Halloween Haunts: My First Horror Book by Teresa Lo

I grew up a shy, homely nerd in a small town in Kansas. There wasn’t a ton of stuff for me to do in my community and my strict Chinese parents wouldn’t let me go out much anyway, so I spent the majority of my childhood sheltered up in my house, reading books or spending hours in front of the...

Halloween Haunts: A Slice of the Southeast Asian Underworld and Spirits of Laos by Bryan Thao Worra

“When the water rises, the fish eat the ants; when the water falls, the ants eat the fish.”- Traditional Lao Proverb Laos isn’t the first place people think of when it comes to international fear and horror.  But whether your tastes are for the supernatural or otherwise, Laos has many surprises for those...

Halloween Haunts: Those Damn Horror People by Eric Miller

I’ve been immersed in the horror world since I was a child, from sneaking into movies I was way too young to watch, to staying up on Saturday nights and watching the latest gems from horror host Sammy Terry, to attending conventions when I was a bit older, and moving on to working on a slew of horror films...

Halloween Haunts: Beneath the Veil of Flesh and Blood by Greg Chapman

Being from Australia, a land where celebrations centre more on sport than the change of seasons, I never had the pleasure of indulging in trick or treating. I knew of Halloween from seeing it on US television shows growing up, but it just wasn’t practised in Australia. “It was an American thing”. That’s not...

Halloween Haunts: Every Day Is Halloween by Peter Salomon

Little known fact: my due date was Oct. 31, 1967. Unfortunately, I ended up being three days late so even though I do not have a Halloween birthday, I was supposed to and, to be blunt, Nov. 3 is close enough. Growing up, every birthday party was associated with the holiday, whether it was the costumes or...

Halloween Haunts: Stoker Spotlight Interview with John Skipp

John Skipp is the recipient of the 2011 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in an Anthology for Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed. 1. How would you describe Demons: Encounters with the Devil and his Minions, Fallen Angels and the Possessed? JS:...

Halloween Haunts: “The Board” Spoils the Fun by George Wilhite

That year’s Halloween party was a tremendous success — drinks flowed and the mix tapes pounded our favorite tracks by the giants of eighties rock and the more obscure artists our group of twenty-somethings had discovered. The police had been by once, asking us to quiet down and please remove the fake...

Halloween Haunts: Creating Halloween by Norman Prentiss

Recently I was invited to contribute a story to a project sponsored by Cemetery Dance Publications—a series of eBook singles focusing on Halloween. A “theme” invitation is always fun, since it challenges you to write a story that you might not have written otherwise. This one should have been especially...

Halloween Haunts: The Ten Movies That Should Always Haunt Your TV On Halloween by Benjamin Kane Ethridge

1. Young Frankenstein From the lovely violin score, to the great performances, to the authentic sets, to one of the single best comedy dance numbers I’ve ever seen, this movie is a Halloween gem. My favorite line: “Open this goddamn door or I’ll kick your rotten heads in! Mommy!” 2. Beetlejuice A...

Halloween Haunts: Peculiar Genius–The Ghost Stories of M.R. James by Brad C. Hodson

“The peculiar genius of M. R. James, and his greatest power, lies in the convincing evocation of weird, malignant and preternatural phenomenon… It is safe to say that few writers, dead or living, have equaled him in this formidable necromancy and perhaps no one has excelled him.”  -Clark Ashton Smith...

Halloween Haunts: Samhain Stories by Frazer Lee

Samhain Publishing launched its Horror line this time last year, and was proud Platinum Sponsor of the Bram Stoker Awards® in Salt Lake City. Readers visiting the website http://www.samhainhorror.com will know that the roster of authors (including some HWA members) and diverse titles have grown...

Halloween Haunts: A Lucero Haunt by Brick Marlin

Twisting the doorknob and carefully peeking behind a few doors in my mind (As a writer, I have learned the hard way by “things” jumping out at me in the past; so, yes, I am very cautious!), I remember my parents dragging me off to different haunted houses. Whether it was witches holding skillets filled with...