| Title | : | Halloween Fiend |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1941918433 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781941918432 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 112 |
| Publication | : | First published February 16, 2019 |
| Awards | : | Ladies of Horror Fiction Award Best Novella (2019) |
Halloween Fiend Reviews
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A dying American small town is haunted by a terrible monster named Halloween. Every night the fiend is taking treats from the cowed inhabitants. Every Halloween Night a big festival is planned with a human sacrifice to Halloween. Is it possible to get rid of this ancient enemy? Two carnies and Barry, the main character, try their luck. Will they succeed? A gripping tale on an insidious monster (his rhyming conversation is quite cynical) combined with a satire on a passive small town crowd that doesn't want to change anything, even if it's evil and harms the population. To me the story worked quite well. Page turning action, eerie moments and a good shot of social criticism. Highly recommended!
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Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 -
There are a few rules to living in Strang:
Stay indoors after dusk
Under no circumstances do Outsiders find out what happens here and
Leave a nightly offering of flesh and blood for Halloween
Not the All Hallows Eve you’re thinking of but, an offering to the entity that torments this small community on a nightly basis that it’s citizens call “Halloween”.
Members in the small town of Strang live a lonely and isolated life. Houses remain on the market for long periods of time or have been abandoned altogether and there seem to be no real relationships amongst any of the inhabitants. Barry Johnson is not one of the fortunate folks to up and flee this godforsaken place. After the passing of his mother, Barry is left to care for his father who is wheelchair-bound and as stubborn as they come. On one particular evening, while awaiting Halloween’s inevitable arrival, Barry’s curiosity gets the best of him and sets forth a string of events he is not entirely equipped to handle.
This is the first story I have read by C.V. Hunt and it was quite fun. The author has created an environment that oozes desperation while writing tersely. I like that, especially in a novella. She has taken a certain time of year that horror fans love to use as an excuse to pull out all of the stops when displaying their vast collection of skulls and bones (don’t even pretend this isn’t you) and has given us a reason for the electricity in the air. She has turned Halloween into a tangible being that seeks to drive its victims insane with fear and then feeds itself on that fear.
As I was reading this, I was completely enthralled with this idea of Halloween as a menace instead of the best holiday ever. I kept waiting to catch glimpses of how the people of Strang came to the conclusion of leaving critters on their porches as offerings every night instead of everyone abandoning this hell hole altogether. How long had Halloween been tormenting these people? How did he initially let his presence be known? As you get further into the story, pieces that didn’t make sense the first few times they were mentioned, questions surrounding Barry’s mother’s death and why “receiving a dot” is a daunting task, were revealed at just the right moment. However, the author never addresses Halloween’s origins.
The idea for this story is so original that I was able to easily overlook this minor frustration. The setting is perfect and atmospheric for fall and certainly sets a fantastic chilly stage for the Halloween season. -
In the town of Strang, every night is Halloween. They don't celebrate it like most people do though, no, they're not quite so fortunate. You see, a creature roams the town after sunset, killing anyone on the street. It's called Halloween, and the only way for it not to break into your house and kill you as well, is to leave a treat on your doorstep (a living treat of course. Cats and guinea pigs work quite nicely). On Halloween night though, people can leave their homes and spend the entire evening outside. Most will be fine, after all, it will only take one person on that night, not all of them...
This is one of those stories that had an intriguing set up. One part
Dark Harvest, one part
The Lottery and a little bit of its own thing. Sounded great. I was down to see what it had in store for me.
Well, the book is short (only like 110 pages) and the majority of that is set up. There's a lot of setting the tone, and slow build to Halloween night. I was down, after all, you don't build up to something like this and not deliver...
Okay, so the book didn't deliver. Yeah, there is the inevitable confrontations with Halloween , but all in all it builds up to not a whole lot. Perhaps the book might have gotten three stars out of me (just barely though) if it wasn't for the last chapter. The very end of the book was the most obvious ending possible. The idea that it could end that way even crossed my mind, but I dismissed it as being too cliched for what the book was going for. Sadly I was very much mistaken.
This one is the barest definition of an "okay" book. I'm sure it has its fans and some people will really enjoy it, but it's was too little and too much of a let down after such a promising start. 2/5 stars -
3.5. Well, now i'm in the Halloween spirit if I wasn't already.
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3.5 Stars
This horror novella would be a good story to read on Halloween Eve. The narrative was quite slow paced, building to a good climax with a creepy monster. Trigger warnings for anyone who is sensitive to harm to animals. -
The suitably spooky, and of course Halloween themed, cover art of Halloween Fiend (plus a recommendation and its availability on KU) made me eager to pick this one up earlier instead of saving it for the Halloween season… 💀🎃
The town of Strang is in the throes of a creature simply known as Halloween.
Each All Hallow’s Eve, a festival takes place and a sacrifice is made to this monster.
The town itself is destitute, there are hardly any residents left and no children live there.
Enter Barry Johnson, a middle aged man who (at the beginning of our tale) lives at home with his wheelchair-bound Father.
Barry, and some others he meets, take it upon themselves to rid Strang of this entity that keeps them all trapped by fear. Can they break this cycle?
This tale is fast paced and very creepy in parts. I would consider it to contain good social commentary on small town life and feeling trapped witthin said town. Perhaps this is what the Halloween creature itself represents. -
HALLOWEEN FIEND, by C.V. Hunt was the perfect book to start October off with. Although only novella length, this one really packed a punch. In the town of Strang, the residents had a secret that they somehow managed to hide from outsiders. They had to--or the repercussions to the others and themselves would be swift and dire.
. . . Only a sadist would intentionally inflict the dreadful things we lived through every day onto innocent people."
A . . . creature . . . they call "Halloween" comes to their homes each night. If there isn't a live "treat" left out for it, he'll go in and take one.
The writing really impressed me, especially considering how "difficult" you would think this type of secret would be to keep. Yet Hunt managed to convey the how these residents continued on, and why everyone didn't just get up and leave.
". . . When you lived a certain way day in and day out you became desensitized to it and complacent . . . "
Combined with images of some of the residents' lives, you can almost see getting lulled into that routine--no matter how obscene it may be.
This one felt like a twist on a familiar tale, yet Hunt contorted and magnified the appetites on this creature so that it stood out on its own--more persistent and permanent than any story I'd heard before. Even the description didn't give much away in terms of detail, making it all the more dreadful--what you can't understand and visualize is infinitely more frightening than something "understood".
". . . It confused the mind to look directly at it. The shadow was what you had to pay attention to."
I only got a feel for a couple of the characters, but I believe that was the author's intention. We're not really being told the story of the town, but of one man's lifelong existence in it. Again, the routine and apathy come into play in a big way here. When you walk the same rut day by day, you get to where you can't see beyond it if you tried.
The only thing I wasn't satisfied with was the lack of backstory to this town's predicament. Was it necessary?
Not really.
This was simply a personal preference of mine, to get some sort of insight into the how and why, for myself--irregardless of the characters' given knowledge.
". . . Sometimes Mother Nature doesn't play by the rules."
Overall, a great Halloween novella, full of mystery, suspense, gore, supernatural, and human evil. This was a great way to start off October, and I really enjoyed Hunt's writing style.
Recommended. -
Save this one for Halloween....or not! It's July 4th and I'm reading a Halloween story and enjoying every minute of it!
Every night is Halloween in the small creepy town of Strang. Doesn't that sound like fun?
Nope! Not where the HALLOWEEN FIEND lurks. All remaining 100 residents, except the embittered Barry, know to abide by the strict curfew, keep their traps shut if a visitor comes to town, and most importantly never, ever, forget to leave out a treat!
"Barry, Barry, how much does your life blow? With grim farewells and demons from hell and your mother screaming no, no, no!"
Now once a year on All Hallows' Eve, there's a special festival and a special dot offering for the thing that is Halloween. All must participate, but only one lucky 'dot-ee' will experience the whole enchilada.
Really did enjoy this little creep-fest novella. (except for the animal offerings) It has an interesting storyline with a nasty bullying sheriff, an old nosey busybody neighbor with a revealing 'catty' costume (meow), a friendly waitress with healthy cleavage, fun carny characters, and a menacing supernatural entity....a thing you do not want to encounter....albeit it recites wonderfully ominous warnings.
The moon shines on a frightful scene. Ghouls and goblins to make you scream. Jack-o-lanterns with eerie light, to illuminate the darkest night. In the witching hour, the banshees wail. Black cats lash their bushy tails. Reverse the number in thirteen. And then you'll know it's Halloween."
Recommend to my GR horror-lover friends.
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The town called Strang is very odd. Betcha thought I was gonna say strange, maybe? Well, it’s that too. This reminded me a bit of a Norman Partridge tale I found a few years ago, in certain aspects, called Dark Harvest.
This was very good and had some twists. It’s a good Halloween tale, though I prefer the Partridge. The writing is cleaner and the plot is more feasible.
Here though, the ending did get to me. It really did. I had to read it a few times to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding. It’s clear, I just guess I was like ... wait... wait.. wait. -
This is a pretty quick read to get you in the Halloween spirit. The story is good but the ending is great.
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Good characters and a steady narrative propel this fun little monster spooker forward. There's just a dash of Lovecraft in this. Mostly, we're dealing with some unknowable small town terror, as they are trapped by Halloween, and the extremes they must go to to appease the beast. It's an quick read, and I liked it quite a bit.
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Fun story to read to kick off the Halloween season. It kept its focus and didn't blather on with too much backstory and nonsense. Creepy and fun with a nice twist at the end.
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Right in the middle of a California summer heat wave, I decide to read a Halloween book. What a weirdo.
Halloween roams the streets of Strang in the dark of night. Don’t look at it. Don’t let it see you. And whatever you do DO NOT forget to leave Halloween it’s nightly treat. Especially around its favorite holiday.
Barry Johnson may be stuck in a Kafkaesque looping nightmare of a life. He may also be the only one in Strang that can save town from the torment of Halloween.
I like C.V. Hunt’s work. She’s really good. I would have liked to know a little more about the origins of Halloween though and think the end could have been expanded a bit, but nonetheless a very good and entertaining tale. -
When you love Halloween so much, enough to share it with the world in February, it’s gotta be a special story. There was a definite Lottery feel to the whole thing as others have stated, in fact I reread the short story from Jackson to compare, but I appreciate that Hunt went beyond the creepy and ambiguous to deliver a more thorough, scary read. Sure, ancient traditions still choke the life from an old town, but it was clever how the idea was expanded and altered just enough to make it her own. Modernized and given a little twist to make it something new. And it was fun. There were groans and laughs, even the underlying threat of some good feels, but she delivered in the end with a satisfying conclusion that only adds to the mystery. A bit different from my other experiences with the author’s writing, but definitely not the last. Halloween in February was good choice. No spoilers here, it’s a quick read so pick one up. Plus, it’s currently available on KU which is a huge bonus for those of you with reading problems like me.
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So simple and so much FUN 😆 5 stars, easy!
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Halloween Fiend is a seriously creepy tale. The residents of Strang (yup, Strange without the E) know not to go out after sundown. The streets are eerie and quiet, but that’s not the only thing that is wrong with this town. They are haunted by an entity that prowls the streets. The only thing that stops them being killed is the sacrifice of small animals being left on their doorsteps. Apparently, guinea pigs and the likes are a tasty snack for the creature that is called Halloween. Once a year however, someone gets the dot – a term for a randomly selected resident to satiate the monster for another year.
The protagonist, Barry Johnson, a middle-aged guy who’s had his fair share of trauma. His mother came foul to the evil creature that haunts this ghost town. He’s has never quite got over the events surrounding it. He’s now essentially been handed the reluctant role of being his elderly fathers’ carer. His antagonistic behaviour has spiraled Barry into a life of misery and despair, he quite fancies the waitress at the diner but melts into a puddle of embarrassment at the prospect of asking her out. Barry is in a rut, that he can’t see any way out of.
Now, although this is a story that is entertaining and fun there was a few problems I had with it while reading. The narration is clunky and disjoined. It didn’t flow with the ease I have come to expect with horror novellas. Barry’s inner monologue was boring and came across as just whiney. Yes, he’s had a difficult life and things are hard, what with the nightly curfews, but he isn’t exactly taking everything in his stride…and boy does he let everyone know it.
The plot had more holes in it than a string vest! This monster known as Halloween, is creating mayhem in Strang, no-one tries to find some way to fight it or discover what its weakness is…why? Why are they letting this thing run amok through their lives and town? Why are they oferring up their residents as a yearly sacrifice? The descriptions of the creature seem a little vague and seems to morph but again, we don’t find out why. The ending was also a bit meh and left me with more questions than I really have ought to have. Halloween Fiend has masses of potential but for me it fell a little flat. -
"Creatures from hell roam on this night, for tonight is the night of fright."
2.5⭐
Halloween Fiend is the latest release from CV Hunt, and I've been looking forward to reading this one once it got closer to Halloween. I liked this idea of this book, but I had a tough time connecting with the story and characters.
This is a very slow build, especially for a novella, and I just didn't have much interest by the time things finally started happening. I've read a couple other CV Hunt books & enjoyed them, but I couldn't get into this one. For some reason, it felt juvenile. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the story seemed to be at odds with the tone of the book.
Normally I stay away from books involving animal stuff, but a couple other readers told me there weren't graphic animal scenes, and this is correct. I appreciate that. -
Summary
In the small town of Strang there are many abandoned houses, no children and a monster named Halloween that roams the streets at night.
All of the locals know to leave out a sacrifice each night or face terrible consequences.
Barry, however, seems to catch the monster's attention and is in for a surprise when the town's annual fall fest begins.
Personal Opinion
A good story to read the night before Halloween. This short story is easy to read in one sitting with a creepy, mysterious monster and a weird little town.
The story gets right to the point with little 'fluff' involved and it's obviously right away the monster is a pretty twisted creature that likes messing with the curious locals.
While I didn't really like the nightly sacrifices, especially Janice's, I would recommend this one for horror fans. -
This is a perfect short story right in time for Halloween. I give it 3.5 stars
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Halloween is my favorite time of the year. Not just because I love spooky things, but I just love the crisp fall weather, the sense of shift in the air, the leaves, the dramatic sunsets. There is something magical and transitory about this season that just isn’t replicated anywhere else.
In this new novella, Hunt makes Halloween come to life for the slowly dying town of Strang. (That’s right, “strange” without the “e.”) Halloween is a monster who visits everyone’s house each night and if you haven’t left a treat for Halloween—things aren’t going to go so well for you. And Halloween doesn’t want candy, it wants something meatier.
The story takes a twist in the direction of Jackson’s “The Lottery,” which is not an easy plot line to get away with. Jackson did it first, best, and everyone will use that as a touchstone until the end of time, so it tends to feel tired and obvious.
This is my second Hunt novella, and similar to Ritualistic Human Sacrifice I never found myself really engaging with the characters. They didn’t feel fully realized to me, so when the events of the story start to ramp up, my lack of connection to the people made me less interested in their fate.
Hunt does know how to stick the landing though, and this one will punch you in the gut. Very, very creepy.
This was part of the June Night Worms box! -
The AHA! Moment changed my rating from a 3 to a 4.
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"You had to learn to keep emotions separate early on because the moment you grew an ounce of empathy for anyone or anything, the night Halloween paid a visit you would end up in a constant state of grief and sorrow and depression. Because Halloween doesn’t leave until it got what it came for and there are no takebacks."
If you know me then you know that I'm always in the mood for Halloween. My husband's family always jokes that it's always Halloween at my house and it's true. That spooky time of year is the only time I can get decent decor for my home. So this book fits in perfectly with my constant spooky theme.
C.V. Hunt is the author that I always go to when I want something out of the ordinary. I know that Hunt's books will always deliver that creep factor that I'm looking for. Reading this book made me feel as if I was home and it's one of the reasons why C.V. Hunt is one of my favorites. She knows how to slowly release details to get you hooked on the story and to make you feel as if you have eyes watching you. It's creepy fun.
Halloween Fiend was a great story and definitely put me in the horror spirit. (Like I needed any help there) The characters were crazy, the story was just as crazy with that slow horror burn to it. I really enjoyed it and it's what we all come to expect and love from C.V. -
In this, a small town named Strang, evil resides. Every evening, once darkness prevails, a creature named Halloween begins his trick or treat route. It's not candy he demands though, no. He desires blood and tissue from a live offering. The people of Strang do as their told so as not to receive a trick from this frightening thing that haunts the town. They know the consequences and come Allhallows Eve, a special ritual must be fulfilled to satisfy the nightmare called Halloween.
Halloween Fiend is a truly original creature feature, CV Hunt delivers a grim and fantastical tale of ritualistic sacrifice that is very satisfying for me as an avid horror fan. This is the kind of story that'll make you want to leave the bowl of candy out instead of doling it out to kids. Lock the doors and hunker down because Halloween is coming to town. -
"Then woooo went the wind.
And out went the lights.
Then one of the little pumpkins
disappeared from sight."
Super fun start to the Halloween season with this novella from (Yay!) female horror author
C.V. Hunt. This had all the usual Halloween tropes - small town mystery, socially dysfunctional MC, creepy Halloween monster, even a buxom waitress. A great way to begin the October fright fest.
Perhaps less use of the word 'asinine' though, give your editor's butt a good kicking C.V. -
Awesome book!! Halloween is one creepy mother fucker and I felt bad for the town he basically holds hostage, and particularly for Barry. This would make a perfect October read (I couldn't wait that long, don't judge me lol)! This is a 4/5 pumpkin skull read 🎃💀
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Pure nightmare fuel.
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Halloween Fiend is a quick, fun and gritty read that is perfect for the spooky season.
The novella centers around the town of Strang, which is visited by a monster known as Halloween every night. Every year on Halloween, the town must perform a ritual to appease him.
This book has folk horror vibes on par with The Wicker Man. It’s fast-paced, features gruesome and horrifying imagery, and it’s steeped in atmosphere. I highly recommend it! -
I've had this book on my Paperwhite for months, but I put it aside on purpose so I could read it this Halloween. And I love that cover. 🎃
Well, Halloween is here!
The town of Strang is mostly abandoned but still has a small population. Every October, Halloween stalks the streets nightly and to keep it happy, the townsfolk leave small animals as treats.
For Barry, this year's a little different, he's much too curious not to stare out the window. And then the carnival comes around the same time as the town's freaky tradition...
Um. I hate to say it, but this didn't work for me. The writing style was nice, but that wasn't the issue. I found the characters too dull, the slow-burn pace lacked the tension to keep my focus, and I wasn't invested.
I didn't like Barry. Or any of the other characters, to be honest. Even Halloween was meh.
It's a shame that I didn't enjoy this novella because I usually love small-town stories featuring dark and weird secrets. I thought I would at least find it fun, but I didn't. My attention kept wandering and I had to keep re-reading what I'd missed. There was no real Halloween-type atmosphere, either. Even the ending didn't excite me.
Oh well. It happens. -
In the town of Strang the residents are haunted by a creature known as Halloween. Every night the citizens of the quaint town offer Halloween a treat in the form of a live animal. There is an understanding that you follow the tradition, never breaking from it. No one dares to go against the routine nor Halloween himself. One man, Barry, along with the help of two carnies decides it's time for things to change. It doesn't help that Halloween has taken a liking to taunting poor Barry.
Halloween Fiend is a wonderfully spooky and suspenseful short read with a satisfying ending that had me smiling. Hunt's writing is easy to digest, the characters are interesting and thought out, and the world building for such a short story is on point.
It reminds me of the short story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.