The Halloween Children

Prentiss and Freeman try hard but miss the mark in this tale of what happens when Halloween is canceled. Harris Naylor is the handyman of a Maryland apartment complex, living on-site with his neurotic wife, Lynn, and their two children, Amber and Mattie. After Harris posts fliers announcing that the complex’s Halloween party will be replaced by trick-or-treating, the background irritations of living in close proximity to others—an invalid being spied on by her insurance company, a frail man with an impressive stomp, a family with an obnoxious pet—take a turn for the gruesome, leading up to the horror of a Halloween with no sanctioned outlet for the spirits. The use of an apartment complex for a haunted house story is interesting, but the characters are so unlikable, particularly the lamentably foolish Harris, that readers never engage with the horror. After an enjoyable build-up, the story’s ending feels melodramatic and draws attention to its significant plot holes. (Nov.)