I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Crossroad Press in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really fun short story collection that is perfect to read around Halloween time! There's a lot of traditional Halloweeny stuff to be found here, although a few stories get more creative with the concept which I appreciated. I was a particular fan of the second short story Blood Suede Shoes as I wasn't fully sure where it was going to go. I also really liked Pretty Little Lanterns as, though a little outlandish, it had fantastic execution and spooky imagery.

Overall, this is a short but sweet collection that is perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit. I recommend checking it out if you want a fun seasonal read

Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

The Halloween store and other tales of hallows Eve was really delightful. I was afraid it would be two immature and childish but it is written for an older audience. I would say teens perhaps older teens could also enjoy it. There are a couple of f-bombs but not overwhelmingly so and definitely not more than most the kids are using these days anyways.

Ronald is an older gentleman. I googled him and discovered that he's nearly 63 years old. Which is absolutely okay He gives a great old style feeling to Halloween and the stories have this vintage feel of that nostalgic Halloween you experienced as a kid. However, some of his tails were modern and about children. The language the children use was archaic in today's terms. This is the kind of words and conversations you expect kids to have in the '70s or '80s and maybe the '90s but even then it was a little older style language for kids of the '90s. Two young boys were reading through their dad's old '80s comic book collection in one of the tales and one of the boys grows tired of the superheroes and he wants to read about Vampirella; You know that got spooky chick with her boobs hanging out. Not to be that person, but I'm a high school English teacher and I hang out with 14 to 19-year-old people all day long and I promise you they do not know who Vampirella is, big boobs or not. These kids hardly know who Chuck Norris is. The other day I had to explain who Miley Cyrus was to at least a third of the classroom.
However, aside from the slight anachronism mistakes of the stories, They're still fiction which means that these kids don't have to fit the mold in which I expect today's teens to be. So overall it didn't really affect the story or my enjoyment, but it did pull me out of the reality of it a little bit. It was almost necessary for them to have the dialogue in which they did so that the stories retained the nostalgic feeling that they had.

Overall, I really enjoyed these stories and if one load a little bit into the boring territory the next one was definitely exciting enough to erase any negative feelings that I had towards the book as a whole. Great Halloween read It's great to get you into the spooky season I would recommend it.

3,5/5

- Were some decent stories, not super special or gud, but all I wanted.
- I liked The Halloween Store, Mister Mack and Pretty Little Lanterns
- The essay was very cute. Reminded me of my Halloween evenings, althought it's not very big here in Germany

This book was so much fun! Every single story was incredible and different. There were even a few that left me shaking. It was also great to learn about the olden days of Halloween that I wasn’t alive to experience. Definitely a great spooky read to get ready for Halloween.

Seasonal horror is special because it's not in great supply. I'm one of those people that gets very excited about enjoying traditions year after year as a way of looking forward to certain holidays. Reading Halloween-specific tales in October is my favorite!
THE HALLOWEEN STORE and Other Tales of All Hallows' Eve came out this year (2020) but will now forever remain in my line-up of books I will enjoy annually! I get excited about adding new books to my specific, spooky October books. This one is quintessential!
Stories:
*****THE HALLOWEEN STORE- a fantastic coming-of-age story with building dread, Fast pace; short
*****MISTER MACK IS BACK IN TOWN- longer story, mystery, supernatural, missing children, creature-feature.
**BLOOD SUEDE SHOES- this was the only one I didn't like very much because I didn't care for the way the main character was portrayed.
***CLOWN TREATS- campy, gross, creepy clowns
***THE CISTERN- Small town horror
*****PRETTY LITTLE LANTERNS- the scariest and most intensely dark story of the bunch. This one creeped me out. The author imagines if Jack the Ripper escaped London and struck again in rural America. Terrifying.
****THE AMAZING AND TOTALLY AWESOME FRIGHT CREATURE- This one was so fun!!
THE LAST HALLOWEEN: An Essay- I loved Ronald Kelly's essay and insight into his Halloween experiences
MY TOP 10 FAVORITE HALLOWEEN STUFF OF THE '60s and '70s- so nostalgic and fun, I'm pleased he included this in the book. I loved the section about Halloween Candy

I will read from this short story collection every year. Bravo, Ronald Kelly! I'm excited I have another Halloween anthology from this author to enjoy.

Delightful Halloween anthology! This is probably my favorite Halloween anthology ever, excluding Ray Bradbury's. I thought every story was great. A perfect read for October, I immediately purchased his previous anthology "Mr. Glow Bones" to hopefully be read before the end of the month.