What a lovely treat this volume was to read! I think that Brian Freeman has done an excellent job of choosing the stories. The stories themes are perfect for a different way to look at Halloween. I remember my mom telling me to be cautious when going to the door, trick or treating or going to a party, did yours? Reading this was the best "chocolate" I could eat! Treat yourself and read this volume!

Once again, as usual, I have to thank Brian James Freeman and Hydra for allowing me the opportunity to receive an advanced copy of Halloween Carnival Volume 4. It’s been an awesome privilege and I hope to continue doing so in the future.

Halloween Carnival is a concept collection. Brian takes stories that revolve around Halloween - written by the best of the best in the industry - and combines them into five volumes, each containing five stories. They’re a frightening way to spend the month of October, and, as I’ve said before, may just become a yearly tradition.

So, without further ado, a quick breakdown of each story:

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke - If you’re going to have a horror anthology, there are few authors better to start with than Kealan. He tells the story of Theo, an social outcast in his office, who finally decides to attend the annual Halloween party. his coworkers decide to play an awful prank on him with unusual consequences. You may think twice about accepting an invitation in the future.

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton - As sad as it may sound, I think everyone has been the victim of bullying at one point in their life. It may be physically, mentally, or even emotionally, but I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there. Ray tells of a Halloween night where the attempt to avoid a bully results in a group of friends witnessing something they shouldn’t have. Next time, stay closer to home while Trick or Treating.

THE HALLOWEEN TREE by Bev Vincent - This was a very atmospheric tale about a boy who is afraid of an old, creepy tree. He and his friends decide to get the “good candy” while Trick or Treating, and it leads them right past it. Are his fears founded in some truth? You decide.

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman - This was my least favorite of the lot. It wasn’t so much scary, as depressing. A husband and wife are in a loveless marriage and decide to end it in their own fashion.

WHEN THE LEAVES FALL by Paul Melniczek - This was a long one, almost a novella actually. Paul’s writing is so descriptive, that I could almost smell the leaves, and feel the chill in the air. He paints a perfect Halloween evening, right down to the moonlight. But this story revolves around that one old house (in this instance a farm), that everyone had in their neighborhood - the “haunted” one that legends handed down tell you to avoid. You know, the campfire tales that your older siblings tell you about. But, what if those urban legends were based in some fact? You may do well to listen and not let curiosity take control.

I have to honestly say, this volume was more atmosphere and tales of caution, than it was of horror. None of them had me looking over my shoulder, or wondering what the noise in the other room was. Most of them, however, brought back wonderful memories of walking in costume as a youth, leaves swirling and crunching beneath my feet, the laughter of friends talking, and the thrill of knocking on doors to receive candy. I believe those days are slowly dwindling away. I watch each year as my full candy bowl stays that way by the end of Halloween night - with many families going to Church “Trunk or Treat” activities, or to the malls for a “safe” Halloween party. It’s stories like these that will (hopefully) keep the tradition alive for future generations.

Reviewing short stories is hard. There is a part of the review process that relies heavily on the visceral impression of the tale. Although all the stories in this book are basically of a theme, each stands on its own, complete in every respect, including that visceral thing that says great or good or it's just OK.

As I read the anthologies edited by Brian James Freeman, I have come to appreciate the short story form more just by recognizing the individuality of each narrative and its author. No doubt, he knows how to pick just the right stories to fit whatever theme the book presents. Each volume of HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL presents five different perspectives on a holiday that is at once fun and games, and mayhem and terror.

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke
The lengths to which some folks will go to prove a point, a cruel point, is astonishing. (4.5 stars)

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton
Some stories lead you down the proverbial garden path of horror, complete with nerds and bully boys, and then, just when you expect one outcome, wham! A different, and somewhat confusing end. It's still a 4 for good writing. (4 stars)

THE HALLOWEEN TREE by Bev Vincent
I can relate. For me it was a small hole in the concrete directly over a putrid canal in Brooklyn. Children have enough sense to follow their instincts. They haven't been jaded by adulthood. When you 'follow your gut,' you are channeling your inner child. This tale of tween boys is both scary and heartwarming, (5 stars)

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman
Tastes differ. Husbands and wives are often mirror images of each other. One may obsessively love Halloween while the other can take it or leave it. Whose side are you on? (5 stars)


WHEN THE LEAVES FALL by Paul Melniczek
There is that old saying about leaving the best for last… well, I didn't find that to be so here. Melniczek has written a long tale that, at times, gets the adrenaline pumping with anticipation, but you never quite know why. It's hard to say more without giving it all away. (3 stars)

I have to say that this is the first time I've come away from a Brian James Freeman anthology not wanting to read more by every author featured. It is always important to keep in mind that all of this is one woman's opinion. You may come away with a completely different overall feeling than I have.

There is one more HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL that beckons, and the big day is almost here.

Volume 4 of the Halloween Carnival series edited by Brian Freeman follows the same basic pattern as previous entries - five authors, five stories, all revolving around the Halloween holiday. Presented here are the following:

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke
I can relate to Theo, Burke's central character and the office outcast attending his job's Halloween party when he’d rather be at home. I’m not sure I’d behave the same way, though, if confronted by a roomful of frozen, mannequin-like party-goers. The story itself is strange, with no explanations as to why and how, but it’s a fun little distraction. It's WTF quotient is very high, and, as with with every one of his works I've read, Burke proves to be a hell of writer even if this particular story wasn't one of my favorites.
3/5 stars

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton
Ray Garton’s an author I’ve been wanting to try, and this story was a solid intro to his writing. A group of bullied kids in search of candy stumble upon a very strange Halloween party. The depiction of bullying and cruelty among children struck a particular chord with me. I had to deal with my share of bullies in school, and I found the ordeals this particular pack of teens face to ring true. While I never had to deal with torments like the ones depicted here, I found the kids and their situation very familiar and relatable. This one hit all the right notes for me, and I’ll be reading more of Garton’s work for sure.
4/5 stars

THE HALLOWEEN TREE by Bev Vincent
I couldn’t get into The Halloween Tree, unfortunately. It was a little too one-note, and not very exciting or scary. It’s another story following some kids trick or treating and facing their fears, but it pales in comparison to Garton’s story, and there’s just not much happening with either the plot or the characters.
2/5 stars

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman
What do you when you love Halloween, but your partner does not? This story of spousal dissatisfaction, was enjoyable, but there's not any real surprises packed into its short page count. It's entirely predictable, but Suleiman's characters sure made it all pretty darn entertaining.
3/5 stars

WHEN THE LEAVES FALL by Paul Melniczek
Haverville is a strange town, but everyone knows not to trespass on farmer Graver's land. Leave it to two kids to defy that small nugget of common knowledge on Halloween, though. What they discover will change their lives forever! WHEN THE LEAVES FALL was a pretty dry note to end this anthology on, and slightly more than half of this book's page count are dedicated to this particular story. It's slow and plodding, and asks way more questions than it can, or is even willing to, answer, but the biggest problem is how dull it all is. Even for a (longer) short story, I still found it a slog to get through.
2/5 stars

Having read now four of the five Halloween Carnival books back-to-back, I feel like I'm getting burned out on anthologies, and this series in particular. But there's only one more entry to go, and I'm determined to finish these. So, onto Volume 5...

[Note: I received an advanced copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley.]

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL: Volume Four, edited by Brian James Freeman, is a collection of four short stories, and one novella all featuring the theme of "Halloween". Honestly, I found the selection in this collection to be mediocre compared to the other volumes I've read so far. However, there were two stories that stood out among the rest, for me.

The first story in this book is entitled, "The Mannequin Challenge", by Kealan Patrick Burke. Theo, a man set in his dull, routine existence, finds that he is invited to an office party this year. Despite his anxiety about socializing and leaving his comfort zone, he decides to make an appearance for once. . . The imagery in this tale was superb! Between the very well written flow of words, and the characterization that we "see"--rather than simply be "told"--about our main character, the events that unfold had me at the edge of my seat until the very end. The entire episode was one that I couldn't predict a single scene in, and so well done that I didn't once doubt its veracity in relation to Theo. A full five stars for this one!

The only other selection that really grabbed my interest was the novella, "When the Leaves Fall", by Paul Melniczek.. This was a story that dealt strongly with emotions on all levels. The "what" and "why" of things that are happening really take second place to the feelings generated by the narrator. Everything about this small town is easy to visualize and "feel" in your mind. I felt that this one was more about the fantastic journey, than it was the actual final destination.

". . . There were some battles you couldn't win, but that didn't mean I was going to lose, either . . ."

While this Volume was not my personal favorite, it is definitely worth looking up for those two stories, alone.

Having read Volumes 2,3 and 4 of the Halloween Carnival short story anthologies. I can honestly say that this one, Volume 4, was my favourite, and in particular the last story. I held on every word of the book!

Faultless plots and pacing as well as imaginative Halloween scenes and an interesting cast of characters made me love this.I was scared at times. Very atmospheric!

5 stars!

I'm looking forward to Volume 5

Thanks to the authors and Random House for my ARC.

This was a good, quick read. It wasn't as good as the previous volumes but still hits the mark. I enjoyed reading it. Now moving on to volume 5.

Excerpt from Review: "... This edition of Halloween Carnival wasn’t perfect, but I still enjoyed a great deal of it. I could give or take The Mannequin Challenge. There was something that really bugged me about this story, but to discuss it in too much detail would give away too much of the story, so I will refrain. Across the Tracks was not at all what I was expecting. I thought that the trio of bullied kids would finally come out on top – I could never have expected what the author had in mind for them, not in a million years. The Halloween Tree was a terrific tale of friendship overcoming horrific challenges. I wasn’t rather fond of Pumpkin Eater and already figured out the twist in the tale before it was half finished. When the Leaves Fall drew me in and I couldn’t put it down until I knew just what was going on in Haverville, and though the story’s ending is a bit on the open side, I can understand exactly where the author was going with this tale and loved it..."

Editor's note: This review first appeared on the Mountain Time (Boone, NC) website on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017: http://www.wataugademocrat.com/mountaintimes/horror-writing-for-the-mind-brian-james-freeman-s-halloween/article_d8689f00-81fd-590c-aad9-e1ae44571894.html

Horror writing for the mind: Brian James Freeman's 'Halloween Carnival' series offers weekly dose of terror

By Tom Mayer
tom.mayer@mountaintimes.com

We join our heroes and villains in media res. Sort of.

Not sort of because we are short of heroes or villains — there are plenty of each in Brian James Freeman’s well-edited five-volume “Halloween Carnival” (Hydra) anthology series — but because the volumes are publishing as an e-book one per week on the five Tuesdays of October. Currently, we are on Volume 2, with Volume 3 following on Oct. 17, Volume 4 on Oct. 24 and the whole thing smartly culminating with the Oct. 31, Halloween release of Volume 5.

Not to worry. Since the series is e-reader only with each volume composed of stand-alone short stories of the horror variety, it’s an easy matter, and fairly inexpensive at $2.99 each, to quickly catch up at your favorite online platform.

Which, after reading any volume in the queue, is what you’ll want to do.

Volume 2 is where I picked up the series, and was hooked by the end of Glen Hirshberg’s “Mr. Dark’s Carnival,” an eerie tale reminiscent of the best horror writing from a generation ago. Well-written with the type of competency that appear effortless, Hirshberg offers the "I watched Tricia trot out the string of studiously whitened teeth like a row of groomed show horses” throwaway metaphor that seems so easy we all could do it.

But we can’t, and neither can most authors, at least not to the level of mastery in these five volumes.

From the likes of Hirshberg’s wonderfully dark tale and the even more wonderfully unsettling Al Sarantonio’s “The Pumpkin Boy” in Volume 2, to those authors you’ll look forward to in other volumes, including Richard Chizmar, Lisa Tuttle and Peter Straub, these are some of the best horror stories you’ve never read, and some of the best you may have — most stories are of 2017 origin, with a few, such as Hirshberg’s and Sarrantonio’s, having an earlier copyright.

Yet, every tale reads like it was written as an homage to the Golden Age of terror. Can a horror story be both character and plot driven, both contemporary and generational? The best can, and there are many fine examples in these volumes.

Freeman, an author, publisher and editor who sold his first short story at 14 and first novel at 24, has collaborated with many of the authors you’ll find in these pages. He’s in great editor mode here, producing enough chilling tales in just the right weekly bytes to take you from now to Halloween.

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. 2.5 stars

The Halloween Carnival Vol 4 is the fourth 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 4 sees stories by Kealan Patrick Burke, Ray Gatton, Bev Vincent, C.A. Suleiman and Paul Melniczek. It’s a solid collection of tales but not the strongest in the series.

Again it’s the excellent novella, this time When the Leaves Fall by Paul Melniczek that makes this worth the cover price. A suspenseful story about two teens who uncover a dark secret in their small town, it’s a well-paced and entertaining read and is the clear stand out of the volume. Also worth a look is Ray Gatton’s Across the Tracks – which also sees a trio of friends stumble across a dark secret in their town while out trick or treating.

Overall, it’s a weaker entry that the previous three volumes but the low cover price still makes it worthwhile for Gatton and Melniczek’s entries. To be followed by Volume 5 on October 31.

Review of HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL VOLUME FOUR
Edited by Brian James Freeman

Each installment of this wonderful series leaves me with yet more stories that are powerfully impacting. Each installment contains four new stories plus one previously published. Editor Brian James Freeman chooses the cream of the crop for each edition. Every story is a winner: excellently written, and tremendously scary. I recommend the Halloween Carnival series as a top choice when you are looking for October scarefests.

A perfectly timed seasonal collection of short stories, ideal for dipping into when you have a few minutes to spare.
The first story in the collection, The Mannequin Challenge by Kealan Patrick Burke is about a nightmare work party, and definitely gets the book off to a disturbing start.
Next up we have Across The Tracks by Ray Garton, a slightly longer story that clearly shows people are the worst monsters of all.
The Halloween Tree by Bev Vincent uses a common childhood experience to evoke fear.
Pumpkin Eater by C.A. Suleiman is my personal favourite, a well known nursery rhyme becomes the inspiration for a dark and twisted tale of murder and revenge.
The final and longest story in the book is When the Leaves Fall by Paul Melniczek , where the mysteries of Graver's Farm are revealed.
Overall the stories are more disturbing than outright frightening, but enough to give the reader a delicious chill here and there.

a nice collection of stories that will see you through a rainy autumn night. a fairly quick read, but only because the tales are well written. a good choice for a halloween read.

Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The perfect Halloween short story collection. If you love horror, pick these up! I am enjoying flying through each volume! This one has been my favorite so far!

It's that time of year again and my pile of books to read is towering! I had to choose which of the Halloween Carnival books I was going to request because I knew I wouldn't have time to read all 5. The reason I chose Volume 4 was because of 2 authors-Kealan Patrick Burke and Ray Garton. They didn't disappoint! These and another story stood way out for me, and here's a bit on each of them:

THE MANNEQUIN CHALLENGE by Kealan Patrick Burke is the first story and it's killer. Maybe it's because I love the kind of tales that are just plain weird and offer NO explanation-they just ARE. A quiet and reclusive man decides to attend the Halloween party at work, just this one time. What will he find? You'll have to read it to find out! This one made me laugh out loud with delight.

ACROSS THE TRACKS by Ray Garton was a blast. For whatever reason, to me this tale had a distinct Ray Bradbury feel to it, but I think the ending might've even blown Bradbury himself away. What fun!

THE HALLOWEEN TREE I've seen Bev Vincent's name around and I am friends with him on various social media, but I believe this is the first time I've read one of his stories. I enjoyed it! Any kid with an imagination can make something scary from an inanimate object. In this tale, it's a tree. But what made this story different was how the kids dealt with the problem. I found this to be the most surprising story in the bunch and it made me smile.

I did enjoy the other two stories in this anthology, but these three stood tall and they alone are worth the price of this book. The other two are just the gravy on top!

Recommended!

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

The fourth in a five part series. Net Galley provided this book for an honest review.

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.

Work place gatherings can be awkward. There are cliques and sometimes you feel like you just don't belong. Never so much as in this story. Well paced and very creepy. Good start to this installment.


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. . . .

A favorite author of mine combines trick or treat fun with some bullies, adds a dab of hot for teacher action and tops it off with some horrific scene of depravity. Intrigued yet? You should be. Great story that leaves you wanting more.

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?

Its just an old tree, or is it? Obsession and fear take hold and where can it go? Nicely paced, suspenseful and satisfying.

PUMPKIN EATER by C. A. Suleiman
Peter loves Halloween—almost as much as he hates his wife. Luckily, his favorite holiday presents an opportunity to fix his problem. After all, putting his wife in her place should be as easy as pie.

Peter, Peter Apple Pie eater. Nasty little tale of revenge.

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 Haverwille was really hiding.

Slow in parts but it picks up near the end. Not my favorite story in the bundle.

The Mannequin Challenge - Kealan Patrick Burke – This is story of a sad man who goes to his offices Halloween party, where he walks in to find everyone frozen in place. No matter what he does to them, they don't move, even when he pricks them with skewers and takes off their clothes… To be honest, I hated this story. It was sad and also disturbing, and completely pointless. 0 stars.

Across the Tracks – Ray Garton – This is a classic Halloween short story, following a few kids as they Trick or Treat. But when they crash a party at their teachers house, things get weird. The first half of this story isn't bad, but there some surprisingly graphic bullying scenes (disgusting scenes.) And I'm not really sure why it ended the way it did. What exactly happened there? I couldn't tell you. 1 star.

The Halloween Tree – Bev Vincent – Again, a classic Halloween story. Luke and his buddies are trick-or-treating for the first time on there own, but they're all afraid of a scary looking tree on the corner. They spend all night avoiding it, until a dog chases them and they end up in the clutches of the tree...literally. I feel like this particular story would have scared the pants off of me when I was 5, but as it stands it was just kind of boring. 2 stars.

Pumpkin Eater - C. A. Suleiman - Peter loves Halloween, but his wife does not. According to Peter, his wife doesn't love much of anything, and after he finds out that she's been having an affair, he makes plans to kill her on Halloween. Things don't go as planned however, when she discovers his plan. 3 stars.

When the Leaves Fall - Paul Melniczek - Even after being warned to stay away from  Graver’s Farm, two small town boys can't help but to see for themselves. They sneak down to the farm one Halloween and find most of the town residents, who are suppose to be working overtime at the local factory, all working together, like zombies in a large building on the farm. I don't know if we actually learned what they were doing in this building or not. This story was so long and drawn out I was bored. It wasn't really scary either. 2 stars.

Overall I have to give this volume 2 stars. While all of the stories were Halloween related, it wasn't really that scary. I want to be scared. I want a short story anthology that will scare the pants off me, and so far, none of these have. I only have slight hopes for volume 5.

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 .