What an amazing book! Brian Freeman outdid himself choosing the stories for this Halloween anthology - each story is more terrifying than the last.

THE WAY LOST by Kelley Armstrong - Franklin is different from other towns. Sometimes children lose their way. Don't go near the forest...

LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama - On Dia de los Muertos we honor the dead. Even when we have trouble letting them go.

THE DEVIL’S DUE by Michael McBride - In a snow covered town richer even than Vail, McBride paints a terrifying portrait of an ancient evil.

A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS by Taylor Grant - A chilling tale of a woman dealing with a fear of both ghosts and Halloween...and finding out that her fears are justified.

THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER by Greg Chapman - Gerald lived his life in fear because of an incident in his childhood.

The writing in all of these stories was incredible. If you miss you this, you've missed easily the one of the most frightening books this year.

Highly Recommended.

Halloween Carnival Volume 3 is the 3rd book in a 5 book series. Each book features 4 or 5 short stories written by a different author. These books are pretty short. Only takes a little of an hour to read the whole book. A new book will be released each week of October in 2017. The final book will be released on Halloween.

The stories are scary or creepy. I think they were more creepy then scary. I really enjoyed this book. I liked seeing each of the authors style of writing. I liked all of the stories but if I have to choose a favorite it would be LA CALAVERA by Kate Maruyama.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.

Halloween Carnival is a series of five ebooks from Hydra (Random House) featuring unique and creepy short stories. One volume will be released each week in October 2017, with the last coming out on Halloween.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so I'm loving these story collections!! The cover art is fantastic & the stories are deliciously varied and creeptastic!

Each volume features five Halloween theme stories. In Volume 3:

The Way Lost - Kelley Armstrong. Every year on Halloween a kid in Franklin disappears. Dale knows they go into the forest and never come out. But why doesn't anybody ever ask any questions? This tale is delightfully chilling from beginning to end....a great opener for this anthology!

La Calavera - Kate Maruyama. She used to attend the Dia De Los Muertos Festival at Hollywood Cemetery with her friend Jasmine. But this year she's going alone. Or is she? This is an entertaining story. Nice build to a fantastically creepy end!

The Devil's Due - Michael McBride. Prosperity in Pine Springs, CO comes at a high price that one man isn't prepared to pay. A wickedly cool tale of fear and sacrifice.

A Thousand Rooms of Darkness - Taylor Grant. Anne is afraid. Panic attacks. Phobias. She's especially scared of ghosts and Halloween. Turns out she has a very good reason for being afraid. OMG....this story was great! My favorite of this collection. The creep-o-meter maxxed out on this one for me. Fun, scary read!

The Last Night of October - Greg Chapman. Gerald knows kids should avoid the corner of Blake and Washington Streets and that Halloween is dangerous. He's known that since he was a kid and made a choice. One that comes back to haunt him every Halloween. Great story -- reminds me to always check the peep hole to see who is at the door before I answer it! You never know (especially on Halloween) who or what might be there....wanting in.

Halloween Carnival Volume 3 will release October 17th 2017 from Hydra (Random House). I heartily recommend it for anyone who enjoys horror short stories and Halloween!

I received an ARC from NetGalley to read and review. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, authors, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to review.

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL: Vol. 3 is a mutli-author horror anthology. Each story can be read individually and as standalones. This publication consists of short stories, not novel-length pieces. This third volume consists of stories written by Kelley Armstrong ("THE WAY LOST"), Kate Maruyama ("LA CALAVERA"), Michael McBride ("THE DEVIL’S DUE"), Taylor Grant ("A THOUSAND ROOMS OF DARKNESS"), and Greg Chapman ("THE LAST NIGHT OF OCTOBER").

Like the first two volumes, this was an extremely fast read; I read the entire collection in an hour. I enjoyed the stories, but I didn't find them to be scary. I must have a higher threshold for fear than the average reader. These stories were very unique, and I enjoyed them, especially Armstrong's story.

I recommend this anthology if you're looking for a good Halloween story rather than a scary story. 4 stars.