A group of masked children appear before a green-colored flame and tell scary stories. Each story reflects both the creepiness of the autumnal season as well as the preference of the narrators. Meanwhile, the identity of these storytellers and their purpose starts to crystalize.
Welcome to Christopher Robertson’s The October Society: Season One. This YA collection is a perfect Halloween read for both YA and “A” readers. It effectively captures the spooky side of Halloween, dabbling infrequently in gory horror. The idea of having different characters tell their stories, and having their offerings match their personalities, is likewise inspired.
Anthologies live and die by the number of above-par stories. One great story doesn’t erase a list of mediocre tales. I rated the stories on “the Halloween feel” rather than how scary they were. In other words, do they evoke the general amusement the holiday has to offer?
Six stories make up the collection. It’s odd that the first one is fantasy based—and in a meta-moment one of the characters calls that out—but it’s one of the better stories. Again, the “Cottage in the Woods” is not as scary as thrilling, but it’s a lurid fable for the season. Another story is about a man who buys a drive-in, hoping to profit on the nostalgia. His daughter, while helping, becomes stuck at “The Dead-End Drive In.” My favorite entry is the devil-masked tough girl’s. “The Harmless One” is tonally different from the others and certainly the most adult offering. Though not centered in Halloween trappings, it’s the most frightening.
The “Season One” refers to the novel’s point-of-view. It’s as if you were watching this unfold on television with an opening credits scene and commercial breaks. A continuing news story tantalizes with a story of its own. Again, it’s a hook that works in the novel’s favor. The other aspect is the narrators’ teasing between stories. You get to know the storytellers and relate to them. The humor in these sequences elevates the novel as well. This is not just about a selection of Halloween stories—extra points for that.
The October Society is an effective chiller for the season if you are looking for “the Halloween feels” and not R-rated gore. This takes a series like Goosebumps or Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and ups the odds. This book is a definite add if you have a Halloween collection.