All Hallows Eve - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

A chilling horror anthology of 19 original short stories from a world-class line-up of the 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, Garth Nix as well as many more.

Halloween, Samhain, Día de los Muertos--festivals across the world where we can commune with those we have lost, when spirits can cross over, and when the boundary between the living and the dead is far, far too thin.

A young boy encounters a woman with an ancient and terrifying link to the holiday, a group of college students attend a Halloween party to die for, and a troubled girl exploits a local urban legend to try and turn her life around.

From America to New Zealand via the rural Romanian wilderness, this anthology explores our worldwide obsession with the spookiest season of the year, when the veil is lifted and the spirits come alive. Featuring 19 original stories from bestselling and award-winning masters of the genre, and from Hugo, World Fantasy, Locus, Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson award-winning editor and horror legend Ellen Datlow, this anthology invites you to carve a pumpkin, light the lanterns and welcome in trick or treaters from across the world.

With stories by:
Josh Malerman
Lee Murray
Rich Larson
Clay McLeod Chapman
Livia Llewellyn
Michael Marshall Smith
Stephen Graham Jones
Linda D. Addison
Christopher Golden
Alma Katsu
Brian Evenson
Siobhan Carroll
Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
Theresa DeLucci
Garth Nix
Jeffrey Ford
Richard Kadrey
Nathan Ballingrud
John Langan

Review Quotes

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

A must-have for Halloween reading.--Bloody Disgusting

Highlighting the cross-cultural adoption of American Halloween traditions, this anthology will appeal to those looking for short, creepy treats.--Booklist

All Hallows Eve is a beautiful collection of unsettling tales with a little treat for everyone.--Fangirl Nation

"All Hallows Eve is a beautiful collection of unsettling tales with a little treat for everyone." --Fangirl Nation

Praise for Ellen Datlow:

"A sterling collection... Ellen Datlow has - yet again - pulled in many of the very best writers in the field. I'm sure this is henceforth going to be the default stocking filler for any horror fan in your life." HorrorTree

"Datlow, award-winning editor in speculative fiction, comes through once again ... the gut punch of Tananarive Due and Stephen Graham Jones' stories ... cannot be missed." Booklist Starred Review

"New works from some of the horror greats" BookRiot

"Certifiably creepy... undeniably diverse spanning oceans and continents ...[to] make the connection between the so-called happiest time of the year and all manner of sinister goings-on seem as natural as gingerbread and eggnog." Rue Morgue

"Expertly crafted, adult-in-tone fairy tales set in or around the 'happiest time of the year'.... It's redolent with festive atmosphere, but it's got lots to say that may not always be comforting (as did Dickens, of course), and it offers a varied range of macabre interest, often of a sort you won't have encountered in Christmas fiction before, and yet all of which fits perfectly into the seasonal mold." -Paul Finch

"This compilation of stories that make the mundane seem terrifying is chilling and uncanny, offering tropes that will be familiar to readers of Jackson's work (witchy women, eerie suburbia) but with unique touches that could come only from these individuals authors." - New York Public Library Best Books

Other stories are equally memorable, but for me, the outstanding one is Skinder's Veil, a breathtaking blend of fairytale, dream and reality by the incomparable Kelly Link. - The Guardian

A joy for Jackson fans, but no Jackson knowledge is needed to enjoy this anthology. A gem in its own right. - SFX

This anthology is the perfect example of how a vision in the right hands can produce amazing results. Every story captures the essence of what it feels like to read Shirley Jackson's work. - LitReactor best of 2021

This is an absolute treat whether you're a Shirley Jackson nut or not. -- Den of Geek best of 2021

Perfect to dip in and out of as the nights draw in - Culturefly

18 outstanding, atmospheric horror shorts from some of the biggest names in the genre ... Any fan of Jackson's oeuvre will delight in this anthology. - Publishers Weekly starred review

In short, another great anthology assembled by Ellen Datlow. - Horror Tree

No one consistently delivers like Datlow does. - Horror DNA

This anthology is classic horror in its appearance, but in the inside has modern sensitivities with standout prose. Shirley Jackson would've been proud - Last Sentence

Compiling a short story anthology that caters to a wide audience's taste is no small feat. Ellen Datlow has done a brilliant job ... Whether you prefer your creepiness level at one or eleven, with a good dose of blood and gore or just with a hint of psychological suspense, you will find a favourite which appeals to your taste in this collection. - Crime Fiction Lover

Unsettling, disquieting, even disorienting... This collection is special. Somewhere, Shirley Jackson is peering over those glasses of hers, one eyebrow raised, a sly smile on her lips - Dave Writes and Draws

Even the most voracious of readers is sure to be swept away by the sheer magnitude of talent on display in When Things Get Dark.
- Phantastiqa

Datlow did it again... every piece was entertaining - Happy Horror Writer

If you are looking for an overview of what the current literary horror world looks like, this is a fantastic example
- California Reading

[A] successful endeavour that shows just how much of an influence Shirley Jackson had with her writing - Zachary Houle

A thrilling encounter with the uncanny courtesy of the some of the best contemporary horror writers. - End of the Words

From haunting to eerie to downright terrifying, there is something for every reader - Mandy McHugh

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this anthology [..] so I have no hesitation in recommending it. - Stephen Bacon

These stories really linger in the back of my mind - like they're creating a space of their own in my memory - Girl Who Reads

About the Author

Ellen Datlow has been editing science fiction, fantasy, and horror short fiction for forty years as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine and SCIFICTION. She currently acquires short stories and novellas for Tor.com. In addition, she has edited about one hundred science fiction, fantasy, and horror anthologies, including the annual The Best Horror of the Year series, The Doll Collection, Mad Hatters and March Hares, Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, and Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles.

She's won multiple World Fantasy Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, International Horror Guild Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards. Datlow was recipient of the 2007 Karl Edward Wagner Award, given at the British Fantasy Convention for "outstanding contribution to the genre," was honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Horror Writers Association, in acknowledgment of superior achievement over an entire career, and honored with the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award at the 2014 World Fantasy Convention.