Halloween Haunts: Horror: Isolation by C.R. Langille

Horror shows its face (or doesn’t if it’s effective) through a lot of mediums these days, be it via television, movie, or my very favorite, books. There are some common themes that you can find with horror regardless of the medium. One I would like to touch upon is isolation. Isolation occurs when your protagonist finds themselves in a setting that is removed from a populated society. They may not have ready access to needed services such as medical, police/security, or even other people at all. Why is this effective? It works because when we remove easy access to help,…

Halloween Haunts: A Little Perspective by James Kendley

I probably wouldn’t have the attention span to write about Japan if I still lived there. It’s just too damned interesting. I tried, of course, but every time I sat down to the keyboard during those eight years, I was processing all the amazing things happening around me every day. I had to be 15 years and half a world away to write the book I wanted to write, The Drowning God, and even then, I needed help to get the proper perspective. First, a little about the book itself: To uncover modern Japan’s darkest, deadliest secret, Detective Tohru Takuda must…

Halloween Haunts: I Don’t Write Horror, It’s Just How I’m Made! by Christopher Alan Broadstone

Hello HWA!  And Happy Halloween 2015!  My name is Christopher Alan Broadstone, and I'm a musician, writer, and filmmaker, as well as being a brand new member of the Horror Writers Association. In the many online interviews I've given over the years I've consistently been asked what has inspired me to write such intense horror?  My instinctual response has always been: I don't write horror, I write Christopher Alan Broadstone stories. Until my first film ("Scream For Me") won "Best Short" at the New York City Horror Film Festival and my second film ("My Skin!") won in the "Best Horror…

Halloween Haunts: On Halloween, The Family’s a Saw by L. Andrew Cooper

TAKE ONE At the end of October, you may approach an unfamiliar door. The door belongs to a stranger. When it opens, you show the home’s anonymous inhabitants trust, revealing yourself in fragile form, expecting a brief moment of hospitality when the strangers might, with equal or greater ease, offer a trick far more permanent. Your trust might astound someone unfamiliar with this custom, practiced by young children in Halloween cultures or—to foil the conceit before it becomes overbearing—by horror writers who dress up their personal nightmares in gore and the costumes of classic creatures to go dancing with neighbors…

Halloween Haunts: The Haunted House That Nearly Killed Me by David Lucarelli

I'm a haunted house connoisseur. Over the years since I was a kid, I've gleefully gone to all the  various haunted houses that appear every Halloween. There have been a few close calls. I remember once catching a full length mirror that threatened to fall over on the people coming through the maze directly behind me. The incident caused the Ghoul in front of me to break character and mutter under his breath to me, “Thanks.” But of all the haunted houses I've ever been to, only one actually threatened my life.  I was on the 8th grade field trip…

Halloween Haunts: Estes Park Hauntings by Damian Serbu

The tradition – whether real or imagined – of ghosts more prominently appearing or visiting the living during Halloween inspires all sorts of stories in my mind. Nothing tantalizes me more, however, than real hauntings. And actual hauntings that touch my family especially fuel my passion for writing about the mysterious world of the afterlife. My parents live in Estes Park, Colorado, and so on a recent visit we went to the Stanley Hotel for a drink and to partake of the ghost tour. Of course, most people know that setting, and particularly room 217, inspired Stephen King to write…

Halloween Haunts: Time for a Bonfire? BYOC by Dave Sakmyster

That would be "Bring Your Own Cat," and for those of us dog lovers out there, the following investigation into this certain ancient Halloween (or Samhain) practice, will bring tears of joy and long-repressed urges to break out the marshmallows and graham crackers. Black cats (like mine) don’t know how lucky they have it today. In the good old times, back when stakes were for more than just securing tents, it was commonly believed that such creatures were the familiars of witches or were the embodiment of evil itself. I favor the latter, having seen what my little monster has…

Halloween Haunts: Tradition by Heddy Johannesen

The ancient Celts celebrated the Sabbat of Samhain on the eve of October 31st, marking the Celtic New Year. Samhain means summer’s end, pronounced “samhuinn” (Scots Gaelic spelling) when they protected their herds in the stables and stored their harvest for the cold winter. They feasted, burned need-fires, and divined with the spirits of those departed. I’m a Witch. I enjoy Samhain on October 31 by performing what is known as a dumb supper. During a dumb supper, not a single word is uttered. I lay a black tablecloth on the table and use black dishes, napkins, and cutlery. I…

Halloween Haunts: Hallowe’en Over the Pond By Sara Jayne Townsend

I was born on 24 October – a week before Hallowe’en. Growing up in the North of England in the 1970s, this didn’t mean much – Hallowe’en wasn’t a big celebration. Bonfire Night, falling five days later was a much bigger deal, and we all looked forward to big bonfires, sparklers, firework displays and throwing effigies of Guy Fawkes onto the flames. It was only when we emigrated to Canada – in January 1980 – did I discover the concept of trick or treating. I was ten years old at the time. I only really got a couple of years…

Halloween Haunts: The Scariest Halloween Costumes of All by Christine King

It’s that time of year again. I gleefully walk into the temporary outlets of spook, where all my Halloween needs can be found: zombie rats, life-size skeletons, grave stones, reapers, spider webs, fog, black lights, glow paint, dripping blood, ghouls, specters…you know, the basic fall necessities. To my surprise, here is the most frightening thing I've come across in the costume shops: I’m a fan of Beetlejuice, him being a dead guy and all. But this was not the ghostest with the mostest. In fact, these outfits were apparently among the most popular costumes of 2013. Can I say Bah…

Halloween Haunts: Ramp Up Your Imagination with a Ghost Hunt! by Sephera Giron

With the season of the witch upon us, thoughts turn towards fantasies played in the veil between worlds. The ideas of neglected ghosts and spiteful succubus aren’t too far from our fleeting thoughts as the leaves spin in chilly fall winds. Fog shrouded evenings with drops of rain or flakes of snow inspire grim thoughts about what lies in the shadows, what peers from the top window of the house down the street, what would happen if...? Writers spend far too much time chained to their computers and not enough time immersed in the world around them. The same old…

Halloween Haunts: It’s The Day of the Dead – Be Happy! by Samuel Marolla

We haven’t the Halloween tradition, in Italy. Well, to tell the truth: we have had it for a few years. But it’s not a tradition, it’s not folklore, and it’s not a great, popular celebration as in United States of America. Unfortunately, in Italy it’s only a superficial, commercial business trend. We don’t really feel it in Italy. Here we have Ognissanti (“All the Saints”), the first of November. It starts the midnight of October 31. And the day after, the second day of November, we have I Morti (“The Dead”). Indeed, this holiday is more interesting for a horror…

Halloween Haunts: Halloween Spirits—and Snacks to Serve with Them or Just Let Professionals Do It, Kate! by Kate Jonez

Halloween is a great excuse to throw a party. These themed cocktails and cute snacks to serve with them are a welcome addition to any celebration—in theory. Vampire’s Kiss This sophisticated and elegant beverage looks as though it will be as delicious as it is beautiful. Ingredients: 3 ounces of vodka (vanilla, whipped cream or cake flavored is best) Strawberry sundae syrup Red sugar Plastic vampire teeth as a garnish Preparation: Dip a martini glass in the strawberry syrup. Drizzle some on the inside of the glass so it drips. Press the edge of the glass into red sugar. Wash…

Halloween Haunts: 10 Tips for Creating a Wicked Halloween Costume by Annie Neugebauer

You’re at Halloween Haunts, hosted by the Horror Writers Association; I don’t need to convince you that Halloween is the best holiday. I don’t need to regale you with tales of childhood mischief to get you in the mood or win you over to the concept of costumes. You know dressing up is where it’s at. So whether you’re going to a huge gala, a friend’s backyard party, or throwing your own shindig, you’re going to need a wicked costume. Here are my ten tips for becoming the most bombawesome of them all. 1. Follow your spark. The best thing…

Halloween Haunts: How to be Haunted by Leigh Perry

For me, October means haunted houses! Not the real ones, mind you; those are year round. I’m talking about haunted house attractions. As part of the research for my latest book, I wallowed in reading articles about haunts and stories from scare actors. I came away exceedingly impressed by the effort and creativity that goes into scaring people night after night. I also gleaned some advice to keep in mind before you visit a haunt. 1. It’s not real. Okay, you probably know that these aren’t real insane asylums or vampire castle, but unless I chant that to myself while…

Halloween Haunts: Everything I Know About Sadism I Learned From Alfred Hitchcock by Pete Mesling

Halloween is not unlike death itself, I suppose. We know it's only a matter of time before it arrives, whether we want it to or not. It's more predictable than death, of course, arriving like clockwork every thirty-first of October, with its jack-o-lanterns, scary costumes and dry leaves that blow through the moonlight. But it carries with it the same kind of fascination and dread with which we contemplate our own demise. So to celebrate Halloween is to celebrate ... not death, exactly, but the idea of death. The possibilities that death presents us with. There is hope in death.…

Halloween Haunts: Spooky Lit – Why Spooky Matters to Young Readers by Angela Yuriko Smith

Not every little girl loves dolls and pink ponies. I grew up in Wyoming. My dad was an overly avid hunter with an undiagnosed case of PTSD. My mother was second generation Okinawan from a long line of mediums. I didn't understand the other girls my age and shared few, if any, similar interests. Needless to say, I did not fit in with my peers. A latch-key kid, my parents locked up the television while they were gone so I wouldn't rot my brain, something I'm grateful for. Books were my only entertainment and I combed through their well stocked shelves…

Halloween Haunts: Introducing New Readers to Horror by Adrian Ludens

Let me be clear: horror is NOT just for Halloween! I believe this with heart and soul, and yet, I’m guilty of perpetuating that stereotype. Think about the average reader: the stay-at-home parent seeking diversion during a few quiet minutes; the businessman or businesswoman reading during their commute on the subway; the person who turns up their nose at everything that isn’t “literature;” the person who only reads non-fiction; the person who read one horror author once and gave up on the genre. This list could go on. Horror is often marginalized, much to my frustration. Here are a couple…

Halloween Haunts: A Peak Through the Leper Window–Finding Unholy Inspiration in Holy Places by Frazer Lee

When the Season of Mists comes, and Halloween with it, I enjoy nothing better than sitting beside the fire with a book – often in search of inspiration for my next story. A couple of Halloweens ago I was leafing through an old history book, Ecclesiastical Curiosities (ed. William Andrews, 1899) – if you must know – and chanced upon the term 'leper window'. My imagination began to run wild with the revelation that these 'low windows' (also known as hagioscopes or squints) were incorporated into church buildings so that lepers could watch services without upsetting other members of the…
Halloween Haunts: The Last Winter of Newgate by Freedom Chevalier

Halloween Haunts: The Last Winter of Newgate by Freedom Chevalier

It crawled toward midnight, outside the Old Bailey in the echo of Sepulchre’s bells The moon wrapped himself in a blanket of clouds the winds screeched a bone-chilling yell I turned up my collar to stave off the night a stranger I walked on alone Feeling the cold, arthritic fingers of death start to ferry me home   The old road stretched on, bloodless and pale in the flare of the snickering moon Baring its moss-covered, black, rotting teeth with gobs of putrid, slick drool Something blurred the horizon, I unsheathed my sword with a clink from its talisman chain A leftover trinket from gods who abandoned mankind on the night of the rain  …