Halloween Season

Full of charm and subtle humor, this collection of 15 Halloween-themed stories from Bram Stoker Award winner Snyder (Garden of Eldritch Delights) scares and delights in equal measure. In “Hazelnuts and Yummy Mummies,” a writer accidentally takes a hallucinogen, leading to phantasmagoric pandemonium. The Lovecraftian “Cosmic Cola” follows a middle schooler who discovers her new town is overrun by a cult of frog-people. Other standouts include “In the Family,” about a woman who uses online genetic testing to connect with a relative for nefarious purposes, and “Visions of the Dream Witch,” in which a young girl tries to get help for her cousin after he is injured in a monster attack. Snyder includes plenty of winking pop-culture references alongside appearances from all the classic Halloween monsters: zombies in “The Great VüDü Teen Linux Zombie Massacree,” witches and ghosts in “What Dwells Within,” and robots in “The House that Couldn’t Clean Itself.” This delightful collection will appeal both to avid horror readers and those just dipping their toes in for a seasonal celebration. (Oct.)