The Halloween Carnival Vol 3 is the third in a five e-book horror series launched just in time for the spooky season. Each book serves up five short stories by genre masters – as well as some talented up-and-comers – for the low cost price of $2.99 and will be released, one a week, throughout October in the lead up to Halloween.

Volume 3 sees stories by Kelley Armstrong, Kate Maruyama, Michael McBride, Taylor Grant and Greg Chapman and is the pick of the series to date.

Each of the five yarns are wonderfully crafted and creepy and rich in Halloween spirit.
The pick of the bunch is Greg Chapman’s excellent novella The Last Night in October about a sickly old man haunted by a strange young boy each Halloween. It’s a cracking tale full of suspense, old secrets and regret and the strongest story of the series so far.

Armstrong’s The Way Lost is another powerful story about a small town haunted by a child’s disappearance each Halloween, while McBride’s The Devil’s Due is a chilling story of small town sacrifice. Grant’s A Thousand Rooms of Darkness is another twist-filled story about a woman haunted by the fear of Halloween while Maruyama’s La Calavera is a moving story of love and obsession.

Overall, this is the strongest collection so far and a book that’s impossible to put down. To be followed by Volume 4 on October 24.

This disturbing collection of seasonal tales gets off to a strong start with The Way Lost by one of my favourite authors, Kelley Armstrong. Though short, this story impressed immensely , especially the ending which was not what I was expecting.
Next up is La Calavera by Kate Maruyama, a story of love and obsession that comes to a head during a Dia de los Muertos celebration.
The Devil's Due by Michael McBride is a true old school horror story with some fairytale like influences , and I enjoyed every word.
A Thousand Rooms of Darkness by Taylor Grant turns the tables on the helpless victim trope and is stronger for it.
The last story in the collection is The Last Night of October by Greg Chapman is an exploration of guilt with a side of supernatural and again it's a really good story, very well told.
This was easily my favourite of these Halloween Carnival anthologies, with every story giving me chills in a different way.

This book does not disappoint. Not a dud in the bunch. A well put together collection, that I enjoyed reading.

Review of HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL VOLUME 3
Edited by Brian James Freeman

One of my most admired aspects of this series is that Editor Brian James Freeman so diligently selects a variety of stories which range beyond the routine--stories whose themes and plots burrow into the reader's imagination to linger on at great length. The stories in this installment (which include Kelly Armstrong and Michael McBride) turned me inside out, inspiring a reexamination of reality as it appears to me.

<b> The Way Lost </b> "Every Halloween, one child in Franklin lost his way and never came home. The next morning before school, we would circle the playground, trying to figure out who was missing, locating our friends with relief... and our enemies with disappointment."

<b> La Calavera </b> A young white girl wants to honor her Mexican friend, who has gone missing, during the Day of the Dead celebrations. Is she really missing or did her friend have something to do with it?

<b>The Devil's Due</b> In a small town where everything seems so perfect, families are sacrificing their young daughters on Halloween night to keep that perfect facade from falling. One father will risk his life and his families to stop this ritual.

<b>A Thousand Rooms of Darkness</b> Anne has some phobias. She's afraid of ghosts and of Halloween. Hoping Therapy has been working she's finally got the man of her dreams and life is just about perfect. But everyone is not as they seem.

<b> The Last Night of October</b> Gerald Forsyth is an angry, sick, old man. He hates Halloween and everything about it. As soon as night falls on Halloween, he sits watching his door, waiting for his yearly visitor. This year things are different. His visiting nurse calls in sick and the replacement isn't anything that he expected. Will they both make it through the night or will Gerald pay for what he did many years ago?

I got an ARC of this book through NetGalley. It's a bunch of short stories thrown together to try to scare the living crap out of you to celebrate Halloween. The first couple stories were a little mild and helped build up some suspense. It wasn't until the third story that they really started getting to the good stuff that would keep you up at night checking your house at every little sound. The last story is a bit longer than the rest and it was probably my favorite. The beginning of the book does drag a little bit so I wouldn't really recommend the first three stories. However, if you get scared easily then it might be better to start at the beginning and ease your way in.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Excerpt from Review: "...As in Volume Two, each tale found in Halloween Carnival: Volume Three is captivating. Each and every author featured hear is very descriptive, allowing the reader the opportunity to envision everything that is happening in their mind’s eye. Each and every author here knows how to snatch and keep the reader’s attention, doling out only so much information…so many clues…until the big reveal at the end of the story. I loved each and every minute of this anthology and can’t wait to check out the next volume!"

Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Unique, creepy, spooky stories for your Halloween reading pleasure! I loved these, as well as the first two volumes!

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL: Volume Three, contains five new stories perfect for the Autumn season. This anthology had some very strong stories, in my opinion, and only one that didn't work as well for me, in terms of its execution.

My personal favorite would have to be Michael McBride's, "The Devil's Due". This story hit all the right notes: a small-town community, well kept secrets, mental as well as physical terror, and even the weather kept with the isolated feeling.

Kelly Armstrong's, "The Way Lost" is a captivating tale about a town where disappearances at Halloween are simply . . . overlooked . . . This one kept me enthralled until the very end.

Kate Maruyama's, "La Calavera", is a poignant tale of loss, love, and the keeping of traditions. ". . . Sometimes, no matter how much we feel a thing, want a thing, . . . some things were never really meant to be ours . . ."

Taylor Grant's, "A Thousand Rooms of Darkness" had some great mental imagery, but seemed to take a while to get to any of the real action.

Greg Chapman's, "The Last Night of October", had a good concept and some interesting characters. However, I think this would have worked better in a shorter format, as much of the dialog seemed repetitive and unnecessary. The main idea painted a nice visual, but could have easily been introduced sooner in the narrative.

A strong selection of stories revolving around Halloween, with something that is sure to appeal to all horror enthusiasts.

Recommended!

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

Nothing here raised my hackles or made my thumbs prickle, but it's a nice Halloween collection. I did appreciate the gruesome image that author Greg Chapman laid on me with his notion of mutilated pumpkins sitting on porches, smiling their horrible smiles.

4.5 stars once again the stories are really good and are a bit strange but not scary or spooky or creepy ,but their still good to read doing October,once again thinks NetGalley for letting me read and review these series .

Oh wow! Terribly terrifying, I was delightfully frightened by these authors.

Halloween Carnival Volume 3

The Lost Way – Kelley Armstrong – Every year in Franklin, one kid disappears. They “lose their way” and are never seen again. It's not until years later, grown and moved on with his life that Dale finds out exactly what happened to them, only it's nothing like he remembers. This story is good. It's short and to the point. I enjoyed the physiological aspect with the main character and I thought it was very well done. 4 stars!

La Calavera – Kate Maruyama – A girl is distraught after her room mate, Jasmine, disappears. She vows to make a calavera for her families altar at the Dia de los Muertos festivities in memory of her friend. Through the story we learn the main character was probably in love with her roommate, and was desperate not to lose her. When Jasmine decides to look for apartments with her boyfriends, everything goes wrong. The story ends with the protagonist confronting Jasmine's family and presenting them with the calavera, which turns out to be more than just a calavera. This story wasn't bad, but it also wasn't good. I felt like the protagonist (I can not remember if we ever got her name or not) was dealt a bad hand, and obviously made some irreversible mistakes. It wasn't really a mystery though, because you can tell right from the start what's going on. This story gets 3 stars from me.

The Devil's Due – Michael McBride – A small town make a deal with the devil, but when it comes time to pay up, one man risks everything for his family. This was a great story. It was short and to the point. Well thought out and creepy. 5 stars!

A Thousand Rooms of Darkness – Taylor Grant – This story starts out a little slow but it definitely picks up. Anne is afraid of ghosts and also… Halloween. With good reason though, everyone in her family has died on Halloween. Halloween is approaching again and Anne is in a new, happy relationship, she's trying to not to let her fears interrupt her daily life, but she just can't. And on October 30 when her boyfriends car breaks down and she's left home alone so close to Halloween, she just can't help but be a little...terrified. This story was really scared toward the end. I read while I was home alone and I ended up creeping myself out. So don't read this while you're home alone at night. Unless you're braver than me. You probably are. 5 Stars!

The Last Night of October – Greg Chapman – This story takes up the last 45% of the book, it's all about an old man named Gerald who is home on Halloween waiting for his Hospice nurse to come ceck on him. She arrives and soon trick or treaters are knocking on the door. Gerald insists that she ignore them. “Do not open the door, woman!” But naturally she opens the doors and unknowingly lets a demon into Geralds house. Gerald seemed to be expecting it and refused to explain to the distraught nurse what is happening. There was a lot of “shut up women, I'm thinking!” going on. This story could have been short and simple, but it was not, it got seriously boring right in the middle and I was nearly asleep by the end of it. 2 stars.

Overall, this vol was better than the first 2, I definitely like more of the stories, with the exception of the last one. So I give this book 4 stars!

THE WAY LOST, LA CALAVERA and THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER (if you can forgive the nurse's 'too stupid to live' behavior) make this collection worth the read.

I would have given Volume 3 four stars if not for THE DEVIL'S DUE and A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS. Both of these bored me out of my mind. I couldn't finish Devil's Due and skimmed Thousand Rooms after suffering through its first few pages.

The collection *is* worth the read for the other three stories I mention.

This series is fab and fun! Halloween is my favourite holiday and I’ve really enjoyed reading these to get into the Halloween spirit. These stories are definitely creepy and each one ties into Halloween in some way. The stories aren’t terribly long so they’re quick reads. Very highly recommended! Get a cup of tea and a warm blanket and settle in!

This is an anthology of five stories, all centred around Halloween: The Way Lost, by Kelley Armstrong; La Calavera, by Kate Maruyama; The Devil's Due, by Michael McBride; A Thousand Rooms of Darkness, by Taylor Grant; and, The Last Night of October, by Greg Chapman. I've already read and loved many books by Armstrong and McBride, while the other three authors are new to me.

The stories are solid enough, although none stood out as exceptional. The McBride and Armstrong contributions are, as far as I can tell, brand new for this collection, and both are well-written and enjoyable. The scope is fairly limited, given that the anthology is Halloween-themed, but each story is distinct. On the whole, it was an enjoyable way to while away a couple of evenings.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong
The kids in Franklin don’t ask questions. Each Halloween, one of them disappears into the forest. Dale promised his mother he’d never go into the woods alone. But the kids in Franklin also lie.

LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama
The Día de los Muertos Festival at the Hollywood Cemetery used to be ours. Now, without Jasmine, it’s only right that I go one last time in her honor—before I let her go for good. . . .

THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride
Pine Springs, Colorado, has prospered for generations by honoring its traditions and its promises. Then one man refuses to do his civic duty—and the price he must pay is fatally steep.

A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant
Samhainophobia: an irrational fear of Halloween. Phasmophobia: an irrational fear of ghosts. For Anne, these terrors are more rational than she knows.

THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman
Every year, one little boy wearing a grotesque Frankenstein mask comes knocking at Gerald’s door. Gerald has always managed to avoid him . . . until this year.
The books are amazing. When I started reading I couldn't put it down.Keep up the good work.

Halloween Carnival Volume 3, edited by Brian James Freeman was received direct from the publisher. Halloween anthologies are like a box of chocolates, in that you never know what you are gonna get. Of these five authors of these novellas, I had only heard of and read two. The stories as presented, in my opinion are not very horrific, meaning they are thinking mans "horror," set to a Halloween setting. While many may enjoy this, I personally "likes me some gore." Volume 3 moved along quicker than Volume 2 did, in my opinion. My final score is the average of each if the five stories. Fall is the air and it is time to read some Halloween stories, maybe just maybe you should start with this one.

4.25 stars

This is the third in a series of five Halloween Carnivals. Like the others, the anthology features 5 different authors and are centered on Halloween.

This one is my favorite thus far. Four of the five were about people dreading Halloween, which I found interesting. We have a story about the fear of ghosts and Halloween (Grant's A Thousand Rooms of Darkness); a cautionary tale about letting trick-or-treaters in when you have a questionable past (Chapman's The Last Night of October); a yarn on how to be a good dad when you live in a town with horrible secrets due to your own nasty forefathers (McBride's The Devil's Due); and a predictable but gruesome recounting of a Día de los Muertos Festival and one woman who has a hard time abandoning both her Halloween plans and her old friend.

Once again, my favorite is the first in the book. The Way Lost by Kelley Armstrong begins: "Every Halloween, one child in Franklin lost his way and never came home." First Billy Carson, the annoying next-door neighbor who teased the dog. Then Sue Parker, the pretty girl who attended the same church as our protagonist. Then Richie Gibson, the sad little boy whose mother died. Our protagonist is convinced that one day, the police will come to him to learn Franklin's secrets as he was someone who saw what lived in the woods and escaped... And unfortunately, they do...

"Every Halloween, one child in Franklin lost his way and never came home."
These words began my dark and delightful foray into Halloween Carnival 3. I was looking for scares and I certainly got them. Volume 1 and 2 were good but this is the best so far of this 5 part anthology series that will be released in time for Halloween.
Oh my gruesome goodness! Every one of these tales was amazing. I would not even be able to choose a favorite as I normally do with short stories because every single one gave me chills. From ghosts to demons to twisted psychological terror this anthology is a horror lover's dream.
5 out of 5 fright filled stars from me.

I received an advance copy for review.