All Hallows Eve

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

A 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. Presented by Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, and featuring stories by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix as well as 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 by:
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, Adult, Autumn

400 pages, ebook

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

[Adrienne L]

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan books for the advanced reader's copy.

Ellen Datlow is a fantastic editor and I've read and enjoyed so many of her curated anthologies. And, as a short horror enthusiast, some of my all-time favorite anthologies have been Halloween-themed. I can confidently say that I've read a lot of them. On the one hand, I feel like my history with Halloween horror makes me an informed reader of these bite-sized treats, but on the other hand, at least in this instance, maybe my wide experience with this candy-coated niche has lead to an overly refined and finicky palate. In any case, I found this particular anthology extremely disappointing.

Very few of these stories were interesting, even fewer delivered the autumnal atmosphere that makes Halloween horror so delicious and nostalgic, and none of them were remotely frightening. The anthology opens with a story by Josh Malerman, "That Hannie Agnes," that sets the tone for this tepid volume. But even that rather uninspired tale (which has some glaring errors that should have been caught in editing, by the way, such as the MC claiming to be a kindergarten teacher in the first paragraph, then declaring two sentences later that their students are ten-year-olds), wasn't as poorly written as quite a number of the 18 stories that follow. The pickings must have been slim indeed, most of the porch lights turned off, if you will. Even authors like Stephen Graham Jones and John Langan, who have delivered some excellent Halloween stories in other collections I've read, presented here the story equivalent of a mealy apple or bag of broken pretzels.

I wanted an Almond Joy. I got a rock.

All Hallow's Eve will be published on September 8, 2026.

[Me, My Shelf, & I]

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]

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 ⭐️⭐️⭐️!

[Chad]

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.

[Alan]

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.

[Jay Rothermel]

….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.

[The Blog Without a Face]

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.

[ellie ♈︎]

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!

[Katrina]

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.

[Mary]

(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.

[Frédérique Laloy]

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.

[Kera’s Always Reading]

This is a decent collection of Halloween stories by mostly new-to-me authors and some of my absolute favorite authors. I was surprised that one of my least favorite stories was written by one of my all time favs, but what are you gonna do?

I waited until October to dive into this one and it made it that much more fun. This is perfect to get you into the Halloween mood, because it gives so many themes of the best spooky seasonal vibes.

My favorite and most memorable stories include:

On the Path, Bleeding - Lee Murray
Good Kids - Rich Larson
Treats - Clay McLeod Chapman
Merciless Feast - Linda D. Addison
The Kuker - Alma Katsu
Dare Me - Richard Kadrey
On the Night of the Welcome Stranger - Nathan Ballingrud

I think this is perfect for any lover of a spooky Halloween.

[Cody Mellor]

This book has definitely got me in the mood for spookier reads now the season is almost upon us. Some of the short stories included were a 5* read for me, particularly Treats and Give Me Something Good to Eat but overall this was a 3* read for me. Most of the books didn’t feel scary or spooky enough for me but it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you for the advanced copy NetGalley.

[Sem]

If it wasn't for a couple of standout stories (Ballingrud and Larson, for one, as well as Emelumadu and Graham Jones), this would be a complete disappointment. Too many stories that dawdle around before reaching an abrupt and all-too familiar climax, too much rehashing the same points (how many times in one book do I need to read about the Halloween night being the time of the dead?). Not to mention the absolutely dreadful opener from Malerman, the kind of tale you'd hear someone telling at a bonfire and, even then, think it's rubbish. Not worth the time, just read a few of these from authors you know you like and skip the rest.

[Curtis]

A Very Datlow Halloween!

These anthologies can always be mixed bags, but honestly, not everyone here was bringing their A-game, even some authors I'm normally a fan of. I also miss when "new Datlow" was synonymous with "new Laird Barron", having a new story from him would garner a lot more goodwill towards the rest of the volume. In the end, my favorites were by Livia Llewellyn, Stephen Graham Crackers Jones, Nathan Ballingrud, and John "Johnny Sack" Langan.

[Brian]

Audiobook needed better production, hard to catch when one story ended abruptly and the next began. My favorite entry was Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathaniel Ballingrud for its unconventional reimagining of the import of Halloween night. I'm already looking for more fiction by him.

[Claire]

Sadly this just wasn’t for me. Some of the stories were just okay, most I disliked and one standout 5 star which was Or so the story goes by Christopher Golden and made me want to read more from him.

Another 2 that stick out and rated probably about 4 stars are Forever again and Her Mothers Business.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review ebook copy.

[Kathleen E.]

A little love letter (or series of short stories) to Halloween.

--

That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman. Not my favorite Malerman, but makes sense to set the tone and lay out the Hallows Eve legends. 3.5/5

On the Path: Bleeding by Lee Murray. My first time reading Murray and I am obsessed with the contemporary voice and Halloween and hauntings from the lens of Māori culture. One of my favorites from the collection. 5/5

Good Kids by Rich Larson. Disturbing and a heavy dose of religious trauma horror. 4/5

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman. The master of making me feel all the feels as he explores in just 14 pages how a father deals with the anniversary of his thirteen year old son's suicide. On Halloween. 5/5

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn. I was hooked by the concept and set up, but wanted more from the ending. 2.5/5

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith. Asshole husband vignettes set against a mythological Sisyphus-like tale. And how they weave together. 3.75/5

The Devil's New Year by Stephen Graham Jones. If you like SGJ, this is a little microcosm of the real-world, haunting and legendary work he does. TW for animal cruelty that I should have seen coming but didn't. Although very integral to the story, but enter this with caution. 4/5

Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison. Haunting and macabre poetry about a ritual. It's just two pages (technically, but less with spacing etc.) but does what it needs to and remains one of the more memorable "stories" in the collection. 4.5/5

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden. Strigoi and vârcolac and a very little Red Riding Hood type of spooky tale. 3.5/5

The Kuker by Alma Katsu. Moreso about grief than anything on Halloween. Although I suppose this is the "other festivals" that the book speaks to, though very arguably not about the dead. Instead, it's a harvest ritual in Bulgaria. Which, having lived there, I wanted to love this the most because seeing kukeri brought into a popular fiction read was so exciting! I feel like I may have appreciated this a lot more outside of this book because I was expecting more of the Halloween vibes or haunting vibes, but this just felt like it could have been on any night as she grappled with grief and happened to be Halloween because of this anthology. 3/5

Ankou's Night by Brian Evenson. Abusive Breton-French grandfather dies and the family has to grapple with how to handle the traditions after death for a man they didn't care for. First time reading Evenson. And, sir, are you okay? But also, am I okay because I loved it. 5/5

The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll. This feels like exactly what I expected from this collection and I loved the Dracula/Carmilla vibes of it all. 4.5/5

Saturday by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ. Oof - just haunting from the familial perspective. But found myself less invested after the devastating opening. But the ending came back around. 3/5

Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci. Dude - jaw horror might be a thing I sign up for now?? 4/5

Her Mother's Business by Garth Nix. This one I skipped after three false starts, so leaving it unrated.

The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford. I get it but just didn't connect for whatever reason. 2/5

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey. Creepy kids always get me. But deciding to throw the corpse of a suspected witch instead of a scarecrow at a car and then locking a town into the annual Halloween kids party and then murdering your "friend" was a ride that got me that I was unprepared for. 4/5

On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud. I really wanted to like this more. But was more invested in the side plot of the resurrected spirit of the serial killer that possessed the medium than I was in the larger story of ghouls. Would've wanted the story to start there honestly and go into that. 2/5

The Auld Woman With the Broom by John Langan. An interesting close that brings together a lot of the modern, contemporary approaches with very detailed legends of Halloween and spirits to close out what so many of these stories did so well. 4/5

[Jess]

All Hallows’ Eve by Ellen Datlow

That Hannie Agnes by Josh Malerman
The story is told through the voice of someone who doesn’t like Halloween. Things take a turn when Hannie Agnes is introduced.

On the Path, Bleeding by Lee Murray
Travis must complete a task to prove himself to the Rats. Once he succeeds, things take a paranormal turn.

Good Kids by Rich Larson
A creepy take on Halloween and trick-or-treating.

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman
This was an emotional one. A grieving mother is reminded of her son Jordan every Halloween, and his presence makes the holiday especially difficult.

The Levels by Livia Llewellyn
Beryl and Gloria attend a Halloween party at a house known as the Levels. I wasn’t expecting the ending.

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith
A thought-provoking story about regret, memory, and wanting another chance.

The Devil’s New Year by Stephen Graham Jones
We follow the main character before and after a Halloween ritual she calls the Devil’s New Year.

Merciless Feast by Linda D. Addison
A short, gory story. Definitely one of the more disturbing reads in the collection.

Or So the Story Goes by Christopher Golden
A grandmother tries to protect her granddaughter from a legend surrounding the Night of the Undead. The legend turns out to be much more than a story.

The Kuker by Alma Katsu
Maggie is grieving the loss of her husband, Bryan. As she prepares to part with his favourite Kuker costume, the story takes us into the history behind it and why the costume has become so meaningful.

Ankou’s Night by Brian Evenson
Judoc has a complicated relationship with his grandfather, whose death doesn’t necessarily mean he’s gone for good. On Ankou’s Night, the legend surrounding the night begins to feel very real.

The Hungry Grass by Siobhan Carroll
The story follows George as he writes to his daughter while helping those around him. A local legend about the dead returning for food adds an eerie supernatural element.

Saturday by Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
Chibuzo is sent to school on a Saturday as punishment for misbehaving. What begins as a strange day quickly becomes something much darker, and his attempts to escape come too late.

Give Me Something Good to Eat by Theresa DeLucci
May is new in town and begins making friends, but I definitely wasn’t expecting the twist at the end. Once you reach it, the title makes a lot more sense.

Her Mother’s Business by Garth Nix
Phyl isn’t comfortable with her mother’s business, especially because she feels her mother takes advantage of people who are grieving. On All Hallows’ Eve, Phyl finds herself entering a completely new stage of her life.

The Thinning of the Veil by Jeffrey Ford
A story about the veil between the living and the dead becoming thinner on Halloween.

Dare Me by Richard Kadrey
Tommy wants to fit in, and his attempt to prove himself leads him into a cemetery and into possession of a witch’s ring. Things quickly take a turn, and the ending was definitely not what I expected.

On the Night of the Welcome Stranger by Nathan Ballingrud
This was one of the creepier stories for me. There were definitely some scenes that were a little too much for my sensitive stomach.

The Auld Woman with the Broom by John Langan
An interesting way to close out the collection. Henry wants revenge on his father-in-law and turns to the supernatural to get it. A fittingly dark ending to the anthology.

The Kuker was probably my favourite short story in this collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Virginia]

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 2.5/5

As with all collections, this one has some stories that are REALLY great and others that are misses, and what's a hit for me may not be for someone else. I won't review each story individually, but I will mention some stand outs because I am not really sure how else to review a collection of short stories, as they are all so different and cannot be treated as one cohesive whole.

The Good: I loved Alma Katsu and Christopher Golden's takes on folkloric horror. Livia Llewellyn's story was trippy and unsettling in a really fun way, and Stephen Graham Jones did not disappoint with his offering. Siobhan Carroll's story played so well with the very real horrors of the Great Famine in Ireland juxtaposed against some supernatural elements. There were a handful of other really fun stories, but these were the ones that really shone for me.

The Bad: Josh Malerman's story was nothing special, AND it had a distracting error in it that was repeated over and over and over again. It really took me out of the story and left me frustrated. Hopefully it will be fixed prior to publication, so that his story can get the attention it deserves rather than losing readers due to an annoying distraction. Clay McLeod Chapman's story was heartbreaking. It wasn't poorly written nor was there anything wrong with it, but it was unexpected. I was expecting stories of horror and mayhem related to Halloween, and while his is truly horrific, it is in a tragic and sad way. I don't usually love bleak stories that make me feel sad, and while I know others do, it just surprised me in a book of Halloween stories. There was NOTHING wrong with the story itself, I just would never have chosen to read it had I known it's content.

Overall, this was a mediocre collection of short Halloween fiction. There were some tales that I wish I could read a full length novel about, and others that satisfied just as they were. It will be a decent seasonal read for Halloween lovers.

[Joe Kucharski]

Reading a short story anthology can feel a lot like Halloween night itself. Sometimes you score a king-sized Reese's. Sometimes a full-sized Snickers magically lands in your pillowcase. And sometimes you get a handful of off-brand hard candy destined to spend the next six months rattling around in the kitchen junk drawer.

Unfortunately, All Hallows Eve mostly hands out circus peanuts.

Yet, there are still a few treats hidden in the bag. Christopher Golden delivers a standout tale steeped in Romanian werewolf folklore. Alma Katsu offers a wonderfully melancholic story that mixes grief with supernatural folklore. Clay McLeod Chapman taps into a haunting depression and grief that arrives with October, while Rich Larson explores two boys’ obsession with demonic possession.

Josh Malerman’s neighborhood witch and Stephen Graham Jones’ tale of a tattoo also contribute memorable entries that provide brief bursts of that October magic. They're the chocolate bars accidentally discovered after assuming the bag had already been emptied.

But too many of the remaining stories feel flavorless. They're not particularly frightening. They're not especially memorable. Worst of all, they're disconnected from the very holiday they're supposed to celebrate.

They're the literary equivalent of Mary Jane taffies, Good & Plenty licorice, and those mysterious green lollipops wrapped in half-sealed cellophane.

All Hallows Eve isn't a complete wash. There are enough standout stories to justify digging through the pile. But for this anthology, the tricks outweigh the treats. The candy bowl just came up a little short.

Thanks, Titan Books and Netgalley, for the early Halloween tricks and treats of spooks and ghouls. Hey – anytime I can get an advanced story from Golden and Katsu is a celebration. And the full book review can be scared up at Read @ Joe's.

[Jennifer]

Rating: ⭐️
Format: ebook

I want to start this off by saying I didn’t go into this book thinking I was going to like every story. I knew there was going to be some that weren’t just my cup of tea, but this is my worst read yet of 2026. I’m not going to mention all the short stories only the major ones that stood out to me.

That Hannie Agnes - 0/10 By the end of the first paragraph, I was done. It starts off with the narrator explaining they are a “proud kindergarten teacher” then later stating “their students are 10 years old”. Let’s just take a step back, what 10-year-old is in kindergarten? I reread this paragraph again and still that’s a huge error to make in 2026. I don’t get it. Also, the plot was nonexistent.

Good Kids - 1/10 Horribly twisted. This is when I had to stop reading and started to consider not finishing.

Treats - SKIPPED. Once I got the idea of the plot, I skipped. No one should even make light of this.

The Levels - 10/10. Different. Creative. Well written.

The Devil’s New Year - 0/10 Horribly written. It’s like a mash of one person’s incoherent thoughts. Also, disturbing to a point that is unenjoyable.

Or So The Story Goes - 3/10 Loved the writing but the ending ruined it.

Ankou’s Night - 10/10 The perfect amount of horror without making me want to cry or throw up. THIS is horror.

Give Me Something Good to Eat - 0/10 Unoriginal & cruel. The title doesn’t connect to the story per se, unanswered plot points, & the ending didn’t make any sense.

On the Welcome Night of the Stranger - 12/10 WOW! The best one by far out of the bunch. It was completely different than any of the other stories. I would actually read an entire book if it existed.

Overall, wouldn’t read again or recommend. Total flop.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for an ARC of this book for my honest opinion and review!

[Hailey Kathryn]

Thank you to the publishers via NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The horror line up this fall is STRONG, and I feel this and something followed us home are going to be top reads when the weather drops. We are definitely being TREATED this year not tricked.

I would say at least 3/4 of the collection I really enjoyed. I love the horror genre in its entirety and how subjective it can be. Not all horrors and scares come in the form of boogeymen in the night. This had a good mix of human nature haunts, blood and guts, campy comedic timing, and even some bizarre monsters of the night.

The order for the collection itself is okay - I think leading with That Hannie Agnes isn’t the best route. I actually think that would be a stronger closer, something subtle to linger (Treats I think would both work as opener or closer, alternatively Merciless Feast to open would be quite beautiful.) Which, same thoughts, The Auld Woman with the Broom isn’t the right story to close on. Sticking most of the longer stories at the end was a little clunky, and would have liked to see them interlaced more.

Some stories miss the mark with their endings (Levels, The Thinning of the Veil,) and others are so satisfying (Dare Me, Saturday.) I wish there were more that weren’t so focused on Halloween trick or treat / costumes / Americanised central stories. The Kuker I think does an apt job of making it a background feature, as does Forever Again, but the stories taking us to other places (The Hungry Grass) or celebrations really resonated.

Overall it’s a great collection, I just wish the ordering was much different as it gets a little clunky and repetitive and then sticking all the long stories at the end slows the pace down.

[Brittany | Lady in Read]

All Hallows Eve was a fun ride across the board, and like most anthologies, I appreciated some more than others.

What aligns these stories (as you may be able to tell by the cover) is they all take place on (or around) Halloween or similar cultural celebrations/experiences. For the most part, these stories are slow-burn or atmosphere-focused, and I really enjoyed that aspect. Ellen Datlow has culled a unique collection from a lot of authors I already like: Josh Malerman, Clay McLeod Chapman, Stephen Graham Jones, and Alma Katsu - while introducing me to some authors I'm now going to look out for, including Lee Murray, Rich Larson, Marshall Smith, and Theresa DeLucci.

My favorite stories were:
"On the Path, Bleeding" by Lee Murray. A Kiwi guy wants to join a gang, so he steals something important from a dead man while wearing a Donald Trump mask to prove himself. It goes exactly as he plans...until it doesn't.
"Good Kids" by Rich Larson. Two religious boys have a sleepover on Halloween night and talk about their favorite martyrs and how to get rid of sinful thoughts.
"Give Me Something Good to Eat" by Theresa DeLucci. Teenage May, who's recently had plastic surgery to fix facial "issues," moves with her mom to a new state and wants to start over. She attends a Halloween party with a new friend and a few others, and when the evening doesn't go as planned, May has to get herself out of an unsavory situation.

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves spooky season and is interested in stories that deviate from expectations.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for this eARC. This review contains my honest, authentic thoughts and opinions.*

[Todd]

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

[ezra]

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

Rating: 3.5 Stars rounded up.

“All Hallows Eve” is an anthology of 19 horror stories by different authors, all centered around the titular day.

Overall, I think this is a decent collection and certainly the kind of book that could be really fun to read on October 31st.

My ratings for the individual stories are:
That Hannie Agnes, Josh Malerman – 2.5
On the Path, Bleeding, Lee Murray – 3.5
Good Kids, Rich Larson – 3.5
Treats, Clay McLeod Chapman – 4.5
The Levels, Livia Llewellyn – 4
Forever Again, Michael Marshall Smith – 4
The Devil’s New Year, Stephen Graham Jones – 4.5
Merciless Feast, Linda D. Addison – 3.5
Or So the Story Goes, Christopher Golden – 4
The Kuker, Alma Katsu – 3.5
Ankou’s Night, Brian Evenson – 2.5
The Hungry Grass, Siobhan Carroll – 4
Saturday, Chikodili Emelumadu – 4.5
Give Me Something Good to Eat, Theresa DeLucci – 3
Her Mother’s Business, Garth Nix – 3
The Thinning of the Veil, Jeffrey Ford – 2.5
Dare Me, Richard Kadrey – 3
On the Night of the Welcome Stranger, Nathan Ballingrud – 5
The Auld Woman with the Broom, John Langen – 4

Overall, I would consider this a largely enjoyable collection of short stories, none of which feel repetitive despite all being set on the same day. I must admit that I don’t think any of them are scary, so this would probably be better suited for someone who doesn’t normally read a lot of horror, but wants to during spooky season.

[Emma Grave]

Edited by Ellen Datlow, All Hallows Eve is a horror anthology comprising 19 original short stories from authors including Christopher Golden, Stephen Graham Jones, and Garth Nix. With stories taking place in different cultures around the world, this collection explores the various ways we celebrate all things spooky, whether that is Halloween, Samhain, Dia de los Muertos-festivals, etc.

The stories range from the curiously creepy to the downright disturbing. They were mostly hits, with only a few misses for me. There is a great range of different plots, characters, and settings, so if you don’t enjoy the one you’re reading, you may find you love the next one. As a huge fan of classic monsters, especially werewolves and vampires, my favourites in the anthology were Christopher Golden’s 'Or So the Story Goes' and Siobhan Carroll’s 'The Hungry Grass' — a story I’d have happily spent another 500 pages reading about.

While some of the inclusions do reference traditions like trick-or-treating, the majority explore Halloween from diverse new perspectives. Horror readers will love this chilling anthology, and hopefully discover a few authors whose works they haven’t read before. Like a bat-shaped basket filled with sweets and chocolate, this is a welcome selection of treats for spooky season.

*Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

[Kendra]

All Hallows' Eve is a spook-tacular horror anthology featuring 19 original short stories from a lineup of horror authors including Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, and Garth Nix. This collection explores the traditions, history, and terrifying global folklore surrounding Halloween, Samhain, and Día de los Muertos.

As with any short story collection, it’s a bit of a mixed bag with some hits and misses depending on your personal taste, but the hits in this volume are absolute standouts. A few of my personal favorite stories included:

"On the Path Bleeding": A fascinating and incredibly cool tale that seamlessly weaves in Māori culture and ties.

"The Auld Woman with the Broom"

"Dare Me"

"Good Kids"

While a couple of the entries didn't quite land for me (like "The Hannibal Agnes" and "The Levels"), that's the beauty of an anthology with 19 distinct voices as there is truly something in here for every type of horror fan. From urban legends and lethal college parties to rural wilderness hauntings across the globe, this is curated collection that is perfect to read with the lights low as spooky season approaches.

If you love short fiction that explores the thin veil between the living and the dead, this is a good pick!

Thank you to the Titan Books and NetGalley for the digital review copy.

[Juli Stadler]

“All Hallows Eve" is the twelfth horror anthology I've read this year, and it is one of the worst. This is the first year I have ever given a 1-star rating to a horror anthology. This year, I had the misfortune of reading two that warranted such a low rating. "All Hallows Eve" is one of them; the other is "The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror: Volume 25.”

Given that this anthology was edited by Ellen Datlow, who is one of my favorite horror anthology editors, I had high expectations. I thought this book would be the Halloween equivalent of Ellen Datlow's "Christmas and Other Horrors: An Anthology of Solstice Horror," which I loved. However, I only liked 3 of the 19 stories, which is just a bit over 15%.

I think one of the contributing factors to the poor quality of this anthology is that Ellen Datlow did not use an open submission process. Instead, she contacted writers and asked them to provide a new story for the anthology. If this had been the first book I had read that was edited by Ellen Datlow, I would be reluctant to read anything else she had edited. As is, I think this is a one-off.

The stories I enjoyed were:
"Forever Again" by Michael Marshall Smith
"Give Me Something Good to Eat" by Theresa DeLucci
"On the Night of the Welcome Stranger" by Nathan Ballingrud

[Will Swardstrom]

** This review can also be found at: https://fanfiaddict.com/review-all-ha...

****

If there is one evening each year when the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead is paper thin, it’s Halloween. Here in the United States, kids go out collecting candy from their neighbors, masking who they really are, on the evening of October 31. The roots of our holiday go back hundreds of years as the evening before All Saints Day. In other countries and cultures, there are other holidays – the Celtic celebration of Samhain, the Mexican festival of Día de los Muertos — all right around the end of October and all about the living and the dead. The latest short story anthology from award-winning editor Ellen Datlow revels in the fun, the shenanigans, and the terror of Halloween with tons of tricks and treats for readers.

Personally, I found a wide variety of stories — some that I really loved and will be thinking about for a long time, and others that didn’t really click as much for me. Some are very heavy on the horror-front, while a few others felt almost like walking the streets, going house to house looking for those full-size candy bars. One story even felt like a fever dream as I read it, unsure what was real and what wasn’t from start to finish. Overall, it’s a strong collection of stories that will work differently for different people and I would definitely recommend picking All Hallows Eve up this year.

With all anthologies, I like to highlight a few of my faves —

Treats by Clay McLeod Chapman: I’ll admit that when this story first started, I didn’t like it. There is an odd cadence to it and it is constantly leaving the reader feeling off-kilter. The more I read, though, the more I understood that’s what Chapman was going for. There was an overwhelming sadness that blankets Treats, but that sadness dissipates more and more as the story goes. Perhaps the best part of the story — and one that left me more than a little emotional — was the final word of the entire tale. But, the brilliance of the story is that the final word can be interpreted differently, depending on the reader, almost like the final scene in Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Her Mother’s Business by Garth Nix: Nix, largely known for young adult and middle grade genre books, really flexes his horror muscles here and seems to have a blast with it. I really dug this story, which actually starts fairly innocently with Phyllis, a reluctant assistant to her mother and brothers as they run a scam on the public as fortune tellers and mediums. There’s almost a Scooby Doo-esque element to it all…until it takes a hard left turn on All Hallows Eve.

Forever Again by Michael Marshall Smith: OK…there may not have been a main character that I disliked more in this collection than the lead in Smith’s story. The tale is told in two seemingly distinct worlds — one with a man trying to have his own Halloween in spite of his wife’s and children’s plans, and another with a weary traveler trudging through a desolate landscape. It’s unclear what these storylines have to do with one another until nearly the end and the reveal is like a gutpunch. It’s a fascinating story that I didn’t always like, and that’s kind of why I wanted to add my thoughts here. It’s really gonna bounce around in my skull for a while to come.

The Kuker by Alma Katsu: I keep waffling back and forth between this story and Treats as my favorites from All Hallows Eve and there’s a good reason why — there are similar themes of loss of a loved one heading into Halloween night. With The Kuker, I found myself running to Google to look up what a kuker even was and the festivals and celebrations in Eastern Europe where one might wear a kuker, which I actually appreciated. I love learning about new things and if I’d just waited, Katsu would have taught me what I needed to know as I traveled through her story. By the time I finished her story, I felt…complete. Perhaps out of all the stories in All Hallows Eve, Alma Katsu’s The Kuker probably started and ended the best.

Overall, I definitely would recommend this collection. I didn’t vibe with each and every story, but the ones that worked…really worked. All Hallows Eve is a fine collection worth your time and attention this spooky season.

Thank you to Titan Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.