Andreya's Asylum

Bad Apples is a MUST read for anyone likes horror, dark fiction, or Halloween in general. A collection of 5 short (but not too short) stories these "Five Slices of Halloween Horror" are everything you need to set the mood for a haunting Halloween.

THE RIGGLE TWINS by Gregor Xane: Hands down 5 stars. If you think that you are safe by ignoring all of the Halloween hubbub by simply turning out your lights and holing up in your house - think again. The Riggle Twins will help ensure that all of your future Halloween's are filled with lights and candy. Lots of candy. When Sam digs up some double-trouble, the Riggle twins are all evil and ready to play. From the mechanical expressions to dressing their tributes up as a bride and groom, everything about this story was original and bursting with creepy Halloween goodness. I would love to see more from the Riggle Twins.

PUMPKINHEAD TED by Evans Light: 4.5 stars. Life can't get much worse than having a head shaped like a gourde, an agoraphobic mother, alcoholic father and no friends, right? Wrong. PUMPKINHEAD TED is the story of a kid who was made for Halloween, whether he likes it or not. Kind of sad, quite disturbing and very well written. This is a story for underdogs everywhere.

GHOST LIGHT ROAD by Adam Light: 3.5 stars. We all like urban legends. We all like to be scared. Except for when the urban legend turns out to not be some ghost lights out the road but rather a slice of unimaginable backwoods horror. This one was very much a case of you should watch what you wish for.

EASY PICKINGS by Jason Parent: 4.5 stars. Two bullies. One small defenseless boy. An imaginary friend? Trevor never met a kid he couldn't bully. With Rascal, his trusty (if slightly useless) sidekick, the scrawny boy in the ball field talking to himself is an easy target to score some candy on Halloween night. At least until they meet Jacob... This one reminds me of Tim Curran's Blackout and has forever changed the way I think of smoothies.

THE SCARE ROWS by Edward Lorn: 5 stars, only because I can't give it more. My personal favorite. An entire town flocks to the promise of the most amazing Halloween attraction that seems to have popped up overnight. When people start showing up, what they find is nothing like they have ever seen before and nothing they will want to remember. Sick and twisted? Absolutely. Will it give you nightmares? Maybe. What I do know is that I may never eat corn on the cob again.

The best Halloween horror collection I have read. Bad Apples is undoubtedly going to be my new Halloween ritual and should be yours too. 

This book was provided to me as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

© 2014 Andrea Rawson of Andreya's Asylum