Author Description

There is no doubt that Halloween 2020 is going to go down as one of the strangest holidays ever. With lockdowns, social distancing, masks, politics, lies, violence and hate dominating every news report--every thought at times—this holiday looks and feels very different. Some people are determined to act as if everything’s normal while others are devastated that they can’t have their annual Halloween gala. Trick or treating has either been cancelled or there are so many rules in place to protect everyone from Covid-19 that it barely resembles its previous incarnations. For the 2020 Halloween Short Story Challenge, I tasked the authors to look at Halloweens past, present and future. I suggested they view the holiday through the out-of-focus lens of 2020, but they didn’t have to. I challenged them to search outside the box, inside the box and all around the box, until they found something that resonated within them. For many, this year has been one of loss, fear, uncertainty and apathy. It’s been hard to get out of bed let alone be creative. That’s why this was an especially difficult, yet important, Challenge. The authors in this anthology accepted that challenge and they’ve written an incredible, eclectic assortment of Halloween stories and poems. They’ll terrify you. They’ll delight you. They’ll make you laugh. And hopefully, for at least as long as it takes you to read them, you’ll be distracted from the real-life horrors of 2020. Enjoy!