So another horror anthology is completed tonight! And another themed one at that edited by the one and only Ellen Datlow along with one Lisa Morton with the title of "Haunted Nights".
The last themed anthology I've read, and also edited by Datlow, was "Body Shocks" that was themed around body horror. With haunted nights the flavor of the day are stories centered around Halloween.
I can certainly see eyes rolling and eyebrows raised right now. Why would I read a collection of Halloween themed short horror stories when it's Summer. Well for me, it's more or less about nostalgia with the holiday, back when I used to go out trick r' treating when I was still a kid.
But anyway, back on the topic at hand. So all the stories in this anthology are all centered around Halloween and also others like the pagan holiday that Halloween originated from, the Celtic holiday of Samhain. And also the Catholic Holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls Night and Dias de los Muertos to name but a few.
Its got quite a bunch of good stories with the best, I think, being John Langan's "Lost in the Dark". Actually read that one in one of Datlow's Best Horror of the Year volumes. And there are also a few of them that are quite funny along with being spooky and eerie.
Now this is the kind of anthology that any horror and Halloween fan can sink their teeth into. Good fall reading, or just good reading all year round if you ain't too picky!
by i-the-muso-1968