Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow presents this chilling horror anthology of 19 original short stories from a world-class line-up of the masters of horror, delving into the histories and traditions of the spookiest season of the year.
Featuring stories by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix and many more.
Halloween, Samhain, Día de los Muertos-festivals across the world where we can commune with those we have lost, when spirits can cross over, and when the boundary between the living and the dead is far, far too thin.
A young boy encounters a woman with an ancient and terrifying link to the holiday, a group of college students attend a Halloween party to die for, and a troubled girl exploits a local urban legend to try and turn her life around.
From America to New Zealand via the rural Romanian wilderness, this anthology explores our worldwide obsession with the spookiest season of the year, when the veil is lifted and the spirits come alive. Featuring 19 original stories from bestselling and award-winning masters of the genre, and from Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus, Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson award-winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, this anthology invites you to carve a pumpkin, light the lanterns and welcome in trick or treaters from across the world.
With stories by:
Josh Malerman
Lee Murray
Rich Larson
Clay McLeod Chapman
Livia Llewellyn
Michael Marshall Smith
Stephen Graham Jones
Linda D. Addison
Christopher Golden
Alma Katsu
Brian Evenson
Siobhan Carroll
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
Theresa DeLucci
Garth Nix
Jeffrey Ford
Richard Kadrey
Nathan Ballingrud
John Langan Praise for Ellen Datlow:
"A sterling collection... Ellen Datlow has – yet again – pulled in many of the very best writers in the field. I'm sure this is henceforth going to be the default stocking filler for any horror fan in your life." HorrorTree
"Datlow, award-winning editor in speculative fiction, comes through once again ... the gut punch of Tananarive Due and Stephen Graham Jones' stories ... cannot be missed." Booklist Starred Review
"New works from some of the horror greats" BookRiot
"Certifiably creepy... undeniably diverse spanning oceans and continents ...[to] make the connection between the so-called happiest time of the year and all manner of sinister goings-on seem as natural as gingerbread and eggnog." Rue Morgue
"Expertly crafted, adult-in-tone fairy tales set in or around the 'happiest time of the year'.... It's redolent with festive atmosphere, but it's got lots to say that may not always be comforting (as did Dickens, of course), and it offers a varied range of macabre interest, often of a sort you won't have encountered in Christmas fiction before, and yet all of which fits perfectly into the seasonal mold." -Paul Finch
"This compilation of stories that make the mundane seem terrifying is chilling and uncanny, offering tropes that will be familiar to readers of Jackson's work (witchy women, eerie suburbia) but with unique touches that could come only from these individuals authors." - New York Public Library Best Books
Other stories are equally memorable, but for me, the outstanding one is Skinder's Veil, a breathtaking blend of fairytale, dream and reality by the incomparable Kelly Link. – The Guardian
A joy for Jackson fans, but no Jackson knowledge is needed to enjoy this anthology. A gem in its own right. – SFX
This anthology is the perfect example of how a vision in the right hands can produce amazing results. Every story captures the essence of what it feels like to read Shirley Jackson's work. – LitReactor best of 2021
This is an absolute treat whether you're a Shirley Jackson nut or not. - Den of Geek best of 2021
Perfect to dip in and out of as the nights draw in – Culturefly
18 outstanding, atmospheric horror shorts from some o
