Haunted Nights

A Horror Writers Association Anthology

By: Ellen Datlow - editor, Garth Nix, Kelley Armstrong, Pat Cadigan, John R. Little, Lisa Morton - editor, Eric J. Guignard

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Erin Spencer, James Patrick Cronin, Amy Landon, Luis Moreno, Keith Szarabajka, Hillary Huber

Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Here are 16 chilling, never-before-published tales that explore every aspect of our darkest holiday, Halloween, coedited by Ellen Datlow, one of the most successful and respected genre editors, and Lisa Morton, a leading authority on Halloween.

In addition to stories about scheming jack-o'-lanterns, vengeful ghosts, otherworldly changelings, disturbingly realistic haunted attractions, masks that cover terrifying faces, murderous urban legends, parties gone bad, cult Halloween movies, and trick-or-treating in the future, Haunted Nights also offers terrifying and mind-bending explorations of related holidays like All Souls' Day, Día de los Muertos, and Devil's Night.

• "With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds" by Seanan McGuire
• "Dirtmouth" by Stephen Graham Jones
• "A Small Taste of the Old Country" by Jonathan Maberry
• "Wick's End" by Joanna Parypinski
• "The 17-Year Itch" by Garth Nix
• "A Flicker of Light on Devil's Night" by Kate Jonez
• "Witch-Hazel" by Jeffrey Ford
• "Nos Galen Gaeaf" by Kelley Armstrong
• "We're Never Inviting Amber Again" by S. P. Miskowski
• "Sisters" by Brian Evenson
• "All through the Night" by Elise Forier Edie
• "A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds" by Eric J. Guignard
• "The Turn" by Paul Kane
• "Jack" by Pat Cadigan
• "Lost in the Dark" by John Langan
• "The First Lunar Halloween" by John R. Little

Narrated by Gabra Zackman, Erin Spencer, James Patrick Cronin, Michael Kramer, Gerard Doyle, Kevin Kenerly, Amy Landon, Carrington MacDuffie, Andrew Eiden, Tom Taylorson, Suzanne Elise Freeman, Alana Kerr Collins, Luis Moreno, Keith Szarabajka, Emily Sutton-Smith, Malcolm Hillgartner, and Hillary Huber.

©2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Slow burn stories

I find the best thing about anthologies is discovering new writers to explore, as well as listening to great short stories from already favorite authors of mine. (Ditto for the narrators.)

Haunted Nights comes through in spades in that regard, but don't go into it anticipating what kind of horror stories are inside. The title alludes to ghost stories, but you can be haunted by more things than ghosts. The intro gives you an education about observations on and around October 31st from several countries as well as the foundation of Halloween practices in the United States for the anthology's set up. The first story is a solid ghost story, making you think that's the theme the anthology will be following, but the second story, a powerhouse of disquieting creepiness that builds in tension and fear and horror as it progressed, is still well within the haunted interpretation too.

Many of the stories are cerebral with a slow burn build up, so have patience. Most of the narrators are fabulous, giving terrific nuanced performances. On the whole Haunted Nights is a vivid listening experience. I could quibble there was one story where I couldn't stand both the writing & the narration. But! 1 out of 16? That's pretty good entertainment value, if you ask me.

And even though all the info is available on Audible's intro page, for ease of searching out authors & narrators to explore after listening, here's a table of contents with everything matched up:

CH1 Introduction - Narrated by Gabra Zackman
CH2 With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds by Seanan McGuire - Narrated by Erin Spencer
CH3 Dirtmouth by Stephen Graham Jones - Narrated by James Patrick Cronin
CH4 A Small Taste of the Old Country by Jonathan Maberry - Narrated by Michael Kramer
CH5 Wick's End by Joanna Parypinski - Narrated by Gerard Doyle
CH6 The 17-Year Itch by Garth Nix - Narrated by Kevin Kenerly
CH7 A Flicker of Light on Devil's Night by Kate Jonez - Narrated by Amy Landon
CH8 Witch-Hazel by Jeffrey Ford - Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie
CH9 Nos Galen Gaeaf by Kelley Armstrong - Narrated by Andrew Eiden
CH10 We're Never Inviting Amber Again by S. P. Miskowski - Narrated by Tom Taylorson
CH11 Sisters by Brian Evenson - Narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman
CH12 All through the Night by Elise Forier Edie - Narrated by Alana Kerr Collins
CH13 A Kingdom of Sugar Skulls and Marigolds by Eric J. Guignard - Narrated by Luis Moreno
CH14 The Turn by Paul Kane - Narrated by Keith Szarabajka
CH15 Jack by Pat Cadigan - Narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith
CH16 Lost in the Dark by John Langan - Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner
CH20 The First Lunar Halloween by John R. Little - Narrated by Hillary Huber

Haunted Nights

Overall the book was entertaining. The performances were done very well. Audible does a great job picking voice actors for these scary stories. There was a good variety of stories. The only reason I give the stories 3 stars was because there were a few stories I would end up tuning out. I would be driving for 40 minutes and not remember what happened because the story wasn’t engaging enough.

Great Horror Anthology

There are a lot of bad Horror Anthologies available, but fortunately this is not one of them. There are mediocre stories in this anthology, but the vast majority are really good. Worth the credit.

I wanted to really like this book, but....

I freakin love this book! If you're a lover of all hallows eve, the history, the origin and mythology then get this book! I learned things about my favorite time of year, the only holiday i care to celebrate that I hadn't a clue about. everything is just excellent, no complaints!

Meh

Narrators did well, but most of the stories were pretty boring. The second Jack story was the most original and interesting.

Just Ok

There were a few great stories, some good stories, and some bad stories in this collection. I ended up skipping a couple because I just couldn't get into them. But I guess there was something for everyone.

It's Halloween

"Her grin was a Jack o Lantern carved out of the twilight, eerie and bright and flickering with unholy fire.."

Spooky, creepy and very fun Halloween collection!! My favorites were With Graveyard Weeds and Wolfbane Seeds, Dirtmouth and Jack 🎃

Really enjoyed it

Good variety of stories, all with the common thread of Halloween. Really, really enjoyed it.

pretty good stories

Narrators were good and all but one story kept my attention (I admit I ended up skipping that story after about 3 minutes), the next to last story kinda droned on but was still not bad, and a couple were wonderfully spine tingling creepy. All in all well worth the credit.

Great spooky stories for stormy nights

I recommend this audiobook for anyone who likes spooky stories. I really enjoyed them all.