Status Updates From Twisted Tales to Tell in th...

THE THIRTEEN THINGS YOU FOUND IN YOUR TRICK OR TREAT BAG by Gwendolyn Kiste is a very interesting way to tell a story. Items work as event on Halloween to tell the story of the night. The story has a couple good turns. You can feel Kiste writing confidence. The ending was a quiet emotion one which worked for the story but I wanted a little more, but a very good story. 4.3

MALLRAT by RIKKI GOODWIN is a good story very atmospheric. The theme and vide is death of the mall. It makes you remember the busy malls of the past and how they are barely surviving now. Mallrat isn't scary but it gave me the creeps and made me feel and remember. The story has beautiful prose and descriptions. 3.6

SPECTER HALLOWEEN by BRIANA MORGAN was a very heartfelt story. The horror element was just okay. The horror element came out of nowhere with no attempt at an explanation. The character reveals were great, and I empathised with the sibling relationship. 2.7

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE DEATH by GREG PATRICK is a good idea, but poorly executed. Horrible dialogue way too many adverbs used which made the story hard to read at times. The final image was great with just the right description. The story is about a serial killer on Halloween who gets tricked. 2.5

NIGHTMARE REALM by Leigh Kenny was just an okay story with an decent ending. The plot is a group of friends go to a place called the Nightmare Realm which is a warehouse turned into a haunted attraction. He is warned before, but it does work on him. This reminded me of Dean Koontz's The Funhouse. The story took me a while a to get into it for me. 2.7

BACK HOME AGAIN by Alan Dellascio is a creepy atmospheric horror with a great ending. This is a horror with heart delivered by a rotting corpse. A father goes trick-or-treating in his old neighborhood, he has just returned to and is followed by a rotting corpse. What does it want? The pace was a little slow at the beginning but great ending. 4.6

TRICK OR TrEATment by Haley Newlin is about a woman who is out of it due to a treatment she receives, I was thinking chemo or something it is not. It is pretty sinister. The story is dreamy it reminded me of The Yellow Wallpaper. The story has that domestic power imbalance where the husband wants a better wife. This story took a turn and is pretty gory. I liked the female empowerment. 4.3

NO STRINGS ATTACHED by V Castro is a great haunted puppet story. The story starts off like a typical run of the mill haunted puppet, but Castro twists it like the stings in the story. The story nailed the themes of no string relationship with the puppet. Good character work and writing. 5

WHEN LEAVES BURN by Donna Taylor is a great atmospheric horror about the autumn woods. This story creeped me out very good visuals. The title works great with the story. The creepy dread was well told for such a short story . My favorite story so far. 5

THE HAUNTING OF THORNWOOD CEMETERY by Maria Giakoumatos is a good set up, but lacked a finish. In the cemetery there's a rumored staircase that leads to nowhere, but the legend is it leads to hell. The goth kids try it out, to crazy results. I liked the premise and the legend a lot. But the ending was okay. I liked a third of it. 3.5

IT LURKS by Zelda Zito is a story about two kids that are trick-or-treating when one sees something in the distance. This story was short had a confusing metaphor right at the start. Too many words used to convey simple things, made the story hard to read. The end just okay, the set up for it was weak. 1

SCARE OF A LIFETIME by Joseph Buckley is a solid horror that works on a couple of levels. I loved the writing it had great descriptions. This story is about a man that throws himself into Halloween as a way to remember his spouse who passed. He's looking for something scary and he finds it. The story, the scary part and the humor work all work great together. 4.5

THE TRAP DOOR by Skylar Crowter is a story about two girls celebrating their last Halloween. This is a well told story, creepy vibes. Good tension throughout, and good descriptions as the terror is slowly revealed. The last line is perfect as it connects the last Halloween to others. I wanted a little more originality but still good told story. 4

THE TRAP DOOR Skylar Crowter is all about two girls celebrating their last socially acceptable Halloween. The girls have a tradition where they start at a scary looking home at the end of the street. This story is creep with a haunting dread. There's a tension you can feel that made

DO YOU KNOW THE BUNNY MAN? By Angela Sylvaine I a story that is nothing special. Kids go trick or treating there's a candy dish that says only take 2 or the Bunnyman will get you, on girl does and he's after her. Predicable story. Nothing clever. 1.5