Read @ Joe’s

Title: All Hallows Eve (2026) Editor: Ellen Datlow Publisher: Titan Books Book jacket: A chilling anthology of 19 original short stories from masters of horror, delving into the histories and traditions of the spookiest season of the year. Presented by Hugo Award winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, and featuring stories by Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, and many more. Joe says: The atmosphere is there. The decorations are hung. The electric candles flicker. The soundtrack is playing somewhere in the background. Unfortunately, All Hallows Eve mostly hands out circus peanuts.

Reading a short story anthology can feel a lot like Halloween night itself. Sometimes you score a king-sized Reese’s. Sometimes a full-sized Snickers magically lands in your pillowcase. And sometimes you get a handful of off-brand hard candy destined to spend the next six months rattling around in the kitchen junk drawer.

Unfortunately, All Hallows Eve mostly hands out circus peanuts.

Edited by horror legend Ellen Datlow, this collection arrives wrapped in irresistible packaging. Dark tales. Autumn winds. Full moons. Samhain. Datlow practically opens the front door dressed like Elvira, inviting readers into a haunted house filled with promises of bonfires, masks, and things lurking at the edge of the harvest moon.

The trouble is that many of these stories barely acknowledge Halloween at all.

Fortunately, there are still a few treats hidden in the bag. Christopher Golden delivers a standout tale steeped in Romanian werewolf folklore. Alma Katsu offers a wonderfully melancholic story that mixes grief with supernatural folklore. Clay McLeod Chapman taps into a haunting depression of grief that arrives with October, while Rich Larson explores two boys’ obsession with demonic possession.

Josh Malerman’s neighborhood witch and Stephen Graham Jones’ tale of a tattoo also contribute memorable entries that provide brief bursts of that October magic. They’re the chocolate bars accidentally discovered after assuming the bag had already been emptied.

But too many of the remaining stories feel flavorless. They’re not particularly frightening. They’re not especially memorable. Worst of all, they’re disconnected from the very holiday they’re supposed to celebrate.

They’re the literary equivalent of Mary Jane taffies, Good & Plenty licorice, and those mysterious green lollipops wrapped in half-sealed cellophane.

Datlow certainly understands Halloween. The atmosphere is there. The decorations are hung. The electric candles flicker. The soundtrack is playing somewhere in the background.

The problem is that atmosphere alone can’t carry an anthology.

All Hallows Eve isn’t a complete wash. There are enough standout stories to justify digging through the pile. But readers expecting a nonstop parade of Halloween chills may find themselves trading much of this collection with the kid next door before the night is over.

Sometimes the tricks outweigh the treats. This year, the candy bowl came up a little short.

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Thanks, Titan Books and Netgalley, for the early Halloween tricks and treats of spooks and ghouls. Hey – anytime I can get an advanced story from Golden and Katsu is a celebration.