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Halloween: A Collection of Short Stories
October 31st. Halloween.A group of teenagers meet up in the woods, ready to tell camp-stories to a fellow (new) classmate. By the end of the night, the listening classmate has to decide which of the stories she has heard is "real", as opposed to just made up to try and scare her. The problem is, in this cruel world we live in, the "real" story really could be any of them...Is she prepared for the truth? Halloween is A collection of short stories, tied together with a central storyline.
45 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 16, 2022
32 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
Matt Shaw
529 books2,196 followersBiography
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
MATT SHAW was born, quite by accident (his mother tripped, he shot out) September 30th 1980 in Winchester hospital where he was immediately placed on the baby ward and EBay. Some twelve years later (wandering the corridors of the hospital and playing with road kill when he was on day release), the listing closed and he remained unsold, he was booted out of the hospital to start his life as a writer and hobbit – beginning with writing screenplays and short stories for his own amusement before finally getting published when he was twenty-seven years and forty-five seconds old.
Once Published weekly in a lad's magazine with his photography work, Matt Shaw is also a published author and cartoonist. Has to be said, can be a bit of a flirt and definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, somewhat of a klutz.
Favourite books
"Roald Dahl's Collection of Short Stories"
Tim Burton's Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy
Anything, really, written by himself. Because he is that good.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
October 21, 2025
Is this thing on? Either I’ve been flagged for something, or that Amazon outage interrupted review posting. Testing to see where the situation stands before a full review.
November 4, 2022
Karla discusses a cult who is intent on bringing back Cthulhu. In fact, this is another book I wrote called “Octopus” (which went on to become “The Octopus Trilogy”).
December 7, 2022
Halloween Anthology in book form
This read like a movie from 1997 titled ‘Campfire Tales’.
Matt Shaw puts his inventiveness on display. It is amazing how many stories he comes up with in a short period of time. I also read enough authored by Matt that I caught on immediately to the fact that he titled each chapter after one of his books.
So why the low rating? I guess I felt that not all of the stories were great and the wrap up of the “hook” was a total letdown. It felt like “all that build-up for this ending? Ugh.”
Best Chapters?
Sick B*stards: Excellent! Extremely creepy and the build up here was brilliant. I was all-in for who was at the door and literally felt shivers up my spine.
Pest: Did not see the ending coming at all. Worth the price of admission.
2
This read like a movie from 1997 titled ‘Campfire Tales’.
Matt Shaw puts his inventiveness on display. It is amazing how many stories he comes up with in a short period of time. I also read enough authored by Matt that I caught on immediately to the fact that he titled each chapter after one of his books.
So why the low rating? I guess I felt that not all of the stories were great and the wrap up of the “hook” was a total letdown. It felt like “all that build-up for this ending? Ugh.”
Best Chapters?
Sick B*stards: Excellent! Extremely creepy and the build up here was brilliant. I was all-in for who was at the door and literally felt shivers up my spine.
Pest: Did not see the ending coming at all. Worth the price of admission.
2
November 1, 2022
Halloween: the perfect time of year to sit around a campsite, tell some tales, light a bonfire LOL... These teens play a game. Do you know that game 2 truths and a lie? That game takes story form in this, them telling stories, and their new female friend has to guess which one is true.
So there are several stories, with a larger story. It made it feel like Halloween to me
So there are several stories, with a larger story. It made it feel like Halloween to me
October 22, 2022
great Halloween read!
This is a great short, would be perfect Halloween read as it’s set on Halloween round a camp fire, telling stories about urban legends. All Karla has to do is guess the true story……….. can Karla choose the real story from the urban legends?
This is a great short, would be perfect Halloween read as it’s set on Halloween round a camp fire, telling stories about urban legends. All Karla has to do is guess the true story……….. can Karla choose the real story from the urban legends?
October 28, 2022
I loved this!! This was a perfect Halloween read packed full of gorey, twisted and sadistic dark tales! I've never read any from this author before but i will definitely be reading more!!
October 3, 2023
Excellent collection of new creepy halloween urban legends, PEST was the creepiest!
October 18, 2024
ZERO!!
Really that's what you think is scary. It's stupid!! All the stores where as dumb as shit . If I could give you a big fat zero I would.
Really that's what you think is scary. It's stupid!! All the stores where as dumb as shit . If I could give you a big fat zero I would.
October 10, 2023
Great spooky stories 🎃👻😱
November 2, 2022
A collection of stories within a story!
When a group of kids tell stories around a campfire, it’s up to the newest girl in the group to determine which story is true amongst the false ones. The tales are dark and disturbing, & Karla is in for a surprise as she makes her decision.
The thing I loved most about this short tale was that each Campfire Story was the name of one of Matt Shaw’s other books. He posts a list of other Easter Eggs you can spot.
The clown story freaked me out the most! I am seriously scared of them, and would never confront one like the main character did.
When a group of kids tell stories around a campfire, it’s up to the newest girl in the group to determine which story is true amongst the false ones. The tales are dark and disturbing, & Karla is in for a surprise as she makes her decision.
The thing I loved most about this short tale was that each Campfire Story was the name of one of Matt Shaw’s other books. He posts a list of other Easter Eggs you can spot.
The clown story freaked me out the most! I am seriously scared of them, and would never confront one like the main character did.
October 12, 2023
Slightly boring, some stories jarring, the most exciting bit comes at the end however it is highly predictable. I feel as it was a recommended gruesome, horror story it came across more cliche spooks.
October 9, 2023
5 stories in not so many pages amongsy another story of a campfire. Let's just say I enjoyed 3 of the stories and will add more to this later.
October 19, 2024
3.5 stars
I guessed what was going on, but it was still interesting in a ghoulish way.
I guessed what was going on, but it was still interesting in a ghoulish way.
October 27, 2023
aber der Hälfte hab ich den Plot Twist schon kommen sehen
October 26, 2022
Shaw and I haven’t formed a bond so far but in continuing to give him a chance, here I am. I did enjoy the stories told within but the overarching tale felt dry and predictable. I would’ve maybe liked some expansion from the ending but I did enjoy the very teenage vibe it gave in its current state.
This saved Shaw from being kicked off my radar and, if nothing else, I’ll check out the (unrelated) books the chapters are named after.
This saved Shaw from being kicked off my radar and, if nothing else, I’ll check out the (unrelated) books the chapters are named after.
January 17, 2023
Definitely gonna retell.
These are perfect shorts to tell around the campfire! I will be committing them to memory for our family camping trips.
Matt Shaw uniquely sets up the collection and adds a wonderful twist.
These are perfect shorts to tell around the campfire! I will be committing them to memory for our family camping trips.
Matt Shaw uniquely sets up the collection and adds a wonderful twist.
October 26, 2022
I thought this was a good quick read before Halloween. While it was more extreme, it reminded me of watching “Are You Afraid of the Dark” during my childhood. Kids sitting around a campfire and telling scary stories to their friends, hoping to have the scariest. Of course, this is not kid friendly and is the grown up version.
I am new to reading Matt Shaw (this is only my second book), but I definitely want to read more.
I am new to reading Matt Shaw (this is only my second book), but I definitely want to read more.
October 27, 2022
Great Halloween read!
I'd like to say I saw the ending coming, but I really didn't. Another awesome read from this author. I don't think I'll ever be disappointed with anything he writes.
I'd like to say I saw the ending coming, but I really didn't. Another awesome read from this author. I don't think I'll ever be disappointed with anything he writes.
October 4, 2023
My review will be for the eBook that I borrowed on the with Kindle Unlimited in the Kindle App on my Amazon Tablet.
I really like the cover art for this eBook and it was one of the reasons why I wanted to read this eBook and i'm glad I read this book.🎃
I really like the theme of the book that the short stories were based around Halloween, I really liked how this book is written, how descriptive it is for the gory scenes, the theme of the short stories & the way the Ebook ending.
This particular book is well written, it was fun to read and I enjoyed reading it.
If you are a fan of Matt Shaw's books, the you will understand his sense of humour, he does write gory books, but that isn't the only reason that I like his books, I like & appreciate his imagination, ideas.
I think Extreme Horror writers/authors are very creative, they have a dark & vivid imagination, they have a dark sense of humour, which I appreciate because I have a dark & vivid imagination & a dark sense of humour myself 😊
Buy the paperback or eBook, read it and form your own opinion, before you judge a Extreme Horror writer/author for what they write about because it's fictional.
𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏/𝟐/𝟑 & 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟒/𝟓/𝟔):
I liked the creepy atmosphere, the slasher horror vibe this short story has when the man was outside late at night, on the woman's front porch and he kept saying "Trick or Treat" it was creepy he has unknown intentions, it reminds me of the horror film The Strangers which was based on real life murders, so that makes it even more creepy.
I would happily read more Extreme horror or Extreme Horror anthologies if the theme was based on or around Halloween, the spooky season.
This is one of my favourite Matt Shaw books so far.
The trio of murderers, after breaking into homes are seeking to record the victims skull fracturing and their neck cracking after they throw their victims out of their bedroom windows, they record what they are doing for their own sick pleasure, amusement and enjoyment.
They like the way it sounds, it's macabre.
I really enjoyed this book, the ending of the book was unexpected, it fits with the themes of the short stories in this eBook.
My favourite Short Stories were: Between Dead Trees part 1, Pieces, Pest, Come PLay With Us & Evil LIttle Things
I highly recommend this book, if you like gory, Extreme Horror books. 💀
𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬:
I liked this short story, I haven't read a short story about a fictional murderous cult on Halloween before so it was unexpected and one of my favourite short stories.
I've read true crime books about real-life cults that were murderers though.
The intentions of the people at the event were unknown and sinister, I didn't know what to expect which I liked about this story.
It reminds me of The Purge, people's willingness to participate in The annual Purge or their urge to kill that everyone has.
Everyone has that type of darkness within themselves, but not everyone shows it.
𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐭:
I don't like Clowns, but this short story was at least funny, I like dark humour and I have a dark sense of humour.
I think his friend did send him the woman's underwear & hired the Clown to stalk him, until it drove him crazy.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐔𝐬:
I really like the plot of this short story, the escalation of violence, gore, and gory scenes is one of my favourite aspects of Extreme Horror, I like that the "𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞" is a Live streamed for everyone to watch and enjoy for their own sick, pleasure, amusement and enjoyment.
I guess i'm weird if I like enjoy reading Extreme Horror books about fictional characters being tortured, mutilated, murdered 😅 👍😊
𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
Well I guess i'm a sick fuck then, because I love Chucky, the character, the Child's Play horror films and the actor-(Brad Dourif) that voices his character.
I really liked the story, it was funny to me that the woman was creeped out by the Chucky replica doll, it does look realistic.
prefer the Chuck doll from the Bride of Chucky film.
This story was fun to read.
I really like the cover art for this eBook and it was one of the reasons why I wanted to read this eBook and i'm glad I read this book.🎃
I really like the theme of the book that the short stories were based around Halloween, I really liked how this book is written, how descriptive it is for the gory scenes, the theme of the short stories & the way the Ebook ending.
This particular book is well written, it was fun to read and I enjoyed reading it.
If you are a fan of Matt Shaw's books, the you will understand his sense of humour, he does write gory books, but that isn't the only reason that I like his books, I like & appreciate his imagination, ideas.
I think Extreme Horror writers/authors are very creative, they have a dark & vivid imagination, they have a dark sense of humour, which I appreciate because I have a dark & vivid imagination & a dark sense of humour myself 😊
Buy the paperback or eBook, read it and form your own opinion, before you judge a Extreme Horror writer/author for what they write about because it's fictional.
𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐬 (𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏/𝟐/𝟑 & 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟒/𝟓/𝟔):
I liked the creepy atmosphere, the slasher horror vibe this short story has when the man was outside late at night, on the woman's front porch and he kept saying "Trick or Treat" it was creepy he has unknown intentions, it reminds me of the horror film The Strangers which was based on real life murders, so that makes it even more creepy.
I would happily read more Extreme horror or Extreme Horror anthologies if the theme was based on or around Halloween, the spooky season.
This is one of my favourite Matt Shaw books so far.
The trio of murderers, after breaking into homes are seeking to record the victims skull fracturing and their neck cracking after they throw their victims out of their bedroom windows, they record what they are doing for their own sick pleasure, amusement and enjoyment.
They like the way it sounds, it's macabre.
I really enjoyed this book, the ending of the book was unexpected, it fits with the themes of the short stories in this eBook.
My favourite Short Stories were: Between Dead Trees part 1, Pieces, Pest, Come PLay With Us & Evil LIttle Things
I highly recommend this book, if you like gory, Extreme Horror books. 💀
𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬:
I liked this short story, I haven't read a short story about a fictional murderous cult on Halloween before so it was unexpected and one of my favourite short stories.
I've read true crime books about real-life cults that were murderers though.
The intentions of the people at the event were unknown and sinister, I didn't know what to expect which I liked about this story.
It reminds me of The Purge, people's willingness to participate in The annual Purge or their urge to kill that everyone has.
Everyone has that type of darkness within themselves, but not everyone shows it.
𝐏𝐞𝐬𝐭:
I don't like Clowns, but this short story was at least funny, I like dark humour and I have a dark sense of humour.
I think his friend did send him the woman's underwear & hired the Clown to stalk him, until it drove him crazy.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐔𝐬:
I really like the plot of this short story, the escalation of violence, gore, and gory scenes is one of my favourite aspects of Extreme Horror, I like that the "𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞" is a Live streamed for everyone to watch and enjoy for their own sick, pleasure, amusement and enjoyment.
I guess i'm weird if I like enjoy reading Extreme Horror books about fictional characters being tortured, mutilated, murdered 😅 👍😊
𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:
Well I guess i'm a sick fuck then, because I love Chucky, the character, the Child's Play horror films and the actor-(Brad Dourif) that voices his character.
I really liked the story, it was funny to me that the woman was creeped out by the Chucky replica doll, it does look realistic.
prefer the Chuck doll from the Bride of Chucky film.
This story was fun to read.
October 19, 2024
This was a fun story, several shorts tied together by the framing of campfire tale. Several boys and the new girl at school go into the woods for a halloween tradition of telling scary stories where one is true and one person has figure out which of the tales is the true one. The halloween theme disapears quite a bit after the first two shorts, which was a little disapointing, to the point by the end the fact its halloween isnt all that important. I think with a longer length the framing could have been developed a bit more, but for a story only 45 pages long it gets in what it can. Overall a quick read that has enough of the halloween spirit to justify giving it a go during spooky season.
February 27, 2024
So fun!
Although I love this short story, it is predictable and I knew the ending of the book as soon as I finished the first story. However, I do love myself a collection of stories within a story (or even movie. Truck R Treat is one of my favorites!) and I especially love it when it’s Halloween related, so I’ll probably even revisit this book myself every few Halloween’s or so. Loved it!
Although I love this short story, it is predictable and I knew the ending of the book as soon as I finished the first story. However, I do love myself a collection of stories within a story (or even movie. Truck R Treat is one of my favorites!) and I especially love it when it’s Halloween related, so I’ll probably even revisit this book myself every few Halloween’s or so. Loved it!
July 23, 2023
Ooh I love a short story collection!
Oh I loved this set up for the short stories it was great. Karla a new.girl at school goes to listen to campfire stories in the forest. Each boy takes a turn telling a story in which Karla has to figure out which is the real story and which is the fake.
The stories were great and such a great twist too. I loved it.
Oh I loved this set up for the short stories it was great. Karla a new.girl at school goes to listen to campfire stories in the forest. Each boy takes a turn telling a story in which Karla has to figure out which is the real story and which is the fake.
The stories were great and such a great twist too. I loved it.
July 26, 2023
A super quick read and I enjoyed the stories too! Not anything extremely extreme but I really enjoyed that the stories went into actual full novellas you can read an amazing touch! Would recommend if your looking for something to read for Halloween and want something that’s not too intense!
4.0 for stories and writing!
I will be reading the novellas based on the stories I enjoyed!
4.0 for stories and writing!
I will be reading the novellas based on the stories I enjoyed!
November 22, 2023
A bit cliche and predictable, but interesting enough if you are into classic Halloween horror stories. I liked the way it was written and it was easy to read. I was interested throughout the whole book but it didn't have an especially interesting end, which is usually quite important to me. What you see is what you get with this story. Written well and a quick read.
November 16, 2022
Short story collection that left me wanting more
I loved the idea of the short stories being told around a campfire and having the only woman there yet to guess which one was real.
I did, however, figure out the plot straightaway!
Nice try Matt Shaw!
I loved the idea of the short stories being told around a campfire and having the only woman there yet to guess which one was real.
I did, however, figure out the plot straightaway!
Nice try Matt Shaw!
October 3, 2025
A collection of short stories
I enjoyed the way these stories were told. A clown, a Chucky doll, beggar’s night, a funhouse and a street fair all wove into a horrible nightmare. This may be a novella but it throws a lasting punch.
I enjoyed the way these stories were told. A clown, a Chucky doll, beggar’s night, a funhouse and a street fair all wove into a horrible nightmare. This may be a novella but it throws a lasting punch.
October 28, 2025
I was hoping for a quick read with some creepy/scary Halloween stories, but this was… not that. It was short enough to finish, but I wish I hadn’t. The writing was weird, and the content was weirder. Not creepy, just bad. Don’t recommend unfortunately…
November 2, 2025
Perfect for a quick Halloween read!
I wish the ending would’ve been a little less blunt and left a wondering the fate of the characters. But overall I’d highly recommend this fun collection of stories that work together as one.
I wish the ending would’ve been a little less blunt and left a wondering the fate of the characters. But overall I’d highly recommend this fun collection of stories that work together as one.
October 16, 2022
Loved this!!
October 24, 2022
A fun and quick to read anthology that's a good choice for a seasonal read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews