October Dreams:: A Celebration of Halloween

Classic novellas, never-before-published stories, essays on the history, literature, and films of Halloween, and real-life memories of October 31st-from today's best practitioners of fear:Dean Koontz * Peter Straub * Poppy Z. Brite * Rick Hautala * Steve Rasnic Tem * Elizabeth Engstrom * Thomas Ligotti * Gary A. Braunbeck * Jack Ketchum * Thomas F. Monteleone * Hugh B. Cave * Simon Clark * Christopher Golden * Ray Bradbury * Jack Ketchum * Alan M. Clark * Gahan Wilson * Paula Guran * John Shirley * Tom Piccirilli * Jack Cady * David B. Silva * Robert Morrish * William F. Nolan * Michael Cadnum * Richard Laymon * Douglas Clegg * Douglas E. Winter * Stanley Wiater * Caitlín R. Kiernan * Lewis Shiner * Yvonne Navarro * Tim Lebbon * Kim Newman * F. Paul Wilson * Owl Goingback * Dennis Etchison * Stephen Mark Rainey * Charles L. Grant * Kelly Laymon * Dominick Cancilla * Kristine Kathryn Rusch * Michael Marshall Smith * Wayne Allen Sallee * Ramsey Campbell * Ed Gorman * Stefan Dziemianowicz * Peter Crowther

Amazon.com Review

A winner of the International Horror Guild Award, October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween is undoubtedly the grandest horror anthology ever compiled on the genre's signature holiday, and unlikely to be supplanted in that position. Weighing in at almost 650 pages, this intelligently selected compendium contains work from nearly every contemporary bestselling author, cult favorite, and hot up-and-comer in horror. The volume mixes a generous amount of well-written new fiction with classic reprints, several "Favorite Halloween Memories," an informative "Short History of Halloween" by Paula Guran, a well-chosen "Overview of Halloween Films" by Gary A. Braunbeck, and an equally useful "Reader's Guide to Halloween Fiction" by Stefan Dziemianowicz. Many of the authors contribute both a story and a Favorite Memory, and Ray Bradbury, to whom the volume is rightfully dedicated, contributes these and a poem. No review can do justice to an anthology whose table of contents crowds three pages. But perhaps a taste of three stories will suggest the breadth and depth of the whole. Ray Bradbury's subtle "Heavy Set" considers what it might be like to be the mother of a muscular, disturbed, and exceptionally attached son. In the West Coast gothic "A Redress for Andromeda," Caitlin R. Kiernan presents a beautifully written consideration of the costs of a hidden secret. Artist Gahan Wilson proves himself also talented at fiction with "Yesterday's Witch," in which trick-or-treaters find the neighborhood witch isn't any such thing ... or is she?October Dreams is highly recommended to all fans of horror and dark fantasy. --Cynthia Ward

About the Author

Richard Chizmar is the World Fantasy Award-winning editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and numerous anthologies. He is also the author of more than forty published short stories, as well as the recent hardcover collection Midnight Promises. Robert Morrish is a writer whose work has appeared in Cemetery Dance magazine.

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