Status Updates From All Hallows' Eve

"On the Night of the Welcome Stranger" by Nathan Ballingrud: 3/5 - undeniably gripping and creative, this dark fantasy is more what I expected from Ford. But despite the totally compelling premise of a subterranean ghoul world and the satisfaction of a surprisingly original romance, the plot itself doesn't make a lot of sense. Still, consummately entertaining and SO Halloween.

"Dare Me" by Richard Kadrey: 4/5 - so glad this didn't turn out to be a sadistic kid story, but it had me going for a minute. This relatively longer tale of a group of malevolent little boys escalating their pranks on Halloween is convincing, ominous, heartbreaking, and then pretty scary. A meditation on the special brand of social pressure boys exert over each other, very original.

"The Thinning of the Veil" by Jeffrey Ford: 3/5 - clearly a rushed effort from the master himself, this story of a group of friends trading stories on Halloween that ends in a mafia hit has Ford's signature style, but none of his humor or conceptual development.

"Her Mother's Business" by Garth Nix: 2/5 - not sure what that business is, exactly, but it's somethin' dark. And boring.

"Give Me Something Good to Eat" by Theresa DeLucci: 5/5 - the star of the show with the best title, best concept, more halloweeny and scariest story of all. Splatterpunk and body horror fans should be thoroughly satisfied with what would have been a hideous, primitive concept in the hands of a less elegant author. This story is of a Hartford tradition surrounding a particular witch on Halloween night.

Quite a display of mediocrity from this crew so far, with just six stories to go, but three of these authors are bona fide superstars. Hopefully, they'll bring the average for the class up a few notches. Datlow and her decree against traditional monsters has not done this anthology any favors.

"Saturday" by Chikodili Emelumadu: 2/5 - a very interesting, colorful and disturbing story, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm sure it has its basis in a tradition that would provide meaning and context, but a bad kid is taken to a sort of purgatory Saturday school and is forced to dance with (not in) "a masquerade," which has no legs and whips kids' skin off. Okay, sure. Nothing about Halloween, though.

"The Hungry Grass" by Siobhan Carroll: 3/5 - certainly a complex and faithful adaptation of Dracula. The backdrop of the Irish Famine is well used, but not very original or compelling. A little on the nose, too. Gee, she sure has sharp teeth. He's on a hallucinatory carriage ride through the mountains. She has plans to meet his daughter in England. Get it?? And yet the drained bodies still come out of nowhere.

Lucy and Mina, Millara and Lizzie, sharp teeth, stoker--we get it. Lot of buildup here.

I've read Siobhan Carroll before but this story is levels above the ones preceding it.

"Ankou's Night" by Brian Evenson: 3/5 - a finely crafted, undeniably convincing story delivered in few pages, but the ending is a narrative dead-end, like the author had an idea of what would happen, but no idea what it should mean or how it should affect the characters. A little boy is abused by his grandfather who is dying, then waits up the night before halloween to see him return from the grave. Forgettable.

"The Kuker" by Alma Katsu: 4/5 - proving that a twist ending doesn't have to involve something self-destructive, this story takes the reader down a familiar road (especially in this book) of mourning a dead family member on halloween, right before handing out candy. The protagonist's memory revolves around a Bulgarian ritual with a curious costume, which was especially meaningful to the departed. A pleasant surprise

Some disappointing showings from veterans, in this first half, it can't be denied. But some dreamweavers who never disappoint are still on the way--I'm looking at you, Katsu--including the inimitable Jeffrey Ford, the notorious Nathan Ballingrud and, closing the show as usual, Mr. Langan, who, no doubt, has some metafictional halloween-themed tentacles in store for us.

"So the Story Goes" by Christopher Golden: 3/5 - great title, great concept (as with so many CG stories) immediately convincing plot, but the thematic resolution is very superficial. Romanian traditions on halloween, sort of fairy tale wolf man setup with a twist ending to break from the pattern. Like a disappointing version of Moreno-Garcia's "Lover."

"Merciless Feast": by Linda Addison: 3/5 - this story written in verse depicts a tribal ritual in which an elder begins what they think will be a sacred rite, but turns out to be their own sacrifice. As with most poetic entries, I feel like I missed some important stuff here, so, benefit of the doubt--fairly vivid and interesting enough.

"The Devil's New Year": 1/5 - Jones' name for a halloween tradition in which a person drowns themselves in the gleam of the moon over the surface of a lake. One adherent believes her nihilistic, malignant existence can be redeemed through this act and finds just what you'd expect. Similar to Night of the Mannequins, just a lot of sadism and sociopathy, this time with a little animal cruelty thrown in. No fun.

"Forever Again" by Michael Marshall Smith: 5/5 - a new take on the old adage Hell is Repetition, this story follows a damned soul who might have been mistakenly condemned. He is told that there is a chance on Halloween to return to life, and this is his chance. Reminiscent of the brilliant books The Way Up is Death and A Short Stay in Hell.

"The Levels" by Livia Llewellyn: 3/5 - a dash of Shirley Jackson turns this hallucinatory night at an exclusive college campus party into a chilling fever dream. There seems to be some focus on regret and "FOMO" as the kids call it, but those threads didn't get tied up. Still, captivating and convincing.

"Treats" by Clay McLeod Chapman: 3/5 - a huge improvement over the first entries, this one incorporates the theme in a story of parental guilt surrounding a child's suicide on halloween. Not scary, but captivating, thougthful. Could have hit harder given more room to build.

"Good Kids" by Rich Larson: 2/5 - this tale of two trick-or-treaters sharing a Halloween with stories reflecting their religious backgrounds is certainly relevant to the theme, but it's not very entertaining and the punch line--the kids are randomly sadists!--is a seriously weak, overdone premise. Even the title seems like a smug, sarcastic throwaway name. This collection is off to a bad start, but Chapman is next.

"On the Path, Bleeding" by Lee Murray: 2/5 - set in New Zealand, this story of gang initiation certainly is "different," but has nothing to do with halloween and isn't entertaining or scary. The ending is more like "yeah, you know what's coming" than a conclusion.

"That Hannie Agnes" by Josh Malerman: devoted fan of Malerman but this story does not work: from the uncontroversial stance on the holiday to the unremarkable family interaction, this very pedestrian protagonist sees something that constitutes a ghostly encounter only in a Goosebumps book--and I think Stine might have done it better. Trick-or-treating does not a Halloween story make.