Ellen Datlow knows a thing or two about horror. And now, the Hugo Award-winning editor and genre authority brings together 19 original stories in All Hallow’s Eve, a chilling anthology exploring Halloween, Samhain, Día de los Muertos and the traditions surrounding the season when the boundary between the living and the dead is at its most porous.
Spanning America, New Zealand, and the rural Romanian wilderness, the collection features an extraordinary line-up of horror heavyweights, including Josh Malerman, Stephen Graham Jones, Garth Nix, Christopher Golden, Alma Katsu, Brian Evenson, Nathan Ballingrud, and John Langan.
Within its pages, a young boy encounters a figure with an ancient connection to the holiday, college students attend a party to die for, and a troubled girl turns to a local urban legend in a desperate bid to change her life. Across 19 tales, All Hallow’s Eve navigates our enduring fascination with the rituals, folklore, and darker customs of the spooky season.
To celebrate the recent release of the book, CinemaChords sat down with Datlow to discuss bringing together such a formidable ensemble of writers, the worldwide traditions that fuel our fascination with the macabre, and what sets this collection apart from the deluge of seasonal horror.