This is the second free anthology Cyberpulp have released: the first was themed on the events of September 11th. This time we're on more familiar, less sensitive territory with a collection of Halloween horror. The anthology is a free download -- click the cover above to reach the download page -- and contains 34 stories from both better and less well-known authors. The majority of the stories are set at Halloween, an evening ripe for story telling and reading -- and full of scope for writers! In this review I'm only going to highlight certain stories in the anthology, because to trawl through all 34 tales with brief descriptions may well take you longer to read than the stories themselves.

One of the anthology's better stories is by David Bain: A Pleasure to Burn. It's simple, yet well executed, and I found the plot of a film star returning to the house where he grew up -- and the secrets of his past -- appealing. Heading onwards, we find Alex Severin's Scary Black Clothes. It's short, sharp, and slightly predictable, but not the worse for that, as far as I'm concerned. It's a tale of goth versus old man: is he mad, or is she the strange one? Cute. Night of the Black Ghost by Tom Johnson is a story related to other stories by the author using the same main character, many of which are referenced in the text, but in my opinion, this sort of story, where you have to check up on the past adventures of a character, doesn’t necessarily belong in a stand-alone anthology. But I guess I'm biased: I found the murder mystery over-long, somewhat dreary, and spotted with typos. I’d better move on.

Beware the Death Angel by Jason Brannon however, was a fun read. It tells of a strange Halloween custom in a small town from the point of view of a new resident. I thought it was nicely creepy with an ending that could have gone several different ways. The Last of the An by John A. Banks is a clever story, where although I guessed what might be happening in the town plagued by warlike beings, I was never quite sure until the end. It's full of little details which make it a great story as a whole. G.W Thomas' Such Bitter Business is a gritty-styled chase to recover a book stolen by a body-snatching parasite. It’s an interesting ride along with the book collector, and a fun, rounded story. Mr. Jitterbones by A.P. Fuchs is set in Jack the Ripper's East End London, complete with Irish accents. There are some historical anachronisms: sodium lighting, packs of cigarettes, but the overall atmosphere is good, and Mr. Jitterbones himself is a scary character... but is he the Ripper?

Eric B. Anderson's Sica is a tale of cannibalism and food shortages, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Next is Hertzan Chimera's Vixen-naked Ultra-Luncheon which has a likeable style, and yet seems out of place in this anthology, possibly due to its less mainstream nature, or perhaps because it seems more of an extended description than an actual story. But if you like Chimera's work, this won’t disappoint.

House of Death by Angela Pruess is a fairly poor slasher movie copycat, but Dan Foley's It's in the Bag is miles better. A man keeps watch over a demon every year, to prevent him harming people, but there’s more to the tale than there seems. This is apparently (and surprisingly, from the quality) Foley’s first published story, and I hope to see more stories from him soon!

October Skulls by Tim Curran is a story about a robbery gone wrong--horribly wrong. The target seems like an easy mark, but he has a dark secret following him around, and Halloween is definitely the wrong time of year to stir things up. It’s wonderfully written, with interesting characters, and well worth reading. Lisa Mantchev's Through a Gently Revolving Door is a much gentler story about a trophy wife who longs for a child and yet isn’t well enough to have one. Another well written tale, this ghost story's plot is obvious and yet still satisfying.

The Pumpkin Man by Pasquale J. Morrone is similar in many ways to Leila Eadie's Kenny's Worst best Halloween Ever In both, the ghostly denizens of the night are protective, and bullies are seen as people in the end. They’re both good stories, well told, but Morrone's tale has more to it, with a creepy old lady who might be a witch, a pumpkin scarecrow and something even more dangerous. Guardian Bear by Philip Robinson is a story very different from most in this anthology. There’s no monster, just a series of books, one released every Halloween night. Rumours spring up: is the author psychic, a ghost, or just someone with a great imagination? Perhaps one person will find the special book that will end the speculation... I thought this was a great story, different and imaginative, and one of the best in the anthology.

C. Dennis Moore's Terrible Thrills is also a different tale, in that it’s a two-track feature. The Murder is creepy storytelling. Is it just a good Halloween soundtrack CD, or is there more to it? The Mayhem, on the other hand is all out chaos, as befits the title. There's a great imagination behind this idea, and it works well. Finally, After the Beep by Megan Powell begins with a situation familiar to most of us: wrong number calls. The main character, goes from being annoyed by the calls, to curious about the man they’re trying to reach, and starts playing the secretary--until the chilling final call. It's a great story, short and snappy, and thoroughly recommended.

That’s the pick of the bunch, for better and for worse. Those not mentioned here aren’t necessarily bad stories; most are interesting and worthwhile reads which just happened to take a back seat to these others. The main problem I found with this anthology--apart from a couple of strange story choices--was the quality of the production. It obviously hasn’t been proofread beyond the authors' efforts, and the formatting style varies wildly from author to author. This is a shame because there are some good stories in the anthology, and it ultimately looks a bit shabby, as if the publishers don't care enough to get things right. Yes, it's a free download, and should be good advertising for Cyberpulp, but surely it would be an even better ad if it looked good?

Editor-type comments aside, there are some great tales in this book, and I'd happily recommend it to anyone looking for a spooky and varied Halloween read. It's free, so why not click the cover to download it now, and decide for yourself?

Cyberpulp's Halloween Anthology 2.0 is free and available now!