Books short fiction Seven Spooky Stories Set on Halloween Strange rituals, haunted houses, famous monsters, scary nuns…these Halloween-themed stories have it all! By Lorna Wallace | Published on October 21, 2024 Photo by Szabó János [via Unsplash] Comment 0 Share New Share Photo by Szabó János [via Unsplash] It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, Christmas hasn’t come early, it’s Halloween! For me (and despite its name), All Hallows’ Eve isn’t restricted to just one night; rather, it takes over the whole of October. But even so, the 31st itself holds a particularly special spooky power. If you’re looking to maximize the fun and frights of Halloween this year, I suggest immersing yourself into a few horror stories that are set on that very special night. To that end, here are seven Halloween-set short stories and novellas that could either be devoured in their entirety on October 31st itself, or read bit by bit in the lead-up to the big day to build excitement… The Halloween Tree (1972) by Ray Bradbury If it’s a nostalgic Halloween atmosphere you’re after, you can’t go wrong with The Halloween Tree. The novella starts with a group of nine friends getting ready to go trick-or-treating. But then Pipkin is stolen away by a supernatural entity—to get him back, his friends have to venture though Halloween celebrations from different historical eras and cultures. The Halloween Tree can be read as the Halloween version of a true-meaning-of-Christmas story, à la Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843). The boys think the holiday is all about candy and scary costumes, but on their mission to rescue Pipkin, they realize that Halloween lore runs far deeper than that. This spooky, whimsical, and wholesome story captures the essence of the Halloween spirit, perfectly distilled through Bradbury’s lyrically flowing prose. It should also be noted that the 1993 animated adaptation of the story (starring Leonard Nimoy) is a Halloween delight and a classic in its own right. Dark Harvest (2006) by Norman Partridge Each Halloween in a small unnamed Midwestern town, a strange ritual called the Run takes place. All of the town’s teenage boys are locked up without food for a few days before the 31st and when they’re unleashed (and incredibly hangry!) they’re tasked with hunting down and killing the October Boy. This creature has a jack-o’-lantern head and a candy-stuffed body made of vines. Dark Harvest requires a higher than usual suspension of disbelief. The story behind this bizarre ritual is drip fed to the reader through gossip and rumor, and even when some answers are revealed, there are still question marks over certain plot points. But those who are happy to leave their questions at the town’s outer limits will be rewarded with an action-packed and gore-soaked story. The novella is very different to the 2023 film adaptation. Not only do the two plots massively diverge, but the October Boy’s design in the movie doesn’t hold a candle to the description in the book. “The October Game” (1948) by Ray Bradbury “The October Game” is only a few pages long, but it’s one of Bradbury’s darkest tales. It’s told from the POV of a man who absolutely despises his wife, Louise, and feels nothing towards their eight-year-old daughter, Marion. The family are hosting a Halloween party—there are jack-o’-lanterns in the windows, guests in scary costumes, and the apple bobbing is in full swing—when the disturbed narrator comes up with a horrific idea for how he can make his wife suffer as much as possible. Many readers will be familiar with Bradbury’s science fiction and even his works of dark fantasy, but “The October Game” may come as a surprise, grounded as it is in the evil of humanity. Bradbury doesn’t actually describe anything horrifying; the story simply ends with the implication of something horrific, and the reader is then left sitting with that inescapable implication as it grows dark wings and takes flight through their mind. Originally published in a 1948 edition of Weird Tales, readers can find this short story in the collections Long After Midnight (1976) and The Stories of Ray Bradbury (1980). “Bone Fire” (2018) by Storm Constantine Storm Constantine’s “Bone Fire” is inspired by the Celtic origins of Halloween (called Samhain), which I personally adore as a Scot who grew up learning about those origins and always said “guising” instead of “trick-or-treating.” The short story follows two fourteen-year-old girls, Emlie and Jenna, who have donned their guises to confuse the spirits on All Hallows’ Eve. As they go from house to house collecting edible offerings for the ghosts, they encounter a mysterious skeleton-clad boy who changes the course of their night—and their lives. This spooky folklore tale was first printed in The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories (2018), but can also be found in Constantine’s collection Mythotenebrae (2020). “The Folding Man” (2010) by Joe R. Lansdale William, Jim, and drunken Harold are driving home from a Halloween party when they see a strange-looking black car full of nuns. Jim decides to moon them as they pass by, but instead of his bare butt evoking the expected mildly annoyed reaction, the nuns—who maybe aren’t regular nuns after all—are so furious that they speed up in hot pursuit. The rest of the story is a wild ride that is teeth-clenchingly tense and goes to some horrifyingly weird places. The story was first printed in 2010 in the Haunted Legends anthology, but it can be read for free on Nightmare Magazine’s site. “With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds” (2017) by Seanan McGuire The centerpiece of “With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfsbane Seeds” is the creepy Holston house—a grand mansion that has been sitting empty and abandoned for years. Strangely though, the house has never fallen into disrepair, and its imperviousness to the elements has added to its unsettling aura. Of course, such a house has inspired a ghost story, a local legend featuring a young girl called Mary Holston, who is apparently doomed to wander the house forever. Too old for trick-or-treating, but too young for alcohol-fueled parties, a small group of bored teens decide to investigate (i.e. break into) the Holston house on Halloween night. Although they’re looking for some suitably Halloween-y scares, they definitely get more than they bargained for. First published in the Haunted Nights (2017) collection, this story is also available for free on Nightmare Magazine. “Universal Horror” (2015) by Stephen Graham Jones “Universal Horror” is about a group of friends—whose ranks have gradually thinned over the years—who play the same Halloween game every year. Each person gets a costume category—animals, superheroes, age-inappropriate, etc.—and they have to do a shot for every trick-or-treater at the door who fits the description. Rachel gets Universal Monsters, horror staples such as Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Invisible Man. But as well as getting progressively drunker as the night goes on, she also finds herself getting progressively more freaked out by a kid in a mummy costume who keeps coming to the door. The story first appeared in October Dreams II: A Celebration of Halloween (2015), but it’s another one that’s been published for free on Nightmare Magazine. I hope you treat this list like a spooky fiction pick-n-mix! Please feel free to recommend your own delectably dark Halloween-set stories in the comments below.[end-mark] The post Seven Spooky Stories Set on Halloween appeared first on Reactor.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Facebook’s pattern of censorship has again become evident during a crucial election period, as it repeatedly targets posts from the Buckeye Firearms Association, an advocate for Second Amendment rights. The organization, which educates the public about gun-related issues and promotes gun rights, has noted that none of its content breaches Facebook’s community standards. Yet, their posts are often removed without justification. The Buckeye Firearms Association emphasizes that its posts are carefully crafted to inform rather than inundate followers with irrelevant content. Despite their intentionality and adherence to Facebook’s guidelines, their experience with the platform has deteriorated recently. Previously, when posts were erroneously removed, Facebook would restore them following a review and issue an apology. However, this process has stalled; now, the organization’s requests for review go unanswered. Multiple notifications of removed posts from a social media platform, citing violations of Community Standards. Source: Buckeye Firearms Association The issue has been particularly noticeable with posts such as those on June 26 criticizing the Surgeon General’s declaration of a “public health crisis” as politically motivated, or the October 2nd post about a Florida city’s illegal firearm and ammunition sales ban during a state of emergency. Other posts, including one on September 18 about a presidential assassin who violated gun laws, and an October 10 encouragement to vote against a problematic constitutional amendment (Issue 1), have also been flagged and removed. Facebook claims to enforce its community standards globally and uniformly, as explained in their “How we made this decision” notifications which state: “Our technology found your content doesn’t follow our Community Standards. As a result, our technology took action. We use the same rules around the world for everyone. Our technology and teams work in many languages to ensure our rules are applied consistently.” However, according to the group, this assertion is challenged by the frequent and unexplained removals of the Association’s content. The inconsistency in enforcement extends beyond the removal of posts opposing Issue 1—a proposed amendment that would engrain gerrymandering into Ohio’s constitution, longer than both the state and US Constitutions combined. While the Buckeye Firearms Association’s anti-Issue 1 posts are quickly taken down, the group says posts favoring the amendment often remain untouched. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post Second Amendment Advocates Face Facebook Censorship appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

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In a tense and confrontational interview at the Economic Club of Chicago, former President Trump outlined his plan to use tariffs as a tool to bring jobs back to the U.S. “The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States so it doesn’t have to pay the tariff,” Trump said, despite laughter from the interviewer, who retorted that it “would take many years.” “I’ll tell you, you know, there’s another theory, that the tariff you make it so high, so horrible, so obnoxious, that they’ll come right away,” Trump explains. The interviewer continued to say it would have a “massive effect” on the economy, and while he was alluding to a negative effect, Trump believes it will be positive. “I agree it’s going to have a massive positive effect,” Trump said. “I know how committed you are to this, and it must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong.” Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” is impressed. “Take that, put that in your pipe and smoke it,” he comments. Want more from Pat Gray?To enjoy more of Pat's biting analysis and signature wit as he restores common sense to a senseless world, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

The House bipartisan task force investigating the assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump released a report Monday revealing "stunning" and "preventable" security failures that took place ahead of the July 13 rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The report details the lack of coordination, communication, and planning at "several pivotal moments" between the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement prior to the rally, as well as the security risks that were overlooked. As a result, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to fire shots at the former president from an exposed rooftop positioned just 150 yards from the rally stage, killing an attendee and injuring two others.'There were security failures on multiple fronts.'"Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened," the report reads. The report reiterated the Secret Service's negligence leading up to the rally, confirming that there was no joint meeting between the federal, state, and local agencies to coordinate security the day of the event. The task force also found that the agency identified several security risks outside the perimeter but failed to actually secure them. As a result of these failures, Crooks was spotted by multiple attendees, flagged as suspicious by Secret Service agents, and identified by a local counter-sniper over an hour before he fired shots at Trump. "In the days leading up to the rally, it was not a single mistake that allowed Crooks to outmaneuver one of our country's most elite group of security professionals," Chairman Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said in the report. "There were security failures on multiple fronts." Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified before Congress on July 22, less than two weeks after the assassination attempt in Butler, receiving bipartisan scrutiny from lawmakers. The day after her evasive testimony, Cheatle resigned from her post. Just two months after the Butler rally shooting, Trump survived a second assassination attempt. 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended on Sept. 24 after a Secret Service agent allegedly spotted his rifle and scope poking out of the bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Routh was later charged with attempting to assassinate Trump. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!