ARC REVIEW Halloween Carnival Vol 4

All this week I will posting books for to help you get into the Halloween spirit, or just help you find book that will creep you out and keep you up.

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke
"For some, office parties are the highlight of the season. For others, they can paralyze with dread. Theo is determined not to let his anxiety stop him from attending—though maybe he’s right to be afraid." blurb

I hated this one. It was mean and sad and it's the kind of story a bully would tell because he thought it was funny. It's not. There was absolutely nothing wrong with how the author wrote it he has a great style but just the content alone was just mean.

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton
"The candy’s always better on the other side of town, even if it means crossing paths with bullies. But a rich house with an unlocked door might just be too good to be true. . . ." blurb

Once again bullies. This book left me with the distinct feeling of WTF was that. 

THE HALLOWEEN TREE by Bev Vincent
"Every town has one: a house or a field or an old tree that just gives off a bad vibe. Of course, those feelings are just silly superstition, nothing to take seriously. Right?" blurb

Entertaining and fun, there is always that one tree that creeps you out and in this case they have reason to be.

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman
Peter loves Halloween, pie as long as it's dutch apple, and pumpkins. His hobby of building concrete pumpkins started years ago and gradually they have increased in size. Lucky for him this years are bound to be the biggest, big enough even for his lying cheating wife.

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her. My favorite out this anthology. It was dark and twisted and a great ending

WHEN THE LEAVES FALL by Paul Melniczek
"Haverville always seemed like a typical town to me: a place where people work hard, and no one ever really leaves. Until the night I went to Graver’s Farm—and discovered what Haverville was really hiding." blurb

This is definitely the longest one in here starting just before 50%. It was just ok, there were things I liked about and other things that fell flat. I liked the concept of it but the execution didn't work for me. It had such a exciting build up toward the end but an almost anti-climatic ending.

Overall, my least favorite volume.

ARC REVIEW Dark Screams: Volume Four

This is the first of this series I've read but I'm glad I did It has not just one but two of my absolute favorite authors and I was exposed to some other authors I will definitely keep an eye out for. This collection of horror, ghost, thriller stories gets to you I couldn't put it down.

THE DEPARTED: Clive Barker
A short touching story about what happens to a mother after she dies and is trapped grieving the loss of her son. He only hope for one last farewell is All Hallows Eve a chance to go out and see him one last time to say goodbye. Clive Barker as always weaves a beautiful and creepy tale of grief and moving on. A descriptive and unnerving look into the afterlife. Clive Barker is my stand by author for when I want strange and hauntingly beautiful stories.

CREATURE FEATURE: Heather Graham
I was hoping this was a stand-alone story not connected to her Krewe of Hunters series, sadly it was. Fortunately it really didn't matter it could be read as a stand-alone. If House of Wax didn't make me weary over wax figures this one sure as heck did. Wax figure artists gather for an expo to show off their work in a convention center that has been said to be haunted. The rumors may be substantiated when one artist ends up dead killed by her own wax figure.

THE NEW WAR: Lisa Morton
Mike Carson is a decorated war hero; his time in the retirement home was just supposed to stay long enough to recuperate, but something is keeping him there. There is a black creature tormenting the residents of the nursing home killing them off one by one. Mike has a hard time separating fact from fantasy as he experiences loss of time and visions of army buddies who've died in the war. This is a creepy and strange tale about the unknown creatures of the night.

SAMMY COMES HOME: Ray Garton
Ray Garton brings us a twisted tale of lost pets in a Twilight Zone/ Invasion of the Body Snatchers/ Pet Sematary type story. All over town pets have been disappearing and the Hale Family is no exception, Sammi, the families sheepdog has been missing for over a week; but when he shows back up looking sickly and on death's door it's only the start of something much much worse.

THE BRASHER GIRL: Ed Gorman
Probably my least favorite in this volume. The Brasher Girl is very much in the Stephen King style and I'm not big on King. It is disturbing and creepy but very dry; it didn't engage me and I didn't like the characters. The prettiest girl in town has a deep secret she has "friend" who tells her to do bad things. She acts all sweet and innocent and very much the victim luring in guys to help her but really is just as twisted as her secret friend.

Overall, this is a great collection of the strange and unusual.