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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
I thought it would pick up when they got to actual halloween, but jesus was this slow, with nothing happening whatsoever.
An entertaining, quicker read for spooky season. I enjoyed the idea behind Halloween and the town it terrorized every night
I’m not usually a huge fan of stories where you ‘see’ the monster but I absolutely loved this! A super quick read but definitely worth your time. A well written good old fashioned Halloween story :)
This was a good introduction to C V Hunt's writing, which I really enjoyed. The characters were all surprisingly fleshed out despite the short length of the story and the basic plot was pretty compelling. Only knocking off a star because the ending kind of felt rushed and unfinished.
In the town of Strang the residents are haunted by a creature known as Halloween. Every night the citizens of the quaint town offer Halloween a treat in the form of a live animal. There is an understanding that you follow the tradition, never breaking from it. No one dares to go against the routine nor Halloween himself. One man, Barry, along with the help of two carnies decides it's time for things to change. It doesn't help that Halloween has taken a liking to taunting poor Barry.
Halloween Fiend is a wonderfully spooky and suspenseful short read with a satisfying ending that had me smiling. Hunt's writing is easy to digest, the characters are interesting and thought out, and the world building for such a short story is on point.
It reminds me of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
Halloween Fiend is a wonderfully spooky and suspenseful short read with a satisfying ending that had me smiling. Hunt's writing is easy to digest, the characters are interesting and thought out, and the world building for such a short story is on point.
It reminds me of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
Even though the description said “small live offering” the animal sacrifice still bothered me. Luckily nothing graphic happened with the animals.
I’m happy this was a short read, since it wasn’t overly compelling. The monster was more absurd than scary. Most of the inhabitants of the town were just kind of despicable. The plot didn’t make a ton of sense, it didn’t feel tense or urgent at any point. It spent a lot of time on character development without you really leaning much about any of the characters. Its short, it’s halloweeny, but it’s definitely not scary.
I’m happy this was a short read, since it wasn’t overly compelling. The monster was more absurd than scary. Most of the inhabitants of the town were just kind of despicable. The plot didn’t make a ton of sense, it didn’t feel tense or urgent at any point. It spent a lot of time on character development without you really leaning much about any of the characters. Its short, it’s halloweeny, but it’s definitely not scary.
I loved this short story, it was creepy and original and my rating system only requires that a story entertain me and leave me wishing I could see this in a film.
This was a solid 5 star read for me until the end. Then the ending upset me because it felt like we were getting a great finale to Halloween until…it wasn’t. That’s just me wanting a happy ending I guess.
All in all I really liked this and would recommend to anyone who loves all things spooky.
This was a solid 5 star read for me until the end. Then the ending upset me because it felt like we were getting a great finale to Halloween until…it wasn’t. That’s just me wanting a happy ending I guess.
All in all I really liked this and would recommend to anyone who loves all things spooky.
The first half, maybe even two thirds, were lots of fun. Sorta fell apart at the end for me though. It was a big build up that didn’t quite fulfill the promise.
Basically, there’s a town that’s gotta do a nightly ritual, plus a yearly ritual. For some goddamn reason they invite some outsiders to assist with the fall festival (which is connected to the yearly ritual), but it’s critical the outsiders don’t find out about the ritual. Is that vague enough I don’t have to count this as including spoilers?
I thought there’d be payoff on this, and there really isn’t.
Imagine Independence Day, and when will smith punches that alien in the face, we discover the aliens’ weakness is a good ol fashioned American face punch. Kinda anticlimactic, right? And sorta weird that this conquered race that has spanned galaxies is so easily defeated. Wouldn’t you think someone would’ve thought of that before?
Anyway, that’s kinda what this book is like. Pretty good, but it’s that kid in class capable of a lot more, it’s just that a science teacher can’t grade your crappy project based on your personal potential, they have to grade based on the level of average students, know what I mean.
I should bump this up to a four for the description of a granny in a semi-transparent cat costume dancing around with a diaper visible underneath. Fuck you, I’m entitled to my kinks.
Basically, there’s a town that’s gotta do a nightly ritual, plus a yearly ritual. For some goddamn reason they invite some outsiders to assist with the fall festival (which is connected to the yearly ritual), but it’s critical the outsiders don’t find out about the ritual. Is that vague enough I don’t have to count this as including spoilers?
I thought there’d be payoff on this, and there really isn’t.
Imagine Independence Day, and when will smith punches that alien in the face, we discover the aliens’ weakness is a good ol fashioned American face punch. Kinda anticlimactic, right? And sorta weird that this conquered race that has spanned galaxies is so easily defeated. Wouldn’t you think someone would’ve thought of that before?
Anyway, that’s kinda what this book is like. Pretty good, but it’s that kid in class capable of a lot more, it’s just that a science teacher can’t grade your crappy project based on your personal potential, they have to grade based on the level of average students, know what I mean.
I should bump this up to a four for the description of a granny in a semi-transparent cat costume dancing around with a diaper visible underneath. Fuck you, I’m entitled to my kinks.
A short, fun read perfect for spooky season. It reminded me alot of "The Lottery".
Halloween Fiend is what you get when you take any of the "human philosophy" out of horror. Sure, maybe it's fun sometimes to have a story just be about a spooky monster in a shitty town, but without a clear and cogent statement about the human condition and our fears, what's the point?
The novella seems to steal elements from other horror novelists like Shirley Jackson and Stephen King without any of the emotional or philosophical ideas either like to play with. The story just feels flat, like a principal ingredient to the batter is missing.
I like my horror with more substance than this novella was willing to commit to.
The novella seems to steal elements from other horror novelists like Shirley Jackson and Stephen King without any of the emotional or philosophical ideas either like to play with. The story just feels flat, like a principal ingredient to the batter is missing.
I like my horror with more substance than this novella was willing to commit to.