Halloween Night: Trick or Treat

by Jolene Haley (Editor), Violette Ulalume, Amy Giuffrida

Graveyards, spirits, witchcraft, black cats, candy, and haunted houses.
Strange things happen on Halloween. All Hallows Eve is the single night where the veil between the living and the dead is opened. And now spirits, monsters, and candy will collide!

Seventeen authors and illustrators set out on a horrific journey to set the record straight. What really happens on Halloween night? Trick or Treating is not all fun and games. There are more tricks than treats scattered through these pages. Sure, All Hallows eve can be a scream. But sometimes, it’s straight-up murder.

Halloween Night: Trick-or-Treat is a middle grade and young adult horror anthology that takes place on Halloween night.

Read if you dare! You're in for a scare!

Stories include:

Big Brother Zombie by Evan Purcell

Give Us Something Good to Eat by Rie Sheridan Rose

Halloween Ritual by Amy Giuffrida

Haunter by Ryan Bartlett

Hello Annie by Tiffany Morris

It’s All a Bunch of Hocus Pocus by Violette Ulalume

Knock, Knock by Jennifer Moore

Ms. Holstein’s Special Halloween Treat by Chad P. Brown

Night of Monsters by Matthew Wilson

Something Good to Eat by Patrick Hueller

The House of Sam Hain by Betty Rocksteady

Sweet Nothing by Julie Hutchings

The Ghost by David N. Smith and Violet Addison

The Peeping Trick-or-Treaters by Kevin Lewis

Tricks and Treats, and Chicken Feet by Shawn Anderson

What Lurks in the Darkness by Kathleen Palm

Genres: Halloween, Horror, Anthologies

ebook

First published October 27, 2015

About the author

Jolene Haley is the author of the Woodsview Murder series (Harrowed, Haunted, Hunted). She has edited several anthologies including Dark Carnival, Halloween Night: Trick or Treat, and A Pizza My Heart. She is a Jr. Agent for a literary agency and has worked for three publishing houses since earning her Bachelor’s degree.

In spare time, she writes a free witchy romance called Love Spell on Wattpad, runs horror writer blog The Midnight Society, contributes to Of The Wolves, and is a member of the Horror Writers Association.

After growing up in a haunted house, studying to be a coroner, and spending too much time in graveyards, she draws her horror writing inspiration from real life experiences. She resides in California where she loves to pet every dog she sees and explore bookstores for hidden treasures.

Follow Jolene @Jolene_Haley  |  www.jolenehaley.com 

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

At large parts a highly entertaining collection of Halloween tales. More YA orientated you'll meet monsters, trick or treaters, costumes, haunted houses, evil witches and all kind of eerie situations. This book brings back some childhood memories. One of my favorites was Chad Brown's Ms Holstein's special treat. What a plot and uncanny situation. If you want to get in the mood for Halloween you should take a look here. Recommended!

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not doing a backstory with this book. This was an anthology book which I didn't realize and there are quite a few short stories within the book and some of the stories seemed to be for kids.

A handful of the stories were interesting but a lot of them were just bland and I didn't find them spooky. The book was just a mish-mash of stories - some of the stories made sense and some didn't. Giving this book two "No Spooks" stars!

[Kathy Brackin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short stories 🎃👻🧙

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A spooky short story collection with all sorts of Halloween stories. Trick or treat!


I am always a fan of short stories, sometimes you find real gems in them, some people are really masters at writing a wonderful and creepy short story. This book was a bit of a mixed bag, but I had kind of expected that. Different writers, different styles, and the stories just didn’t always work for me. I am still delighted to have read these stories, and that I read them during the day.

So, for each story I wrote a review + gave the stories a star rating.

Story 1: Something Good to Eat: 3.5 stars

This one was pretty disturbing. I had an inkling as what was going on with these kids, and their parents of course, it was obvious they were hiding something. That they were something else. But what? Oh, I am not going to say what. It was a short story, but I quite liked the length, any longer and it would have ruined the mood, it would have made the story less disturbing and scary. Also, nice that this one is from the POV of the parents. Reminiscing the past, warning the kids, making sure everything was done right.

Story 2: Ms. Holstein’s Special Treat: – undecided

Sorry, I just can’t, I just don’t know what to rate this one. It was a pretty OK story about a boy getting revenge from a witch, and I kind of expected something horrible to happen, but sorry, I just can’t forgive what the kid did. What the fuck is wrong with you that you would do that. That is no prank, that is just beyond that, way crueler, and I think maybe someone should just, lock that kid up? I was even more disgusted by what he did than what his punishment was. Don’t eat while reading this one. Be warned.

Story 3: Give Us Something Good to Eat: 1 star?

Sorry, I am not too sure about this one, it was pretty bland, and boring, and I thought there may be a twist about the Hell House, but no. And then there is the ending, so, what am I supposed to draw from that? RIP the kids? Something else? Watch out for picture-perfect homes?

Story 4: Knock, Knock: 4 stars

First up, Tania, please, if your friend doesn’t want to do something that is totally fine, and you should respect that. Oh well, I guess we wouldn’t have a story otherwise. 😛 But this one was much better than the previous story with a nice twist at the end! Oh dear, oh my. Someone should tell this old lady how Halloween works! cackles Trick or Treat! I was properly creeped out.

Story 5: The Ghost: 2.5 stars

A scary story, well, at first. About a girl alone during Halloween and a ghost who haunts her. It was very creepy, and I was devouring the story as I needed to know what was going to happen. Would she survive this night? What (or who) is the ghost? Will her best friend be able to help her out? But sadly, the ending was just disappointing. I had various expectations as to what the ending would bring, but I hadn’t expected this one. Lackluster at best, and so I am deducing a star or so from the rating.

Intermission: Just an illustration of a creepy house. Not going to give a rating.

Story 6: Big Brother Zombie: 2.5 stars

Certainly, a bit frightful, but I don’t know, I didn’t like the brothers. I didn’t like how Andy treated his younger brother, nor how the younger brother kept wimping out and didn’t want to tell how he really felt about things. Like the house? That he wanted to do it first? Or when his brother went off alone to the house?

There were parts I did enjoy, the trick or treating, when our MC meets up with his brother (or is it his brother?) again, and the ending, sure, at least he stood up for himself, which made me happy. But it was a bit of a shame that everything ended like this.

Story 7: Night of Monsters: 5 stars

Wow, wow, wow, I didn’t expect that! I was for sure Mark was x but he was actually y? Wow. Nice twist, nicely done author. I loved it. It was short, but really good. I wonder what will happen next, and what will happen when Halloween is over. I am also curious about the world, what happened here?

Story 8: Tricks and Treats and Chicken Feet: 4 stars

First up, points to the title! Such a fun title, and as soon as we learned of the woman’s name I understood the reference, and I was curious about the whole house and what those kids were! I wasn’t too sure about the story, the house was magical, the stuff was weird, the kids were creepy, the things he saw were magical and spooky. But Steven… Steven did some dumb stuff, typical horror stupidity. Opening stuff he shouldn’t open, going into rooms he shouldn’t go, etc. etc. Why do you do this? Why? At least in a way he was aware he was doing dumb stuff, which is a nice change. And the ending was also good. I am happy with it and what happened there.

Intermission: Haunter. Yet another tiny picture (at least on my Kindle). Not going to rate this one.

Story 9: What Lurks in the Darkness: 0.5 stars

Ehhhhhh, what did I just read? Sorry, no. Not a favourite. Very harsh, I know, but sorry, I just don’t know what write here. So, this was a story about a teen who is violent? Who got hit? And then killed someone? And is apparently killing more people? I just felt really sick while reading this one. No. Just no.

Story 10: Sweet Nothing: 0.5 stars

Wth did I just read again? The weirdness continues. In abundance, pun intended considering the story. These kids (teens?) stumble upon a weird old house (though it looks pretty from the outside), get stuck in it, a bit like Hansel and Gretel got lured with candy, and then there is woman whose candy is also a piece of her? Eat to much and she disappears? But stopping with eating is impossible? You should see my face while I read this story and am writing this short review. It is a mixture WTF and ehhhhhhhh and maybe a hint ewwwww. I am just not sure what to think of this one.

Story 11: Halloween Ritual: 4 stars

This was kind of sweet, I guess, a bit weird, but sweet. I am happy that these two have a chance to have one more night together, one night to say their last goodbyes, give some last hugs and kisses. Halloween, the perfect night to wake up your dead loved ones. Hey, if it works? I hope both of them (and their friends) have a fantastic night together.

Story 12: The Peeping Trick-or-Treaters: 3 stars

A bit slow, and I didn’t like Candy. Girl, please, I understand you want your candy, but what kind of sad person are you to do that to someone who is either not home/sick/or something else. I am sure there are more houses, a whole street or so of them. Do you really need to go that far?

The witch stuff? And what happens next. Eh darn it, I didn’t expect the story to go that route, I thought it would just be a bit of silliness, but instead something much creepier and gorier happened.

Story 13: Hello Annie: 4.5 stars

Using a Ouija board during Halloween? At a place where someone apparently crashed their car and drowned (along with their kids)? Perfect, right? No? Noooooooooo. I am already a big noper when someone talks about Ouija boards, but doing it during Halloween sounds like an even worse idea.

And leaving while still in progress of Ouija? Not the best idea. You know, maybe just me, but yeah, I think, after reading this story, we can all agree that maybe you should just all stick together and say byebye to the ghosts before running off. The ending was brilliantly done.


----------------------------

And so this collection ends. 13 stories, and 2 illustrations. It was hit and miss, but I found some new stories that I loved, that creeped me out. Would I recommend this book? Well, it is a nice bundle of Halloween stories, and for those I loved, yes, I would recommend it.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a fun collection collection of stories. Every story is set on Halloween, as the title implies. Most of the stories read like YA as the characters are usually tweens or teens, but that doesn't hurt the stories. A few of them had me scratching my head at the end, but it seems like every anthology has at least few stories like that.

Overall a good Halloween read.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories all taking place on Halloween night. Something for everyone, from really creepy to weird to a bit gory. Great fun!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an analogy and because of that, my average of the stories is 3.1 stars. I have not read any of these authors but have found some that I would definitely like to read a little further. The anthology contains 15 short stories of varying lengths but all on the same subject. I enjoyed the majority of the stories even though there were no scares they were all fairly atmospheric in tone and content. A few of the stories I both liked a lot and a few less favorable.

"Something Good to Eat" by Patrick Hueller, 4 stars. A group of young and older children go out trick or treating. The twist is in what they want to eat and who they might be. This was one of those stories that I did not see the ending twist coming at all. Fun.

"Ms. Holstein's Special Treat" by Chad P. Brown, 4 stars. Donnie Morgan did something terrible to Ms. Holstein and he hopes that she does not know that it was him that did it. I had a feeling of the outcome but it was even grosser than I thought it would be.

"Haunter" by Ryan Bartlett, 2 stars. There is no story attached to the title only a picture. It is a nice picture though. I liked the picture but was looking for a story.

"The House of Sam Hain" by Betty Rocksteady, 2.5 stars. This is another picture with no story to speak of except the one that you may be able to glean from the picture itself. Once again, I like the picture but would have loved a story to go with it.

A bit different from some other anthologies but well worth the time.

[Kerry]

In the “spirit” of the season, I read the 2015 Hocus Pocus and Co Publishing “Halloween Night Trick or Treat” with the kids. There are some fun stories included, with inserted art and spooky chapter defining images. My favorite stories were “Sweet Nothing” by Julie Hutchings and "What Lurks in Darkness" by Kathleen Palm. My son best enjoyed “Tricks and Treats and Chicken Feet," a Baba Jaga tale by Shawn Anderson, and my little Bear favored "Big Brother Zombie" by Evan Purcell.

This grouping of over a dozen or so stories and art, edited by Jolene Haley, is dedicated to “...the souls that crave Halloween.” The publishers define the holiday as “...the crackling of leaves under our feet, a chill in the air, and a quick heartbeat at the sound of a strange noise.” Looking for some scary stories to read with your older kiddos? This might be the collection for you.

[Joshua Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Halloween collection

I've been pretty lucky this year in finding some really incredible Halloween-themed collections. Thankfully, this one was no exception. Aside from one story that I wasn't a huge fan of I enjoyed every moment of Halloween Night. In fact, I think I'll buy it in paperback so I can share it with friends. I urge others to spend the measly $0.99 this Kindle collection costs. It's quick, clocking in at a little over one hundred pages, cheap, and simply delightful.

[Norman Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keeping the Halloween anthology train going. This reads like it's more geared toward young adults with the emphasis on young. I'm young at heart, but I found the stories to short, overall. Not bad though.

[Kay Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories all taking place on Halloween night with trick or treaters. They were all really fun stories, but were more YA than I had thought. A great collection for older kids.

[Steff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of short stories will make you want more! This is a must read for anyone who loves horror.

[J.B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection.

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and had a few twists I didn't expect. I would definitely recommend this it you are looking for a quick read.

[ᥫ᭡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

My fave story was the zombie one, it was witty and funny!

[Norma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and creepy short stories

[Wanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good fun book.

I enjoyed the different Halloween stories. It was a fun read they weren't scare me scary more like stories kids would pass on their friends enjoyable though.

[C.C. Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories were okay. It was fun enough, though some left a lot to be desired.

[Sue :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for more

But it was spooky. Many of these stories would give kids goose bumps. Me, I guess I'm jaded. Hoping for more.

[Kevin C · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is definitely aimed at YA. But I DNF it. Just when the story got good...it just ended.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great start, but runs out of gas

[Scarlett Cavendish · Rating 5 out of 5]

well done! I really like them.