Halloween Street Complete Collection: 31 Short Stories

Description:
There are tricks and treats on Halloween Street. For the first time, get all thirty-one Halloween Street stories in one collection!

These 31 stories feature the residents and otherworldly visitors of Halloween Street, a neighborhood filled with horror, magic, and strange happenings. Within these stories you will find ghosts, monsters, witches, cursed dolls, savage killers, and other twisted souls. Nothing is as it seems on Halloween Street.

Danse Macabre, Halloween Street #1

Description:
An old woman receives a ghostly visitor on Halloween night.

Fun Fact!
The original title of this story was "The Last Dance". As I was making the teaser video for the series, the classical piece by Camille Saint-Saens "Danse Macabre" had the best tone and pacing for background music, and I decided it would make a perfect title tie-in to launch the series! The music is also mentioned within the story itself. 
 

 

Witches' Brew, Halloween Street #2

Description:
Three young sisters meet a trio of witches, who teach them that some monsters are real.

Fun Fact!
When I sat down to write my Halloween Street series, I knew I wanted to draw from my own Halloween experiences and utilize pieces of my nostalgia in order to give the series a more personal touch. The title of this story is borrowed from the first Halloween song I ever remember learning, which was "Witches' Brew" by Hap Palmer. I was about five at the time, and I loved the song so much, I would sing it all the time (my sister can attest to that!). Sophie, the youngest sister in the story, is loosely inspired by my own child self (my favorite color is and always has been purple!).

The Beast Inside, Halloween Street #3

Description:
An abusive husband gets a taste of his own medicine on Halloween night.
 

 
 

;

Graveyard Air, Halloween Street #4

Description:

A group of kids spend Halloween night in a graveyard to try and raise the dead.

Fun Fact!
When I was about twelve years-old, I would sometimes attempt to write songs. Unfortunately, I was never musically gifted, so the results were rather...bad. One of the earliest songs I wrote was entitled "Graveyard Air", and as lame as the song and lyrics were, I actually always really liked that title. So, I figured since I would never let that song see the light of day, I could at least recycle the title for something worthwhile.

Dead Things, Halloween Street #5

Description:
A gravedigger finds a mysterious book that brings his wife back from the dead.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Monster Mash, Halloween Street #6

Description:
A Halloween party turns frighteningly real as the party guests transform into monsters.

Fun Fact!
This story was written as an homage to Bobby Pickett, who co-wrote and performed of the song "Monster Mash".  "Monster Mash" is a Halloween staple and has been one of my favorite songs to listen to at this time of year for as long as I can remember. When I decided to write this series, I knew I had to include a story that incorporated it in some way. It actually became a bigger part of the story than I even originally planned for, and I'm really happy I could pay tribute to a great man who kept Halloween alive and well for so many years.

Night Moves, Halloween Street #7

Description:
A teen couple encounter a large, monstrous beast who eats anything and everything in its path.
 
 
 
 
 

Late Shift, Halloween Street #8

Description:
A security guard working the night shift soon discovers he may not be alone in the building. Are the mysterious sights and sounds just his imagination...or something else?
 

Dollie Dreadful, Halloween Street #9

Description:
A toy store sells a limited edition doll that turns its collectors into savages.

Fun Fact!
When I was young, it was very common for drug stores and even grocery stores to have Halloween promotions where they would sell inexpensive Halloween themed dolls and plush toys as a way of getting shoppers. It seemed to be popular during the whole Beanie Baby craze, and stores were basically trying to cash in on the "collector mentality". This has fallen along the wayside, at least where I live, but it was something I really bought into in my youth. Back before the internet and eBay, if you missed out on a "limited edition" item, there was a real feeling of loss, because the likelihood of coming across it again was pretty low. But on the other hand, when I did find and buy something rare or possibly collectible, there was a brief "high" and excitement, but it was never very long lasting. It's the thrill of the hunt, I suppose, whereas the capture isn't quite as fulfilling as one might assume it's going to be. So, when I sat down to write this story, I wanted to explore a sort of extreme collector mentality, mob mentality, and obsession.

Bloody Mary, Halloween Street #10

Description:
A little girl's slumber party turns into a waking nightmare after a game of Bloody Mary.

Fun Fact!
Bloody Mary is a well known urban legend, and a like a lot of kids, I used to play the game with my friends in my youth. The game is interesting to me because it actually kind of works. Okay, no, you don't really summon the spirit of Bloody Mary, but spinning around three times in the dark and then looking at your reflection does give you the illusion that someone else is looking back at you, even if just for a second or two. As a kid, that was usually enough to freak me out. Mirrors have always been unsettling to me, as they do seem like a gateway to a parallel world. I'm sure this stems from the multiple movies I saw and stories I read when I was young about just that, but the games of Bloody Mary probably didn't help either!

Retro TV, Halloween Street #11

Description:
A man takes a trip back in time to a past Halloween that has haunted him for fifty years.
 

Unchained, Halloween Street #12

Description:
Life imitates fiction when a horror writer's words begin to manifest and create the monster from his story. 
 
 

Pumpkin Carver, Halloween Street #13

Description:
A lonely man and master pumpkin carver holds an unsettling secret.

Treat Bag, Halloween Street #14

Description:
A little boy finds a magical treat bag on Halloween night that gives him whatever he wants...for a price.

 
  

The Scarecrow, Halloween Street #15

Description:
After a night of mischief, a bully gets taught a lesson by a sinister scarecrow.

Fun Fact!  
Scarecrows have been an intrigue of mine since I was a kid. I always loved them, probably starting with the Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz book and movie. He was always my favorite character. When I was about eight or nine, something changed. Scarecrows became a source of fear, after I read the short story "Harold" from Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark 3 by Alvin Schwartz. The story revolved around a scarecrow who was mistreated by the two farmers who made him and ultimately seeks revenge. This story has stuck with me my whole life, I think about it a lot, and it gave me a lifelong love/hate relationship with scarecrows. On one hand, I love them, I think they're charming. On the other hand, there is something creepy about a stuffed man hanging from a post. My story "The Scarecrow" basically represents my torn feelings about them, and is also a bit of an homage to "Harold". Is the scarecrow in my story evil? That's up to you, the reader, to decide :)

Something Different About Them, Halloween Street #16

Description:
A teen girl meets her new neighbors, a family who share a strange deformity.

Fun Fact!  
I came up with the idea for story when I was just sixteen years-old and started to write it as a novel in 1999. I only got a couple of pages in when I got stuck as to how to make entire novel out of the premise. When I started jotting down ideas for stories I wanted to include in my Halloween Street series, I remembered the early draft of Something Different About Them and decided it was time to revive the lost story. In the end, I think it works better as a short, rather than a full-length novel.

Stalked, Halloween Street #17

Description:
A paranoid housewife spends Halloween night alone...or does she?
 
 

Brain Eater, Halloween Street #18

Description:
Three brothers ring the doorbell of a recluse who’s rumored to be a murderer that consumes human brains.
 
 

 Doyle's Village, Halloween Street #19

Description:
A man obsessed with his model Halloween village soon finds himself living there.

Fun Fact!  
The idea for this story came from a memory I have of looking at my own ceramic model Halloween village and wishing I could live there. This moment happened years ago, when I was still pretty young and having an "anywhere but here" kind of yearning. As I thought back to this, I realized how strange a thought it was, even if it was fleeting, and decided to write this story based on it.

Boo, Halloween Street #20

Description:
A cruel nurse who neglects and abuses the elderly patients at a nursing home, gets her comeuppance on Halloween night.

Haunted Garage, Halloween Street #21

Description:
A young boy explores a neighbor's homemade haunted garage attraction, only to discover the horrors inside are real.

Fun Fact!  
One Halloween when my sister and I were out trick or treating, we were walking down the street to the next house when a cop car pulled up alongside us. We were good kids, but of course our first thought was that we were in trouble for something (probably for being too old to trick or treat :P). Of all the strange things, he stopped us to tell us about a neighbor who had a "haunted garage" attraction that we should check out. He also gave us some candy from a bag on his front passenger seat and then went on his merry way. Probably one of the oddest Halloween memories I have because it just seemed so random. My sister and I did end up checking out the "haunted garage" and it was very cool. Well worth the moment of panic of having a cop stop us on the street. This little memory served as the inspiration for this story.

Caller, Halloween Street #22

Description:
A woman caring for her father begins receiving strange phone calls on Halloween night.
 

 
 

Candy Skulls, Halloween Street #23

Description:
Four children are given mysterious Day of the Dead candy skulls that carry a terrible side effect.
 
 

Trick or Treat, Halloween Street #24

Description:
A school teacher receives visits from a series of strange trick-or-treaters who seem to know her deepest, darkest secrets.

Fun Fact!
This is another story like "Something Different About Them" that was originally planned as a novel. Years ago in 2000, I started a book called "Lizzie The Great" that was basically about a middle-aged woman who was beloved in her community, until a dark secret from her past rears its ugly head and everyone turns on her. It was originally supposed to be written as a drama and as a commentary for how society judges certain issues and how anyone can become ostracized. The novel never really got off the ground however, and I no longer had an interest in writing it as it was originally planned. I retooled it as a short psychological horror story, and again, I think it stands as a stronger story this way.

The Abandoned House, Halloween Street #25

Description:
A group of kids dare the new kid to spend Halloween night in a supposed haunted house...with dire consequences.

Fun Fact!
The song featured in this story is called "The Ghost of John" (sometimes called "The Ghost of Tom") and is an old American folk song. The origins of it are a bit of a mystery, but it's a very creepy song that, for some reason, kids like me learned in elementary school. The original song consists of one verse, often sung in a round. I added a couple extra lyrics to suit my story.

Original Lyrics:
Have you seen the ghost of John?
Long white bones and the rest all gone.
Ooo ooo ooo...OOOooo ooo oo.
Wouldn't it be chilly with no skin on?

Monster Movies, Halloween Street #26

Description:
An agoraphobic young woman alone on Halloween night gets a nasty surprise while watching a monster movie marathon.

  
 

The Cursed, Halloween Street #27

Description:
An elderly woman collects rare Halloween treasures, but her latest find brings her nothing but bad luck.

Fun Fact!  
The inspiration for this story came from an auction that was up on eBay years ago for a supposed haunted/possessed teddy bear. The story behind the bear was really interesting and creepy, but whether it was true or not is certainly up for debate. It was definitely a bizarre item to see on eBay at the time, and it really stuck with me. The original listing is long gone but a lot of it is preserved HERE, if you're curious.

Lost, Halloween Street #28

Description:
Thirteen years after the disappearance of her sister, a young woman returns to Halloween Street to finally discover the truth of what happened to her.

Fun Fact!
The inspiration for this story came from a somewhat unsettling, but ultimately innocent enough moment from my youth. My sister and I and a friend of ours were trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. At one of the houses we went to, a man answered the door and told us to come inside while he turned around to get his bowl of candy. The three of us froze and looked at each other silently, unsure of what to do. Obviously, we knew to never go into someone's house while trick-or-treating, but my sister was brave enough to take a few steps forward towards the front door. The Halloween door mat screamed when she stepped on it, scaring us all. The man returned, looking pretty pleased with himself that his "prank" was a success. He gave us our candy and left, but as we walked away, we were all still pretty freaked out. Even years later, I wondered what might've happened if my sister made it inside the house, which is what led me to write "Lost".

Razor Blades, Halloween Street #29

Description:
After a child gets injured from a razor blade found in his candy, a nurse investigates who did it.


 

Nighty Night, Halloween Street #30

Description:
After a night of trick or treating, a young boy is terrified to go to sleep for fear his candy will attract monsters.

 

Black Cat's Tale, Halloween Street #31

Description:
A black house cat, allowed out to roam just one night a year, encounters a creepy little creature and experiences his own strange adventure on Halloween night.