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A review by vondav
Collected Halloween Horror Shorts: Trick 'r Treat by Kevin J. Kennedy
5.0
With a title like this, I knew that this was a must read for Halloween. A collection of 16 short stories all with the Halloween theme. This anthology was a treat to read, whilst I was familiar with quite a few of the authors, I did not know what to expect from this book.
A few stories that jumped out at me were as follows:
Black Widow by Christina Bergling: One of the enjoyments of Halloween is “what costume to wear” Dane only had one enjoyment, to see how many girls he could sleep with to tick off his costume bucket list. He knew that his look was in, when he got an invitation. Attending the party, he saw Charlotte dressed as a spider, and the next one on his bucket list. But was it a night of passion. This story reels you in, Charlotte comes across as a sweet girl and you could see why Dane would zone in on her. The twist at the end shows just what a sweet girl she is.
Girlfriend by Andrew Lennon: Simon had finished just broken up with his girlfriend Susan. She was a bit of a control freak, so he was looking at getting his life back together. After a fatal phone call, was his life ever going to get back on track. I felt sorry for Simon, you could tell that Susan wore the trousers in the relationship and when they broke up, it was like a new start for him. I could not put this story down as I just wanted to know what happened next. If this book was made into a film, it would be riddled with jump scares. A ghost story, where there are no winners.
The Coffin Man by Mark Lukens: Every little village has its own urban legend, and the little village when Dennis and Kara were staying was no different. Living in Kara’s grandma’s house, Dennis is soon bought up to speed with the legend. Whatever you do, do not look out the window if you hear noises, just in case the Coffin Man sees you. The telling of the legend, made this a creepier story, but the ending was a surprise.
Don’t Fear the Reaper by Steven Stacy: If you have watched Halloween, then you would have heard of the surname Strode, but what if Laurie died and her younger brother Tommy was in an asylum for her murder. Amber her other sister still hated Halloween, but this year she had a plan to draw out the real killer, but on this Halloween, is the real killer revealed. This story is a real slasher story, the tension is built up to Halloween night. The death scenes are bloody and intense read.
Halloweenland by Kevin J Kennedy: What Halloween book is not complete without a scary carnival story, and I was not disappointed. Both lovers of Halloween, Zak and Wendy were really excited as Halloweenland was coming to their town. On the day of the carnival they both got up early, so they could enjoy the whole day, but as the night draws in, the carnival becomes darker and the trip through the funhouse had an unexpected ending. As soon as Zak and Wendy exit the funhouse, the action starts with killer pumpkin clowns and strange dog creatures, you can imagine Zak and Wendy fighting for their lives. Although this is a horror story it is also a coming of age and the relationship between Zak and Wendy was so sweet and innocent.
I loved this book and whilst I have only reviewed a few of the stories, I can honestly say I loved them all. I have one question what holiday anthology will Kevin Kennedy come up with next. A great horror read.
A few stories that jumped out at me were as follows:
Black Widow by Christina Bergling: One of the enjoyments of Halloween is “what costume to wear” Dane only had one enjoyment, to see how many girls he could sleep with to tick off his costume bucket list. He knew that his look was in, when he got an invitation. Attending the party, he saw Charlotte dressed as a spider, and the next one on his bucket list. But was it a night of passion. This story reels you in, Charlotte comes across as a sweet girl and you could see why Dane would zone in on her. The twist at the end shows just what a sweet girl she is.
Girlfriend by Andrew Lennon: Simon had finished just broken up with his girlfriend Susan. She was a bit of a control freak, so he was looking at getting his life back together. After a fatal phone call, was his life ever going to get back on track. I felt sorry for Simon, you could tell that Susan wore the trousers in the relationship and when they broke up, it was like a new start for him. I could not put this story down as I just wanted to know what happened next. If this book was made into a film, it would be riddled with jump scares. A ghost story, where there are no winners.
The Coffin Man by Mark Lukens: Every little village has its own urban legend, and the little village when Dennis and Kara were staying was no different. Living in Kara’s grandma’s house, Dennis is soon bought up to speed with the legend. Whatever you do, do not look out the window if you hear noises, just in case the Coffin Man sees you. The telling of the legend, made this a creepier story, but the ending was a surprise.
Don’t Fear the Reaper by Steven Stacy: If you have watched Halloween, then you would have heard of the surname Strode, but what if Laurie died and her younger brother Tommy was in an asylum for her murder. Amber her other sister still hated Halloween, but this year she had a plan to draw out the real killer, but on this Halloween, is the real killer revealed. This story is a real slasher story, the tension is built up to Halloween night. The death scenes are bloody and intense read.
Halloweenland by Kevin J Kennedy: What Halloween book is not complete without a scary carnival story, and I was not disappointed. Both lovers of Halloween, Zak and Wendy were really excited as Halloweenland was coming to their town. On the day of the carnival they both got up early, so they could enjoy the whole day, but as the night draws in, the carnival becomes darker and the trip through the funhouse had an unexpected ending. As soon as Zak and Wendy exit the funhouse, the action starts with killer pumpkin clowns and strange dog creatures, you can imagine Zak and Wendy fighting for their lives. Although this is a horror story it is also a coming of age and the relationship between Zak and Wendy was so sweet and innocent.
I loved this book and whilst I have only reviewed a few of the stories, I can honestly say I loved them all. I have one question what holiday anthology will Kevin Kennedy come up with next. A great horror read.