“Chilling folk horror that holds nothing back. I was gobsmacked!” - Gabe’s Horror ReviewsTrick or treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat...There’s nothing in the world Benji Roth loves more than Halloween. But when his hometown puts an age limit on trick or treating, he’s left without a way to celebrate the best holiday of the year.Hope arrives in the form of a new girl in town. A girl who tells him about unforgettable Halloween celebrations in a town not too far away.Benji convinces his best friends to join him on a trip to Carrick Glynn for a holiday they’ll never forget.But Carrick Glynn has other plans for Benji and his friends. And the town always gets what it wants.Praise for Tony Urban's "Definitely a great read for any horror fans. It's a splatter fest for the mind""Rock Solid Horror""Tony Urban has just reawoken my syfy loving childhood fears.""Fantastic "Old School" Storytelling""Once in a while, a story grabs hold of you... making every hour you are away from it fill you with anxious excitement to return. To return to that world written on page, a world you've totally immersed yourself into.""This was my first time reading something by this author, and I was super impressed! This will definitely not be my last read of something by Tony Urban."
A professional photographer, writer and fan of general weirdness (both real and imagined), Tony has traveled tens of thousands of miles seeking out everything from haunted locations, UFO crash sites and monsters like Bigfoot and the Mothman. In a previous life, he worked in the independent movie industry but he finds his current career much more exciting.
Tony's first writing memory involves penning a short story about taking a road trip with his best friend and his dog (two different creatures) to watch KoKo B Ware in a professional wrestling event in Pittsburgh. He wrote that epic saga while in the 3rd grade and it was all downhill from there. His first books were a series of o)eat travelogues but recently his zombie apocalypse series, "Life of the Dead" has been a bestseller online and grossed out readers all over the world. His ultimate goal in life is to be killed by a monster thought by most to be imaginary. Sasquatch, werewolves, chupacabras, he’s not picky. If that fails, he’d enjoy making a living as a full time writer. Which of those two scenarios is more likely is up to the readers to decide.
No spoilers. 3 stars. The small Appalachian town of Sallow Creek passed a new ordinance:
No trick-or-treating after age 13...
This was distressing news for 14 year old Benji Roth, and he is determined to find a way to go door to door...
One last time...
Benji and his best friends Stooge and Dwayne put their heads together, but it is their new friend Nora Mullen who...
... suggests they go two towns over to the small village of Carrick Glynn, a place where she grew up, and trick-or-treat...
Will the teens get a treat... Or a trick?
This could have been an excellent folklore story if it hadn't been bogged down in the first 50% with uninspired adolescent fluff and filler.
By the time I got to the best part at 65%, the story bogged down again, and at that point, I had invested so much time with it that I saw it through to the bitter end.
I believe the author was going for a coming-of-age story, but it was too juvenile in the first half to interest most adult readers.
The story itself was a little like reading a teen version of HARVEST HOME by Thomas Tryon.
I'm not sur exactly how but I had somehow convinced myself that the author of this book was the one of the authors of the Darkness Falls series Consumed: Darkness Falls Book 1: A Thrilling Post-Apocalyptic Series and I wanted that fast-paced gut-punching safe bet (for me) horror, as it turns out it seems I had never read Urban's work before.
Now, this is indeed a no punches pulled type of story and it's bleak as all get outs. The build up to the actual horror is kind of slow and a good amount of time is spent establishing the characters, I wasn't really in the mood for that if I'm entirely honest so I might revisit this book when I'm in a different headspace.
I was impressed by how convincingly Urban managed to write young teens in that kind of situation.
Would recommend it for people who enjoyed The Cursed Among Us by John Durgin it has a similar vibe.
Okay. I don’t know about you guys, but when I read the little blurb for this book, I was expecting something completely different. This is actually not a criticism as Tony Urban gave us something unique and completely unexpected. If I had to describe this story I would say: mix some Monster Squad, with The Wicker Man and a dash of The Village, and you would have some semblance of Carrick Glynn. This is my second novel from this author and although this wasn’t a story that blew me away, Tony does have a gift as a storyteller and I would read more from him.
When Benji Roth's town of Sallow Creek imposes an age limit on trick-or-treating that year, he is very upset, for there is nothing in the world Benji loves more than Halloween. One afternoon, the new girl in town, Nora Mullens walks up to Benji and his best friend, Stooge in the local pizzeria, taking it upon herself to join them - as she is looking to make her first friends in Sallow Creek. After talking with them for a bit, she senses Benji's downtrodden mood about missing out on Halloween, and tells him about her hometown - which she says always has the best Halloween parties, with the whole community celebrating. Benji then makes a plan for him, his two best friends and Nora to visit her hometown of Carrick Glynn that Halloween. When they arrive, the three boys are surprised at how outdated the town is - with no power or telephone lines, no vehicles, and no roads accessible to vehicles for that matter. At first they have a great time trick-or-treating and joining in on the feast and games the town is hosting. But here and there the boys get small inklings there's something... off about the town and it's people. If only they knew how right they really were. Because the people of Carrick Glynn have something very special in mind for the boys, and they've been waiting all year for their arrival. ---------------------- I loved Within the Woods, so I had super high hopes for this one, and I'm glad it didn't let me down. I'm wondering if there will be a sequel though, because it's kind of driving me nuts
*SPOILER ALERT*
that I still don't know what happened the Benji's mom. It was a great book, and it was a super quick read. It definitely had a Midsommar-on-Halloween vibe too, which was definitely cool.
This is the perfect book to read for Halloween. The first half of this book is all coming of age vibes as our MC, who adores Halloween, discovers that his town has banned teenagers from being able to participate in trick or treating. He is also dealing with some changing childhood friendships and the trauma of one of his parents walking out. The first half of the book is all character building, which I love, but the second half of the book is all action and horror. To be honest, it started to feel like a different book entirely, and I didn't love where the story went, but that was just my personal preference. Overall, I enjoyed the descriptive writing and all the Halloween love.
I read A LOT; 3 novels a week roughly. There are good books, and books that keep my interest, books I can't put down, books I read as "pallette cleansers".... but it's rare for me to have a true horror reaction. The kind of Stephen King, vague sense of unease, mental whammy that is had with a really good, true-mental mind f@$%ery story that doesn't rely on chainsaws and gore. This is REAL storytelling. Started and finished in 7.5 hours. Well done!
Here is my video review of this incredibly creepy, disturbing and beautiful coming of age HORROR novel: https://youtu.be/UXRrkYnn4Tg
Just to let you know......this creeped the shit out of me, AND made me cry. Are you ready to go Trick or Treating in Carrick Glynn? let's go! 10🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
I did not like this one nearly as much as the first. And seemed to take forever. Not a bigi fan of virst person either. just would not recoomend and took like half the book before it even began to be interesting
This is an awesome coming of age folk horror novel that has shades of Stephen King's IT with a uniquely terrifying second half that will leave you with a case of the creeps for a long time after.
In the town of Sallow Creek, Halloween has been outlawed for anyone over the age of twelve. Our protagonist is more than a little upset by this not only because he loves the holiday but because his mother did also before she went missing.
He and his two lifelong friends are kind of growing apart and he knows this might be the last Halloween they'll share together. When they meet an orphaned girl who tells them her hometown celebrates each year with no reservations or requirements, they concoct a plan to go there for their final Halloween celebration.
But that's where things go south quickly. They find themselves trapped in this town with citizens who are weird and pretty soon, certain "traditions" are introduced which might not end well for our group.
The folk horror elements of this novel are fantastic and really raises the scares and tension as unbelievable things start happening. Unimaginable beasts, human sacrifice, and terrifying rituals all ramp up this twisted story.
The author takes his time, leading us with a narrative that delivers on the shocks and surprises that await. I was hooked from the very first chapter and couldn't wait to see where this was going.
Good read for Halloween. Book centers around a kid who loves everything about Halloween and his town has now put an age limit on trick or treating and he is too old (14) to go trick or treating. So he decides to go with his best friend and another friend who has drifted apart from him to a town that a new girl in school is from so that they can go trick or treating. When they get to the town, everything and everybody seems a bit off and that's when the Halloween horror part of the book picks up. Book was well written and spent a good amount of time developing characters and the relationships between the three boys and the new girl. My first read of anything by Tony Urban - will definitely look at more of his work to read
I tore through this book like an autumnal whirlwind in just a night and a half.
The most distracting negative first: this book distractingly riddled with typos. More than I could count on two hands. That’s not a reflection on the storytelling, just a thing that kept taking me out of the story as I worked to decipher a couple of them.
The story is somehow both meandering and compelling at the same time. You know nothing good is going to happen, but the first half of the book kind of reads like a YA kids adventure until the shit solidly starts to hit the fan. Luckily, just to keep you from forgetting this is a horror novel, there are some of THE most disgusting and stomach-turning moments I have ever read described at the beginning of each “part” of the book. NOT GORE mind you. But some of the most gut-churning happenings I have ever read that weren’t somehow violent or bloody. They certainly work to set the tone of the story though. They remind you where we are and not to get comfortable. Squirm a little, dear reader.
There is such a clear, crisp love of Halloween in this book… but then it also almost feels like a cautionary tale warning against loving Halloween? It has moments that were jaw-dropping and unpredictable but then other times it felt like it was entirely on rails where you could clearly see the destination ahead. It doesn’t always feel balanced, but it told a grim, autumnal tale, nonetheless.
Overall, I have to recommend this for a fun Halloween read.
Is it weird that this was a horror novel that I really enjoyed, but also made me somewhat sad too? Benji is big on all things Halloween and scary movies. Him and his mom (who abandoned him and his dad) enjoyed the day together. I don't think there would ever be a time when you get closure from a parent leaving. But, it's still fairly recent and he is holding out on hope that he can find her. The town he lives in placed a age limit on Trick or Treating. No one older than 12 can go. But his new crush/new girl (Nora) in town tells him that the town she's from (Carrick Glynn) does Halloween big. So he gathers his friends Stooge and (recently un estranged friend Dwayne) and goes with her. It doesn't hurt that he thought he might have seen his mom in a picture Nora showed him. Hence my sadness. It's a wild ride. Reminiscent of MidSommar and a few other elevated horror movies.
Tony Urban's Carrick Glynn is a very well done piece of indie publishing and excellent folk horror. I tend to appreciate folk horror (The Wicker Man is one of my favorite horror movies), and Urban knows what he's doing. Nothing is scarier than people doing horrible things but genuinely not seeming to understand why you think it is horrible. Or the idea of "being grateful for sacrifice, when the sacrifice isn't a choice.
I particularly enjoy the coming of age feeling for the first half or so. Then things kick into high gear and the pages turn fast.
Like Stephen King, Urban knows that the more you know the characters, the more your root for them and the more you mourn them.
I will say, the ending is bleak, but I don't mean that as a criticism necessarily. Just saying. It's a bleak ending.
I loved everything about this book. The story started off strong and never let up. Very unique twists that you won't see coming. Good use of slightly unusual vocabulary words...had me looking up more than a few. Normal definitions with a less often used term. Good editing was a definite bonus . It seems that too many writers don't bother with proofreading anymore much less proper editing. This was told from the perspective of a fourteen year old boy but it doesn't detract from the story.
Benji's small town has put an age limit on trick-or-treating. Benji is not happy as Halloween is his favorite holiday. His friends Stooge and Dwayne are content to watch horror movies in Benji's tree house but Benji feels that he has to go trick-or-treating at least one last time. Then Benji meets a girl, Nora who tells him they can trick-or-treat in her old town. First book by Tony Urban for me. Very good book, well written. The good horror story is a little sad since the characters are so likable.
Oh my gosh this was the best horror I have read in a very long time. This had all the horror elements one could ask for. This felt like an extremely long novel meaning that it had so much in it. This was only had 294 pages. The author put a lot into this story and it truly shows. This was amazing. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Loved this so much.
I enjoyed the book for the most part, but I wasn't expecting it to be so brutal. It does matter how dark we go, and pushing through that darkness there should be a reward for getting through. it really needs to come back to the light afterwards. But I finished the book I'm 1.5 days, about 2am last night.
For some reason I thought this read was a continuation of the story, "Within the Woods". Its not, but it doesn't disappoint. The horror is tangible. What these poor boys went through pulls at my heart strings. Looking forward to the next book in line.
First book I ever read of Tony's was Pennsylvanias Unexplained Mysteries which I purchased as a paper back.i loved the book and it has sent me on a lover affair with all his books..this one included....loved the build up...cool characters...crazy Halloween ending!
A fun read that's perfect for Halloween season. The author is able to write dialogue for kids/teens that feels realistic while giving them motivations that fit their age. It is also refreshing when an author is able to actually put characters of that age group on actual peril where they can die if the story calls for it. So many authors seem to be afraid to flat-out kill kids in their stories
The beast chomped down on Dwayne's right hand, closing its ragged jaws over his wrist. It didn't have enough teeth remaining in its mouth to sever it in one quick bite, but the strength of its jaws smashed the bones with an audible crunch.
So happy I found a truky talented writer to follow. What a great tale with an unexpected twist that really had me reeling. I loved it; wouldn't change a thing. Can't remember the last time a book actually scared me. This one did. Bravo!
I'm a definitely going to read more from this author. This book is full of surprises from beginning to end. The story is simple to follow and pulls you in. One of the best horror books I have ever read
My official new favorite "must read every Halloween" book. What an amazing story! I was drawn in to the nostalgia of it all, being a Halloween lover, and was completely side-swiped by what happened in Carrick Glynn.
It's my first Tony Urban story, but definitely not my last!
This novel felt more YA than I was expecting. Very slow beginning, but things picked up and changed direction a little over halfway through. At that point, it felt more like the folklore novel I was expecting.
I really enjoyed this book. I was a bit taken back from the story, as it was not what I expected the story was going to be. As I read on, I enjoyed the story very much.