Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season

by Norman Partridge

Norman Partridge's Halloween novel, Dark Harvest, was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly's 100 Best Books of 2006. A Bram Stoker Award winner and World Fantasy nominee, Partridge's rapid-fire tale of a small town trapped by its own shadows welcomed a wholly original creation, the October Boy, earning the author comparisons to Stephen King, Ray Bradbury, and Shirley Jackson.

Now Partridge revisits Halloween with a collection featuring a half-dozen stories celebrating frights both past and present. In "The Jack o' Lantern," a brand new Dark Harvest novelette, the October Boy races against a remorseless döppelganger bent on carving a deadly path through the town's annual ritual of death and rebirth. "Johnny Halloween" features a sheriff battling both a walking ghost and his own haunted conscience. In "Three Doors," a scarred war hero hunts his past with the help of a magic prosthetic hand, while "Satan's Army" is a real Partridge rarity previously available only in a long sold-out lettered edition from another press.

But there's more to this holiday celebration besides fiction. "The Man Who Killed Halloween" is an extensive essay about growing up during the late sixties in the town where the Zodiac Killer began his murderous spree. In an introduction that explores monsters both fictional and real, Partridge recalls what it was like to live in a community menaced by a serial killer and examines how the Zodiac's reign of terror shaped him as a writer.

Halloween night awaits. Join a master storyteller as he explores the layers of darkness that separate all-too-human evil from the supernatural. Let Norman Partridge lead you on seven journeys through the most dangerous night of the year, where no one is safeŠand everyone is suspect.

* Praise for the Author's

"Partridge has always had a knack for sifting deeper significance from period pop culture, but here he brilliantly distills a convincing male identity myth from teen rebel drive-in flicks, garish comic book horrors, hard-boiled crime pulps and other bits of lowbrow Americana. Whether read as potent dark fantasy or a modern coming-of-age parable, this is contemporary American writing at its finest." - Publishers Weekly (starred review of Dark Harvest)

"Partridge is at his best when he combines graphic terror with teenage angst... No one evokes the nostalgia of growing up in the 1960s better... If you're looking for a scary Halloween tale, with lots of blood and gore‹and candy‹you've come to the right place." - Rocky Mountain News

"Dark Harvest thrills with staccato scenes of action, ideal for a horror novel. Using a quick, lean prose reminiscent of the finest Gold Medal-era fiction and, at the same time, as fresh as a Quentin Tarantino film, Partridge packs more into this slim volume than most authors do in a bloated 600-page epic." - The Austin Chronicle

"Norman Partridge is the finest writer of short horror fiction going." - RevolutionSF

"This wonderful writer offers challenges, surprises, and deep satisfactions to anyone willing to think about what they are reading. Partridge consistently writes as though his life depends on the words he sets down on the page." - Peter Straub

"Norman Partridge displays his unique ability to give a reader all the kick-ass pleasure of pulp suspense and action along with vibrant, complex characters and deep insight into the mythic hearts of distinctly American Nightmares." - Jeffrey Ford

"Norman Partridge pulls no punches whether he¹s writing hard-boiled westerns, contemporary noir, or monster tales‹often combined. His stories will take you on a helluva ride." - Ellen Datlow

"Any new book with the name ŒNorman Partridge¹ on the front is cause for celebration." - Duane Swierczynski

"Norm Partridge is an extraordinary storyteller and his welding of noir and horror has created a signature style renowned for its lean, sinewy power." - Laird Barron

"Norman Partridge writes as if the devil himself had a sawed-off shotgun pointed at his head." - Joe Schreiber

"Norman Partridge has such a wealth of talent‹a prose style of wondrous luminosity and grace; a narrative drive that carries the reader inexorably to the spectacular climax; an ability to convey violence and gruesomeness without the least suggestion of crudity or exploitation; and an imagination that opens new worlds to all who venture within his realm‹that it will be engaging to chart his course in the future." - S. T. Joshi, editor of Black Tales of Lovecraftian Horror

Genres: Horror, Halloween, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Contemporary, Collections

125 pages, Hardcover

First published October 15, 2010

About the author

Norman Partridge’s fiction includes horror, suspense, and the fantastic—“sometimes all in one story” says his friend Joe Lansdale. His compact, thrill-a-minute style has been praised by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and his fiction has received three Bram Stokers and two IHG awards.

Partridge’s career launched a series of firsts during the indie press boom of the early nineties. His first short story appeared in the second issue of Cemetery Dance, and his debut novel, Slippin’ into Darkness, was the first original novel published by CD. Partridge’s chapbook Spyder was one of Subterranean Press’s inaugural titles, while his World Fantasy-nominated collection, Bad Intentions, was the first hardcover in the Subterranean book line.

Since then, Partridge has published pair of critically acclaimed suspense novels featuring ex-boxer Jack Baddalach for Berkley Prime Crime (Saguaro Riptide and The Ten-Ounce Siesta), comics for Mojo and DC, and a series novel (The Crow: Wicked Prayer) which was adapted for the screen. His award-winning collections include Mr. Fox and Other Feral Tales and The Man with the Barbed-Wire Fists. Partridge’s latest novel, Dark Harvest, was chosen by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2006.

Whether working in mainstream markets or the independent press, Partridge’s vivid, exuberant writing style has made him a fan favorite. Never content to be pigeon-holed as a writer, Partridge continues to defy categorization. A third-generation Californian, he lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Canadian writer Tia V. Travis.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was rather a mixed bag of Halloween treats. "Johnny Halloween" is about the dark side of a well known village cop and what he and his brother did on a Halloween Eve. "Satan's Army" is about religious zealots who regard celebrating Halloween as devil worship. Then we have the best story here, "The Man Who Killed Halloween". Here we have a melancholic and magic flashback into 1968/69 and the terrible murders committed by the Zodiac Killer. The last fine story for me was "Three Doors" about a vet missing his right hand. The other three stories in this anthology weren't my cup of tea. "Black Leather Kites", "Treats" or "The Jack o' Lantern" were very promising but I really didn't get into them. The author is a very good writer and absolutely draws you in with some of his stories. Also the preface was very well written and led directly to Halloween as it once was and now is. Since I didn't enjoy all stories I had to rate this anthology three stars. But I can recommend the book!

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies centered on Halloween are fun any time of year. I couldn't resist trying out this short anthology all penned by the same author. My original plan was to read in October along with other anthologies, but I got behind and didn't get around to reading any of them. Ah, holidays.

The first story, Johnny Halloween, pairs up well with the introduction to Halloween and that the creepiest monsters can wear human faces. Mix Halloween into the deal with the grinning, blank masks that are supposed to be trustworthy, and it can get trickier. The story started on a different note than the middle dive and then end twist. Plenty of tricks made this short story a treat that sets the story off well. It was my favorite of the bunch and well worth reading.

The second story is a bit confusing and disjointed but ... disturbing. Ties in the evils warned of by fire-and-brimstone type preachers with the paranoia of a small town with a grim finale. The story isn't the best, but the focus of it is nifty -- when it comes to Halloween and all the things kids love about it (horror movie marathons, creepy monsters, traditions and spooks and parties), we all remember the naysayers talking about the corrupted youth turning bad due because of entertainment. This was a clever twist on this that served up a small taste of irony to finish it off.

The third story is more of an essay about his town's experiences with the Zodiac killer. Intriguing stuff. I realize I never read much on that particular serial killer, although I've of course heard the name.

Black Leather Kites, while inventive, confused me at first and stalled on me later. Not my favorite of the group, it crosses into some cheesiness, but does do serve the anthology's theme well by having a story focus on the ancient traditions of Halloween and the weird occult stories surrounding the season.

I feel clueless not getting what Treats was about, but I still dug the story. It was creepy and fascinating. Were they killer ants trained as an army and fed on candy? I didn't get the ending, but it was still one of the most interesting.

Three Doors - well, wow. It started out seeming like an almost humorous story about something unbelievable and somewhat silly, but it turns into serious, dark, grim reality. It's a strong contender for my favorite of the book. It was a tricky and misdirecting tale that's just....sad. Sad, but well done.

The longest, The Jack O Lantern, was one of my least favorites with its cohesiveness and direction, but it was at least creepy.

A recommended anthology if you want some spooky and unique twists on the Halloween season, or just have a craving for a horror anthology in general. I liked the author's style, and saw he had awards for a full-length novel, Dark Harvest - I'll check that one out soon, although it seems to be in the same worldbuilding as The Jack O Lantern (same town and legend but expanded) so not sure how I'll like it. I may. Either way, the cover is the cutest halloween cover ever, I'm reminded of a bobblehead pumpkin man, I'm weird but I get that "aw" moment every time I see this cover:



Seriously, who can resist, or is it just me?

[Obsidian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well the cover is cool. And honestly it's short. I was done with this within an hour, I just didn't have time to get on my computer to post reviews until now. I read this for the "Pumpkin" square for the Halloween 2016 Bingo.

I skipped over the introduction and got to the first story (7 percent) and after that most of the stories I felt were way too short. I felt a few times that things were cut off. There were only two stories that I actually thought were more than okay, the rest I didn't really care for at all.

Johnny Halloween (2 stars)- A man looks back and comes face to face with the man he blames for his brother's death. I really did not like this story at all. The author had the whole a woman goes off to get an abortion and is left barren trope which I hope dies off soon. I hate it when authors do that. They are essentially punishing the woman for daring to be in charge of her own body. In the end you find out the reasoning behind some things we are told as readers and pretty much it can be summed up that woman are sluts and it's not a man's fault when he responds in an angry manner. I hated this story the more I think of it and am actually going to lower the initial star rating I gave it.

Satan's Army (1 star)- This made absolutely no sense to me at all. I am still trying to wrap my head around anyone's justification for what goes down in this story. And we have the author switching between too many people and an old couple obsessed with apples and I don't know. I just didn't care and was relieved to get to the end.

The Man Who Killed Halloween (3 stars)- This is not a short story the author created. It's just his recollection about growing up where the Zodiac killer was finding and murdering young people back in Vallejo, California in the 1960s. It was interesting to read about. But the author provides some autobiographical details about himself, the town, and how ultimately this affected the whole community when the Zodiac killer was out on a rampage.

Black Leather Kites (3 stars)- This baffled me a bit because there is no explanation to how these people came to be or how they found the one character's brother in law. I also had to laugh at the backstory to Nardo. And I thought it was really weird he kept obsessing about designer ice cream (Haagen- Dazs) and foil covered beer. I did like the ending to this story. The preceding ones endings fell flat.

Treats (1 star)- There is no explanation to anything that is going on. I am guessing that little scary monsters of some kind took over a kid's body or something. It would have been great if things had been more explained.

Three Doors (4 stars)- I liked this one a lot. The reveal in the middle part of the story was great. And though the author acknowledges that it is like The Monkey's Paw, I still liked it.

The Jack O'Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale (4 stars)- As much as I just felt okay towards Dark Harvest, I did like this prologue to one of the characters we read about in that book, Officer Jerry Ricks. I think the only reason why I enjoyed it was because I know what is coming for the town in the end.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is a selection of seven very different stories. Of course, I liked some more than others, but overall a good selection.

Some show the past catching up (Johnny Halloween); some come as close to horror as they could get (Satan’s Army has an unexpected ending); there is an essay on a childhood and a favourite holiday indirectly ruined by the Zodiac murders (The Man Who Killed Halloween); then you have those that show that not everyone celebrate Halloween the way you'd expect (Black Leather Kites); one is a very creepy story of a child who got an army of creepy crawlies and plans to invade other homes on Halloween (Treats); then you have a story of a lost love and getting another chance, but with strings attached (Three Doors). As I said, very different stories, but they all take place on Halloween.

I loved the last one, The Jack O’ Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale. I am not sure if it is because I liked Dark Harvest, but this one takes place long before the events in Dark Harvest. It is about yet another Run and about the night when Ricks became a cop.

[Adam Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! I really enjoyed this short story collection from Partridge. Especially The October Boy. I was thrilled with Dark Harvest, and then discouraged by The Man With the Barbed Wire Fists, and now Johnny Halloween has restored my initial feeling that Norman Partridge is an author with a serious set of skills. Great read to get you in the Halloween spirit.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norman Partridge has put together these half dozen tales from the dark side to make up Johnny Halloween. There is a well put together essay about The Man That Killed Halloween. It is about Norman growing up in the late sixties in a town where the Zodiac Killer began his murderous spree. Partridge recalls what it was like to live in his hometown and how it effected the community. The last story in the collection revisit Dark Harvest and a new tale about the October Boy. The rest of the stories are pretty good. This collection is just what you are looking for on a cold October night!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are only 6 stories, plus an introduction and an essay, in this slim volume. The introduction and the final story are brand new; the other 5 stories and the essay are collected from various other sources but were all new to me. Only one story, "Black Leather Kites," disappointed me and even that story held some charm (mostly in imagining what it would look like on the big screen or HBO). My favorite story in the book is probably the title story, about a sheriff recalling the crime he stopped when he was a teenager and how that comes back to haunt him in the present. I was also looking forward to the Dark Harvest-connected story that concludes the book, "The Jack O'Lantern," but I will caution anyone who has not read the book -- this story contains a fairly significant spoiler about the events of the novel. If you've read DARK HARVEST, "The Jack O'Lantern" will make your heart-rate race the way the book did, and will fill out the picture of just what goes on in this small town on the night of The Run.

The essay in the book, "The Man Who Killed Halloween," is Partridge's first person account of what it was like to live in Vallejo, California, at the time of the Zodiac killings, and how that unsolved crime spree forever changed the way that town celebrates Halloween (and most other holidays, I would think). Non-fiction rarely scares me or unsettles me the way fiction does, but the story is so personal to Partridge that I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing up as he described not on the crimes but the way most people found out about them. Perhaps it's because I've been reading IT recently, but Partridge's essay connected strongly with my reaction to the 1950s sections of that novel.

Definitely a good read if you can get your hands on a copy.

[Иван Величков · Rating 5 out of 5]

Книжката е скромна колекция от 7 много различни разказа, които се случват по време на празника.
Johnny Halloween – Поучителна криминална история за това как миналото винаги ни настига.
Satan’s Army – Брутална гротеска за протестантските църквички и колко далече могат да стигнат за да докажат глупавите си табута.
The Man Who Killed Halloween – По-скоро есе за сериен убиец, който е вилнял в родното градче на автора в детството му.
Black Leather Kites – На Хелоуин изпълзяват всякакви индивиди. Черна комедия с елементи на мистерия и сатанизъм.
Treats – Не чукайте на тази врата за лакомства, защото не знаете какво може да получите.
Three Doors – Докосваща история за магия и неизпълними ж��лания. Дали?
The Jack O’ Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale – Черешката на тиквата. Новелка за познатото градче с някой познати герои, в пъти по-кървава, брутална и психопатска от романа.
Приятни истории с неочаквани о��рати, а последната е ненадмината. Чудесна добавка към предходната книга и естествено – да се чете през октомври.

[Coos Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los relatos son, en efecto, muy halloweenezcos, y las historias bastante escabrosas, aunque no estoy muy segura de que todas sean de horror. Personalmente hay algunas que consideré más policiales que otra cosa. Aún así, cumple con la temática de Halloween, por lo que creo que está bien. Me gustaron los temas en los que se centraba cada relato, el estilo del autor no es algo que me haya impresionado demasiado. Es una pena que los relatos sean tan rebuscados, llega un punto en el que uno pierde el suspenso y se empieza a tornar pesado. En cierta forma tiene momentos inquietantes, pero no sé, a mi parecer, le faltó algo para considerarse "terror"

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this short story collection was perfect for a Halloween read. I enjoyed all of the stories and it got me in the spirit.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all the stories but the Jack 'O Lantern story last year. Finished up this year after reading Dark Harvest, and I enjoyed it all. I really wish Norman Partridge wrote more.

[Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved "The Jack o' Lantern," the Dark Harvest story. I love that book so much, and I was thrilled to have another story from that God-forsaken Midwestern town. This one is set a generation before the events of Dark Harvest.
"Three Doors" was also great, with the second-person narrator that I loved in Dark Harvest.
"The Man Who Killed Halloween," an essay about the Zodiac Killer, was interesting and scary.
"Satan's Army" was good, but too dark for me.
"Johnny Halloween" was really dark, and very confusing; "Black Leather Kites" at least had a happy ending; and I couldn't quite get "Treats."
This book is worth reading for "The Jack o' Lantern" and "Three Doors." I'm glad I borrowed it.

[Hayley (Strange & Unusual Book Club) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-read if you enjoyed Dark Harvest. The final story is a prequel to the novelette and is fantastic!

[Marlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I get the whole "man is the scariest monster of all" vibe he's going for, but I like supernatural stuff more. The last story was my favourite.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mine is a special signed edition limited to 1500 copies.

Between the covers are seven short stories, one is a non-fiction accounting of growing up in the shadow of the Zodiac killer.

Whenever I hear of some famous killer, I often wonder what it would be like to experience the panic—however well subdued—of living in the killing field. Even though Norman was a child in the late sixties when the Zodiac killer was operating, he still gives a sense of change present and necessary in those dire times. The scariest monster of all lives among us.

Whenever a group of stories are assembled as a collection, some shine better than others. In the case of this collection, the best was saved for last. In "The Jack o' Lantern: a Dark Harvest Tale" a town hosts a seasonal hunt in which even the winner loses. Frightening fun and a well told tale.

I enjoyed reading this collection while handing out candy. It was a good mood setter.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very evocative of Halloween, with my favorite being his personal recollection of 1969 when the Zodiac Killer struck his hometown, and how it helped shape his writings. However, the fictional stories feel like they are unfinished to me - like they just need a paragraph or two more in order to wrap them up nicely. Almost all of them left me wanting some sort of closure, with the exception of The Jack o' Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale. That is a great addition to the Dark Harvest world he's created, and I hope to see more for this character.

[Mommacat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small collection of short stories is the perfect Halloween lovers read. It's not graphic and gory but subtle and extremely well written fiction of the darkest calibre. You can pull it out year after year and enjoy.

I hope you do.

[Redrighthand · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introduction and nonfiction essay were enjoyable, but the three stories I read were unremarkable other than reminding me a lot of Joe Lansdale's shorts. Maybe I'll try it again next Halloween if I can't sell it to recoup some of my $20.

[TE · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked Partridge's "Dark Harvest" with the Halloween Boy character, which was creative and engaging, so I was hoping that this short volume would be something similar, but, unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with the included offerings. It just takes so much talent to pull off a good short story - the likes of Kurt Vonnegut and Edgar Allen Poe can get it done, but it takes a literary luminary, it seems, to formulate a superlative volume of shorts. Most are mediocre at best, but I hate to say that this one couldn't really even muster that.

There were a couple of stories herein that were interesting, including a short story featuring the "Dark Harvest" universe. The standout for me, however, was the autobiographical (I think) account of the author's memories about the Zodiac killer in Northern California in his youth, which seemingly shaped his love of horror. I would have loved to have seen more of that - perhaps a volume regarding different people's experiences, real or fictional, during those dark days. Thus, the short chapter in this book which tells a good tale about those terrifying days, entitled "The Man Who Killed Halloween," was the best of the log. The Zodiac episode in Northern California was, I suppose, analogous to another set of slayings in southern California in 1969 (I don't like mentioning the names of that particular group of degenerates, as their victims are the ones who deserve to be remembered rather than the killers), the mastermind perpetrator often being accused with "killing the '60s."

Although the premises of some of these pages-long stories were promising, they were just too short to be of any substance.
-"Johnny Halloween" tells the tale of a corrupt cop recounting the circumstances surrounding the death of his brother, but overall, as with most of the others, it just didn't make much sense.
-I think my least favorite was "Satan's Army," about some religious wackos in the vein of Fahrenheit 451, which was just nonsensical and left too much unsaid.
-My favorite was "The Man Who Killed Halloween," which was the most genuine as the author's own recollections of what occurred in the wake of the Zodiac killings in the small town of Vallejo.
-"Black Leather Kites" was similarly weird, and needed much more of a back story to be effective. It did have some more comical elements which made it at least relatable.
-"Treats" was similarly odd and fantastical, but, again, as with most of the others, it just needed more substance and back story.
-"Three Doors" was passably decent, being one of the longer stories.
-Another of my favorites was the Dark Harvest Tale, which provided some background on one of "Dark Harvest's" most loathed characters, one who meets a much-deserved end - the vicious, corrupt police officer Ricks.

Not much else to say about this one, other than it's not really worth the time. I did like the additional Dark Harvest tale, but there just wasn't anything else that was very interesting, as much as I really wanted to like this compilation of short stories from an at-last capable author whose other, longer work I very much enjoyed.

[Scott Marlowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating



Review

*** This review originally appeared on Out of this World Reviews. ***

Johnny Halloween by Norman Partridge is a collection of Halloween-themed horror short stories. All but one of the stories appeared previously in other publications. Partridge is perhaps best known for Dark Harvest, which won the Bram Stoker Award in 2006. This collection contains references to that novel in multiple stories, and concludes with a story set in the same town as Dark Harvest aptly called “The Jack o’Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale.”

In fact, a word of caution: DO NOT READ “The Jack o’Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale” until you’ve read Dark Harvest. That story is so closely related to Dark Harvest that it will ruin it for you if you read the story in this collection first. I did, and, yes, it did indeed ruin the ending of Dark Harvest for me.

Johnny Halloween is a fairly quick read. It took perhaps two hours to consume its 125 pages. While every story is not specifically Halloween related, at minimum they each contain a spooky overture inline with the spirit of the holiday. Supernatural elements are present in only some of the stories, though the setup for something otherworldly is there in almost every story, so it isn’t until the end that you find out just what you’re dealing with. When a story does delve into the supernatural, it does it effectively, with the right amount of spookiness and unexplained mystery. The author’s style, which is easy and flows well, reminded me a lot of Stephen King. There’s a fair amount of swearing, but it’s used effectively.

The best story in this collection was “The Jack o’Lantern.” It contains the heaviest dose of supernatural elements and was a real page turner. The worst? Calling anything in this collection “worst” doesn’t feel right because I found all of the stories well-written and enjoyable in their own way. But if I were to call it the “least ranked” instead, I’d say the story “The Man Who Killed Halloween” rated the lowest. The author makes a point of discussing in the introduction how he grew up in the 1960’s in the Bay Area where the Zodiac killer struck multiple times and so this story is obviously his expression of that time period in his life, but it fell somewhat flat for me. I don’t doubt having the fear of a serial killer hanging over your every waking moment is something tangible and real, but I didn’t feel those elements were conveyed well in the story itself.

All told, Johnny Halloween is a good collection and a worthy read for this Halloween or any other. I give it three rockets.

[Rachel Bridgeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you happened to have read any of my #Spooktober posts from last year, you'll see that Norman's 'Dark Harvest' was a firm favourite, so I was stoked to see I had more Halloween themed treats to enjoy, in the shape of 'Johnny Halloween:Tales Of The Dark Season' published in e-book or hardcover formats by Cemetery Dance.

Boy, Norman sure packs a whole heap of story into this short collection of 6 stories and 1 essay, all based in, and around, Halloween.

And there is a welcome return to the world of the October Boy, which was incredibly satisfying, and yet left me wanting more.

The essay on the effect of the Zodiac killer on his small community of Vallejo, is placed in the middle of his fictional tales, leading you to reflect on the impact of real life, versus make believe horror. That it is called 'The Man Who Killed Halloween' is so impactful, reading how it side-lined a celebration of all things scary by a seemingly uncatchable human monster, who could be anyone in your neighbourhood, any at all, is properly terrifying.

This is a love letter to the season of scares, which takes the notion of trick or treat and turns it completely upside down, in a all too real tale where those who enjoy the spooky season are systematically oppressed, run down and even killed.

There are beasts, ghosts, and the Pumpkin headed October Boy, which gives a fresh spin on a night which tends to be based around re-telling of old tales, old myths and legends. In Wales, we have this tradition called the Mari Lwyd, which still goes on to this day, we believe in corpse candles, and black dogs, changeling beings and goddesses made from flowers. And don't forget the dragons. So as a child brought up on the oral story telling tradition, I have absolutely no problem buying into the notion of other worlds, cracks in the fabric of it through which the wary viewer can spy all kinds of things.

Norman Partridge's works are perfect for these darkening evenings, they make you wonder what is hiding behind the rustling of the leaves, what is lurking in the shadows. They are stories that leave you on tenterhooks, leave you wondering and in this reader's humble opinion, that is a priceless gift that any writer can give a reader. They take up space in your mind and linger.

[Geoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is one nonfiction piece in here; it is called The Man Who Killed Halloween. Partridge was a boy and lived in the town where the Zodiac killer was murdering people. This led to him being afraid and all the innocence of childhood was over for him with Halloween. It’s interesting but not as powerful as longer works on this subject are.

The last piece is The Jack o’ Lantern and is another story about The October Boy and the Dark Harvest universe. But this time there’s a new monster in town called The Jack o’ Lantern. This was a welcome return to this setting and Partridge doesn’t repeat himself. Good stuff!

[Kerry]

Norman Partridge serves up six delicious, blood-dripping stories and a moving personal essay for spooky season with his collection Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season. The atmospheric stories conjure autumn leaves and ripe apple orchards, buckets of white roses and full-sized boxes of Crackerjacks (with prize inside!) My favorite of the collected short stories was “Satan’s Army” which brought back the Satanic Panic in an insidious way, though it was a treat to revisit the land of the author’s “Dark Harvest.” This nostalgic group of flash fiction/short stories are perfectly bite sized treats to put readers in the mood for Halloween.

[Satrina T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on Día de Muertos Holiday so I haven't been able to read and that's why it took me so long to read this short book.

I liked it even if I felt sometimes the stories were a little bit short

Favorite part: I liked The Man Who Killed Halloween a lot and also Satan's Army and The Jack O'Lantern: A Dark Harvest Tale for the background it provides for Dark Harvest although I should say this last one got me confused because at first I thought I was reading about the murder of the police officer from Dark Harvest until I realized it was about his dad

[Chereamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was pretty bad to be honest. I loved the idea of Halloween stories, but like reviews mentioned when I downloaded it, every story was unfinished. And not in a “leaves you hanging” kind of way, but in a “I’m too lazy to finish this” kind of way. It was really a waste of time to read. I am definitely disappointed - should have trusted the reviews. I made it to 75% but realized when I stopped reading altogether for an entire week that I wouldn’t be able to finish it, I put it away and started a new one. DNF, do not recommend. 👎👎👎

[Shelly Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun book of short Halloween stories. I especially loved the Zodiac killer one, which he wrote from his point of view as a young boy living in the same small town where the murders started. It was my favorite. Aside from one that I didn’t really care for, they were all really enjoyable.

[Ian Gielen · Rating 4 out of 5]

happy halloween!

An interesting collection of stories including my favourite of the book set in the Dark Harvest universe.
Each story is different and diverse and even has the authors own experience with growing up in the same area when the zodiac killer was active.
Good halloween read.

[Amanda Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose I expected more about Sawtooth Jack and the Run. The last story is about that but doesn't seem that far removed from the original. The other stories take place in the same town but handle different subjects and I don't know that they cover anyone we might know from Dark Harvest.
Taken as a whole the book is a quick read, the stories short and to the point. But a little bland.

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this collection—it had the perfect spooky setup for October reading. But most of the stories felt rushed or underdeveloped, and I struggled to connect with the characters. The writing has flashes of grit and atmosphere, but the pacing was uneven, and some plots just didn’t land. Overall, it didn’t deliver the chills or cohesion I was hoping for.

[David Swisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover is excellent and there is a nice essay here about the Zodiac killer called 'The Man Who Killed Halloween." As for the fiction here, I struggle to find anything positive to say and I'll leave it at that.