Helloween

By: Duncan Ralston

Narrated by: Joe Hempel

On October 31st, 2001, five teens set out to make a horror film at a Halloween haunt in the small town of Crooks Corner.

The Jock. The Gamer. The Outsider. The Goth. The Overachiever. They don't get along at all. They'll have to set aside their differences to make the movie for their class's final project, or risk failing.

But there's more to these kids than their stereotypes. Jay, the gamer, is working with his former science teacher on a very troubling scientific device. Brittany, the overachiever, hides a dark and deadly secret. And Cassandra, the goth, has a little sister with paranormal abilities.

When all hell breaks loose at the haunt, a powerful supernatural entity emerges, able to control inanimate objects and use them to kill. The carnage is swift and deadly, a vicious attack that quickly overwhelms the town and its citizens.

Fighting for their lives, the teens—along with their teachers and the local sheriff—must band together to survive the night and possibly even save the world... or die trying.

Dean Koontz's Phantoms meets Stephen King's Desperation in this epic new horror novel from the twisted mind behind Woom and the Ghostland Trilogy.

©2024 Duncan Ralston (P)2025 Podium Audio

Your Go to Halloween Tale

Thank God I found this author. This novel is the type of book you could read annually to get in the spirit or Halloween or if you are just jonesing for Halloween in the middle of summer.

I’m pretty good at figuring out plots, but this book surprised me.

Nostalgic Feel

I loved the nostalgic references that was prepared throughout. This book is very much a love letter to Stephen King's It and The Stand. I do feel that the storyline strayed a bit here and there. Also, the book itself was stretched out too much. It could have had a hundred pages or more edited out to hold the attention better.

Perfect for October!

What a wild ride! As someone who loves all things creepy, scary and enjoys Halloween year round, I couldn't wait to dive into this book. Needless to say, it did not disappoint. I loved the small town setting and enjoyed the quirky characters. Duncan Ralston kept the story entertaining and creepy, and I couldn't help but laugh at some of the things portrayed. It was a fun, intense read from start to finish!

Could have been shorter

The story was too long and made any sense of urgency or tension quickly fade. Also, the constant references to 9/11 did nothing for the story.

Good, but stretched too long

I enjoyed this overall, it was some good schlocky fun where the writing kept things feeling pretty grounded despite its weird premise. My main issue was the length - I worried about it being stretched too thin when I saw the book was on the long side for this type of premise, and sure enough, it ran on too long. I was completely on board for the first 3/4 of it, but had to drop its rating a bit because the last 5 or 6 hours just kept going and going after I was ready for things to wind up. It's still worth a recommend, it just could've been better with more brevity.