Autumncrow - The Halloweentown of Your Sinister Dreams
A perfect Halloween read! I really loved the formatting. Each story was separate, but everything was tied into the town of Autumncrow. It had the best atmosphere and I am so glad I got to read it during the month of October. There are a lot of morose tones in the stories, which ties into the sense of loss, change, and death that comes with the Autumnal season.
Since there were only a few stories, I am giving a few points on all of them:
Follow Me In - A short and sweet tale of love, loss, nostalgia, and a touch of darkness that defines the undercurrent of Autumncrow.
Pumpkin Light - One of my favorite stories in the book. Witchy, magical, but also peppered with a sense of mourning.
Burnt Brownies - This had a bit of a familiar feel, as there are quite a few stories out there that follow the same sort of formula. However, I absolutely loved the ghost/spirit that the boy could see, because the description of him was terrifying and memorable. The foreshadowing was also on point.
Frost - I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie In the Mouth of Madness when I read this story. Autumncrow is almost like Hobb's End because it's difficult to escape once you're in. I liked the sense that Autumncrow is both mystical and parasitical; it needs to grow and takes what it needs to get to where it wants to be. The main character is someone most of us can relate to, as he just wanted to escape and didn't know what he was getting himself into. Loved the ending of this one.
Saving Face - This is the story where we get to learn about the darkness that is the forest of Autumncrow. I loved how Autumncrow is described as a living, breathing town, and it still 'requires' homeless people - or perhaps just 'acquires' or 'exchanges' would be more accurate. This one has a more supernatural feel to it and I was happy with the resolution for the young boy whose Dad clearly sucked.
I Have No Mouth and I Must Feed - This story is based on that creepy Tara the Android video/story that came out on the internet. I must confess, this was my least favorite story in the book, but I was enthralled with the eeriness of Tara the Android enough that it kept the story relevant and interesting to me.
CRYP-TV - My favorite story in the book! It had such a Ray Bradbury feel to it that I was swooning. It is a coming-of-age type tale and has magical and spooky nuances. It's mostly just good fun for anyone who loves Halloween and remembers being a kid wanting their Halloween night to be a unique and otherworldly experience. A mix between Bradbury's The Halloween Tree and Tales from the Crypt, it's just a perfect tale.
There are Monsters Here - This one was a newly revised novella by Cameron Chaney, so it wasn't a tie-in to Autumncrow. The premise is wonderfully chilling. We all have our own monster and sometimes we get a glimpse of it to remind us of our mortality and what is always waiting in the wings. It becomes almost existential by the end, making us consider what humans represent and ultimately are, in this world.
A fantastic book with accessible and enjoyable writing. I would love to revisit Autumncrow every Halloween going forward!
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