Halloween Haunts: The Highwayman By David B. Riley

One of the first stories I ever had published is “The Highwayman.” I’ve actually managed to get it reprinted some 10 times over the years at various anthologies and such. It’s very short, kind of whimsical, and I tend to dust it off every October. I debated whether to use it for Halloween Haunts as it’s not really horror.  But it definitely is a Halloween story.  I hope folks enjoy it.   

“The Highwayman” by David B. Riley

Kalcouldn’t tell for certain no one had seen him, but there weren’t any sirens screeching through the night. He opened the hatch and climbed down.  So far, so good.  He hurried across the park then stopped by the statue of some guy on a horse.  The house he wanted was just across the street.  He looked right, then left, then scurried across the open area and slid under a tall bush.  So far, so good.

He hoped the commander wouldn’t find out what he was doing. He doubted he could explain why he was 100 light years off course.  If all went well, he wouldn’t have to. Kal looked around.  Surely, this was too easy.  He switched on his voice translator and readied his ray gun.  It was time.

He climbed out from the bushes and strutted boldly up to the front door. A slight sense of dread was trying to overcome him.  He fought it off.  If only humans weren’t so darn big.  He reached the porch.  His antennae were vibrating from the music inside.  At least they were home.  He readied his ray gun and pressed on the door bell button.  He liked the pleasant chiming sound it made and rang again.

Slowly, the big door opened and he peered up at a human female. He raised the weapon.  “Give me Earth food now,” he ordered in his most forceful manner.

“Oh, George, come quick.”

It’s summoning its mate, Kal thought.  He prepared to fire.  Then a human male arrived holding a tray of candied apples.

“He’s so cute, just like a little space man,” the female said.

“Less talk, more food,” Kal ordered.

“Of course. You’ve got a long way to get back to your planet,” the male said.  A very sensible individual.

“I just made them,” the female stated.

He placed one in his loot sack. It was so big he decided not to ask for more of them. Kal didn’t want earthlings to think he was greedy.

“Good night.” The male closed the door.

Kal scurried back across the street. A human child wearing a mask ran toward him.  He readied his ray gun.

“They got candy apples?” she was asking.

“Yes. They look good.”  He held tightly to his sack in case she tried to grab it.

“I’ll go get me one.” She trotted across the street. Kal holstered his weapon and watched.  Without any weapon, the young child obtained a candy apple from the elderly couple.  Kal reasoned the mask must be frightening to humans.

The earth child stood at the edge of the sidewalk and waived. “Happy Halloween,” she yelled.

“Yes, happy.” He felt oddly pleased the young child called Halloween had gotten an apple as well.

Earth food was so addictive. He headed for the ship.  This had worked so well he would try it again, tomorrow.

TODAY’S GIVEAWAY: David is offering one free print copy of Six Guns Straight From Hell 2. Comment below to enter or send an e-mail to membership@horror.org with “HH Entry” in the header.

DAVID B. RILEY is the editor of a new, just released, western horror anthology, Six Guns Straight From Hell 2.   The book contains stories by HWA members J. A. Campbell, Jason Andrew and Kenneth W. Cain and the cover is by member Wayne Miller. David’s Amazon Author Page.  David’s Blog.

Weird western, western horror, crossover stories. They’ve been called a lot of things. The one thing no one should call them is some “new kind of horror.” This is a genre that goes back more than 100 years. That always seems to surprise people when I’m giving talks on the subject. I don’t know that labels are really important to anyone but the critics. I do know I’ve always enjoyed these stories whether they’re in comic books, the pages of books like this one or even the occasional film.

When I look for a story for a project like this, the main thing I want isn’t just horror elements, but something fun to read. I think the stories that follow in these pages live up to that. Additionally, there is the namesake. You’ve no doubt noticed this is volume two. The first book carrying the name Six Guns Straight From Hell came out in 2010 and was co-edited with Laura Givens. It was very popular. It was time for another one. I hope there are even more to come.

You’ll find a wide variety of horror and dark fantasy in these pages. One story skirts modern times as it tries to deal with some ghosts of the Civil War. Another has an African tie in to an Arizona adventure. Of course we’ve got a haunted mine, complete with a very unusual ghost hunter. And what western-themedbook wouldn’t have gunfights? Rest assured, we’ve got ’em. So saddle up for a wild ride through the Old West. We open this book with a character from the first volume, starting with an adventure featuring Joel Jenkins’ popular Native American gunfighter, Lone Crow. Also featuring stories from Vivian Caethe, Sam Knight, Kit Volker, Dakota Brown and David Boop.

$13.95

ISBN-13: 978-0692277928

ISBN-10: 0692277927