This book needed to be one of two things; instead of straddling the middle.
Either make it a 100 pg or less short story, change the title so it's not a dead giveaway of the ending and tighten it up.
OR
Make it a longer, more mind-bending book (200+ pgs) where there is much more emphasis on the children and expand the psychosis look at the family.

Instead this book is stuck in a space of not quite a short story but not really in-depth enough to be a novel. Unfortunately the title gives it all away. So that no matter how creepy or disturbing the lead-up is to the end (which is well put together) you already figured out 75% of the 'twist' of horror. This just makes it no fun to me.

It's an easy read, it does have some chilling moments but for the average horror reader I believe there is nothing here.

If you don't normally read horror then I think you'll quite enjoy it. And it's tame enough for non-horror readers to handle in my opinion.

I really enjoyed this book and its dual perspective chapters.

The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss is an epistolary novel that tells what happens to a family in one very strange October. The husband, Harris, tells his side of the story via a digital transcript, and the wife, Lynn, tells her story through emails she sends to a marriage counselor. A few random emails from a student, who has no connection with Harris or Lynn, are scattered throughout. This means that the story is told indirectly.

Harris and Lynn live in a large apartment complex. Their marriage is at risk, apparently due to a lack of communication and disagreements over child rearing. They have two children, a boy and a girl. Harris is a part time maintenance person for the complex which is managed by an overbearing boss. Lynn works from their apartment, offering computer help to callers. Soon, Harris begins to have strange experiences while on the job, the most interesting, finding a body in an unoccupied apartment. Lynn begins to distrust her children to the point where she places a hidden camera in their shared room.

The turning point comes when the manager of the complex decides to cancel the annual Halloween celebration that all the children look forward to every year. The stress builds and explodes with a surprise ending.

Somewhere between the turning point and the denouement, the story jumps ahead. Readers will find themselves wondering if a few pages are missing. The conclusion is so sudden and lacking in metered development that is causes doubt as to what actually happened in the end. Another disconcerting issue is the fact that the husband and wife speak with the same voice. Some actions seem hard to fathom. For example, Harris finds a dead body but fails to notify anyone. Then, when the body disappears, he appears unconcerned. However, it may be possible that the authors intended to create an atmosphere of confusion to enhance the surprise ending.

Given the nature of an epistolary novel, some readers may be unhappy with the lack of direct action and the large chunks of internal monologue. However, those simply looking for a quick, fun read will find more to enjoy.

I didn't really know what to make of this book. The plot kept me reading, but I was utterly confused by the end. I'm still not sure what exactly was going on.

This is more fun than being covered in pumpkin guts!

Everyone knows that in order to make a horror story truly horrific, add a child. Make that two children who decide to join forces on Halloween; well that right there folks, is terror the likes that the Devil himself couldn’t fathom.

Now, take that idea, and put it in the hands to two extremely talented writers, and you have something very special, and disturbing.

I’ve read enough collaboration pieces that I’m usually able to tell who wrote what – but not here. Brian James Freeman and Norman Prentiss go together like peanut butter and jelly. On their own, they’re pretty good (although I have to admit this is only the third piece of Prentiss’ that I’ve ever read), but together, they are that much better.

Now, on to the story. I think the only work that can really describe it is exquisite. What I really liked was the format. We get different points of views of the same time frame. Harris and Lynn are husband and wife who apparently not only have “favorites” where their kids are concerned, but also have marital issues. This is evident when you read Lynn’s account – she’s writing journal entries to a marriage counselor. Harris is the maintenance man for the apartment complex they live in, which is filled with an odd assortment of characters. Lynn does tech support from home.

Their children, Matt and Amber, are polar opposites of each other; Matt is organized and reserved, Amber, not so much. Lynn thinks that Harris babies Matt and doesn’t pay Amber enough attention. Harris thinks the opposite of Lynn.

Through some very good character development, Brian and Norman take that very volatile situation, and throw in some mischief; and here’s where it gets frightening. Things start happening around the house, and the complex. Heavy footsteps in the apartment upstairs, yet a feeble man lives there. Voices are heard where nobody is around. And it just gets weirder from there. Lynn finally blames the kids for it all and decides to punish them by “cancelling” Halloween; with dire results.

But, was it the kids, or something else? Pick this gem up and decide for yourself.

Let’s just say I will most certainly be handing out candy this October 31st, lest the wrath of The Halloween Children rain upon me.

Creepy, anything about children on Halloween is guaranteed to be creepy, right? Unfortunately I felt this short book was a little cliched and banal. It seemed to have all the right happenings, but it was a let down for some reason. Only my opinion.

7.5/10

An enjoyable short read that would have been a treat to read at Halloween. It’s not full on in your face gore but more a slow builder letting the tension drive at you and then leading to the final punch which is aiming to give you a shock.

The style of writing was engrossing, slipping between narratives showing the different viewpoints from the Mum and Dad and funny how they would interpret the interactions of the other. The delusional dad and the passive aggressive mum each viewing their children with very differing eyes and each interpreting their actions in very different ways.

This is a relative short read and can be gobbled up in a couple of sittings. I liked how much was packed into the short length. The characters were drawn out, the plot and slow build worked well taking the boiler pressure approach making each section crank up the tension. The ending was the only thing that fell flat, maybe because of the tension I was expecting more but it felt a little rushed to me. This is only a slight negative though to what is otherwise a great short horror story. One definitely to pick up at Halloween.

I received a copy of this short story collection from the author and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Right away I enjoyed the structure of this story. Told entirely through emails, transcripts, interviews (some by therapists, others by police), and point of view narration I found that this manner of telling the story gave it an immediacy and kept you guessing up until the final explanation. Unreliable narrators are always interesting but sometimes a narrator is only unreliable because their knowledge is limited. How about several totally reliable and truthful narrators with inconsistent stories? Interesting. Peeling away one entry after another brings you to the core of this story—which is horrifying, probably much worse than you were thinking.

I also like a horror story that is as much about the people involved as the supernatural elements. That takes the story to another level.

Brian Freeman is a very good writer but clearly spends much of his time editing the wonderful books that come from Cemetery Dance publications so it is a real treat to get something new from him. I recommend his Painted Darkness (2010) as a fine example of literary horror that packs an emotional edge, much like this novel. Norman Prentiss is another very talented writer of the same style and their two voices mesh completely like a Lennon and McCartney harmony but so much darker.

4 stars.

Starts out really creepy and kept me reading until I got halfway through. Then I lost interest and the ending was a letdown for me. The fun is wondering what is happening and it switches perspectives. Everything centers around an apartment complex and strange goings on. Honestly, it's not easy to find good horror novels these days, but I liked this for the most part.

The book itself was a bit long winded to me. When it was staying on track with the story line it was great. But when you were reading all of the journal entries they tended to get a bit boring to me. The story is basically the journals of Harris and his wife Lynn that lead up to the terrible night of Halloween and all the murders. I must say I am still a bit lost and I finished the book.

I would actually bump this up into 3.5 stars if I could. I enjoyed this short read and the author is talented and has a great writing style. The idea behind the book is a really good one, it just fell short for me. I don't need to provide a synopsis here, and don't want to provide any spoilers. The only 2 characters in the entire story that are fully developed are the mom and dad at the center of the Halloween massacre. There's a weird character whose outgoing emails we get to read, but we never find out why she's sending them or what her part in all this is. The book opens with a "victim" statement, but we never find out who that is either, there's one person that survives Halloween night, but that person ends up with their own POV, so I can't imagine that they were the "victim" as well especially since they end up accused of everything. We find out at the end exactly who was behind that night, but the person accused has a weird and unexplained encounter with an investigator, the book never explains what drove the killers, (were they possessed, were they exchanged with demons, were they just psychopaths?) Again, the idea behind the story was great, and it was a gripping read, it just left way to much unanswered for me to be able to fully enjoy it.

This story is told from different perspectives: the husband, Harris Naylor, is the apartment complex handyman; his wife, Lynn, does tech support from home; and the victim who you do not know who he or she is. The story takes place in the Stillbrook Apartment Complex from a few days before Halloween until Halloween night. You get to know a few of the tenants and the two children of Harris and Lynn. Everyone is a little dysfunctional. The story, to me, wasn't so much scary as creepy. The plot was well written and kept you wanting to know what would happen next. The characters were developed and as you get to know them you feel sorry for some, and dislike others. I enjoyed this book. I received this free arc from NetGalley for an honest review.

Quite possibly the best Halloween book I've ever read, reading The Halloween Children has become my yearly tradition. Since it was originally only available as a signed/limited edition from Earthling Press, I was somewhere north of stoked when Hydra decided to release this as an e-book. I was even more thrilled when I got approved for a NetGalley ARC.

How well do you know your neighbors? The residents of Stillbrook Apartments have a Halloween party every year, but as this one approaches, the general mood is becoming less than festive. With strange things happening around the building, even the handyman seems to be behaving oddly. By the time the Halloween party is cancelled, everyone is on high alert with each other and even...their own family?

The Halloween Children reaches a level of anticipation/anxiety that I've rarely had in reading a book, and if children didn't creep me out in general, this one seals the deal for me. Needless to say, I am in love with this book and very much hoping that the dream team, Norman Prentiss and Brian James Freeman, will be producing more of this creepiness together in the future.

I received an e-ARC of this from Hydra/NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Halloween Children is a creepy, atmospheric horror. I just didn't want to stop reading this one. Told from two main different perspectives and few added people along the way the story grows slowly but gradually.
I liked the way the story switched between the two main characters Harris and Lynne it felt natural and not forced. Although I found myself disliking Lynne more and more as the book went one.

A pretty good read. I can't say that this was all that scary to me. It does pick up close to the end.

This book was ok, but not for me. I thought as a big lover of Halloween, o would be a lot more interested in it. But it never really captured my interest, even at the climax. The shifting perspectives it was written in was interesting. There is a lot left unresolved, but perhaps too much.

The Halloween Children by Brian James Freeman, Norman Prentiss.
The accommodations at Stillbrook Apartments aren’t exactly glamorous, but they’re quiet, affordable, and well maintained. The handyman is usually available to help with a leak or a broken bulb, his wife and two adorable kids often tagging along. When occasion dictates, the neighbors gather to wish each other well and spread the requisite holiday cheer. Everything’s very nice. Very normal.
But as Halloween approaches, strange occurrences are happening all around Stillbrook. The children tell disturbing stories, bizarre noises bleed through the walls, and one abandoned unit is found to be inhabited by something sinister—something that’s no longer alive.
This was a fantastic read with brilliant characters. I loved the story too. Chilling and eerie. I didn't expect that. 5*. Netgalley and random house publishing group hydra.

4.5/5 stars!

Beautifully conceived and executed, The Halloween Children is a great and spooky read for anytime of year!

Husband and wife- Harris and Lynn, each tell their own story in alternating chapters. Lynn's chapters are addressed privately to her marriage therapist, and they contain a litany of complaints about her spouse and the way he parents their children. Harris' chapters tell the story from his point of view, but well after certain "events" have occurred. What those events are you'll have to read this book to find out.

My favorite type of horror is the kind with lots of suffocating atmosphere and psychological tricks, (Trick or Treat?), and The Halloween Children has both of those things, in spades. Plus, it features two children who get creepier by the second. How could it get any better for a horror fan such as myself? Oh yeah, it could finish off with an ending that actually gave me goosebumps, it was so perfect.

This is THE book to read when you are looking for that creepy kind of thrill, but it's an extra perfect book to read around Halloween. Just be sure you have some candy ready when the door bell rings and the children begin to arrive. They don't like it when they don't get candy and you don't want The Halloween Children to pull their tricks on YOU. Trust me on this!

Highly recommended, especially to fans of atmospheric, psychological horror!

*Thanks to NetGalley and to Hydra for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is it.*