Pumpkin Guts

by Brent Michael Kelley

Hiding out from the Icelandic mafia in the middle of nowhere, Lia Rail finds herself offered up as the annual Halloween sacrifice to an oversized pumpkin-monster called Jack o’ the Patch. After a narrow escape, Lia is pursued by a growing horde of Jack's pumpkin-minions. Monstrous worms, bats, and spiders will tear the town apart until their master gets his victim. As the creatures flood the town and close in, Lia’s survival depends on making friends and giving them a reason to trust her. She'll have to do it quickly, too, before Jack o' the Patch himself comes down from the mountain to destroy the city in search of his prize.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2026

About the author

Since 2011, Brent Michael Kelley has had six books published. Those works include the first three novels of an ongoing dark fantasy series following Chuggie, the embodiment of Drought on a monster-filled world called Mag Mell (Chuggie and the Desecration of Stagwater, Chuggie and the Bleeding Gateways, Chuggie and the Prisoner Gods). Also included is a YA comedy-horror called Keep Away From Psycho Joe, a dystopian future-sports novella Cruce Roosters, and a short story collection Doomsday Furnace. Brent lives in northern Wisconsin with his wife, son, and two weird dogs, whose names are S'mores and Lil' Smokey.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mythic curse travels the oceans to America…or is there a real curse in Squatter’s Notch? A little backwater in New England is as good a place to hide as any for a young quirky lass named Lia Rail. She’s running from the mob due to some serious misunderstanding, and realizes she’s jumped from the frying pan into the fire. It’s Halloween, which has an unusual reputation in Squatter’s Notch. Lia, who’s been in residence long enough to make both friends and enemies, finds herself on the wrong side of the fence when the sweet little old lady she does odd jobs for has one final and unfortunately fatal request. A sightseeing drive up the cliff takes a sinister twist, and Lia runs again, this time convincing Notchians to defend their town from the evil Jack even while he takes their neighbor’s souls.
Squatter’s Notch will enchant the reader with its fun cast of police, townsfolk, gas station owners with a heart of gold, and self-sacrificing firefighters who jump into the fray to save a school full of children from the mad Jack o’ the Patch on a rampage of terror. Lia stays true to herself while reaching out to her enemies and showing the people of Squatter’s Notch they can work together in an attempt to overcome their terrible curse. Some gore and possession, but overall, a good time read.

[Mikel]

Bold, Confident, and Funny as Hell

Brent Michael Kelley has done what I've always dreamed of doing: writing the perfect, self-contained Halloween night tale. Like a grown-up version of "Ernest Scared Stupid" or a version of "Slither" that doesn't make you hate yourself for enjoying it, Pumpkin Guts lets you root for everyone in it. Won't soon forget this one.

[Ian Welke · Rating 5 out of 5]

perfect October read

Kelley uses the first person narrative so well that it feels much less like reading a book and more like sitting down and being told a story by your most entertaining and slightly inebriated uncle.

Also I kept thinking reading this how well this and the Chuggie books would be suited to a rules light heavy on the setting role playing game. It would be a hoot to play in this setting.