серпанок між світами, що в цей день ще більш стоншується»), деякі обігрують класичні сюжети з різним рівнем вдалості (про впустити в себе дух мертвих, про Червоного Капелюшка, про старовинний бретонський звичай годувати мертвих в ніч Анку, про вампірку, про перевертеньку, про гулів, про старовинні легенди, які нікуди не діваються і в сучасності, особливо в Геловін). Деякі нагадують метрів: «Ласощі» Чапмена (дуже сумна і прекрасна) — «Марсіаніна» Бредбері, «Чи насмілишся» Кадрі — підлітків Кінга.
Мій безумовний фаворит — «Субота» Чікоділі Емелюмаду. Гарно написано, одночасно і народне повір'я і сумна сучасність «я не буду виховувати сина іншого чоловіка», очікуваний фінал. Збирала під цю історію стелаж під вікном, і в останніх теплих променях осіннього сонця діти в класі були перед очима як у кіно.

[Frédérique Laloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Titan Books, Ellen Datlow and all the contributing authors for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge horror fan, and particularly someone who loves everything surrounding Halloween and spooky season, I was really excited about the concept of this anthology. Overall, I had a good time with it, although, as is often the case with short story collections, some stories worked much better for me than others.

What I particularly enjoyed was the variety. The collection doesn't limit itself to one very specific idea of Halloween or horror, and I loved seeing different authors and cultural perspectives approaching the theme in completely different ways. There is folklore, supernatural horror, darker human stories and some genuinely strange and unsettling ideas. It also introduced me to a few authors whose work I would now be interested in exploring further.

That being said, I didn't find every story equally memorable, and I was expecting the collection as a whole to feel slightly scarier and perhaps more consistently atmospheric. A few stories felt less connected to the Halloween theme than I expected, while others absolutely captured the feeling I was looking for.

Still, there are some really strong stories here, and I think this would be a particularly fun anthology to dip into throughout October rather than reading everything at once. Definitely one for horror readers looking for something seasonal with plenty of variety.

[Kyle Goins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology really is a tale of two halves and I don’t think I’ve encountered such a lopsided collection in quite a while. I made it through the first half of this book (9 stories) wondering what went awry here. For me, part of it is the book being marketed as a Halloween anthology when really the “other festivals of the dead” sub-heading is doing some heavy lifting here. The other part is just how many of these stories didn’t stick the landing for me. It’s also worth noting that some of these are very light on the horror elements, so if you’re expecting a terrifying tale, it mostly won’t be in this collection.

Short stories are a tricky thing. It’s a very abbreviated space in which to have a hook and tell some semblance of a tale, while honoring that you may not need to resolve the story. Quite the contrary, a short story that resolves often feels off in some way. But so many of these stories seemed to have promise and the ending felt somehow unfaithful to the rest of it.

Thankfully, the latter half of the anthology picks up steam. It’s not enough to fully save it, but it does help to avoid the dreaded DNF.

Some of my favorites were Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman, The Kuker by Alma Katsu, and Saturday by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. It’s worth checking out for some of the individual contributions but if you’re looking for a rock solid anthology, there are others I would recommend before this one.

[Ingrid Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Standouts in this anthology  are;
[  ] On the Path, Bleeding. Lee Murray.  A young indigenous man wants more than anything to join the Dead Rats gang. He has a chance, an initiation job, and he's in. It sounds so simple, break into the house of an old man whose funeral in Halloween night and steal a sacred weapon owned by ancestors. Never trust anything that sounds too easy and never, ever, ever, mess with the ancestors. I loved this story. Nothing like a little retribution for disrespecting your ancestors.
[  ] Treats. Clay McCloud Chapman
They dont do halloween anymore. Their reason is as good as gets. They lost their child on halloween. No more tricks or treats, no decorations, no anything, and all the lights out to discourage some kid from saying those two words. Then the doorbell  rings and you know you have to find a treat to give. To this trick or treater over any other. This one actually gave me a lump in my throat.  Beautifully written.
A great anthology that doesn't have to be for Halloween alone. Any fan of a good scary story will love this.
Highly recommended.  Published 9/8/2026
Thanks to @netgalley and Titan Books
for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.