Deadly Treats — Anne Frasier

Where mystery and Halloween collide...

Celebrate Halloween with this collection of short stories by award-winning authors.


1. Patrica Abbott, The Angel Deeb

When a pickpocket begins to have serious health isssues, he finds himself contemplating a new line of work.

2. Bill Cameron, Sunlight Nocturne

Ex-cop Skin Kadash spends Halloween day building a bat house with his neighbor, four-year-old Danny, while helicopters circle overhead looking for a murderer who might be hiding nearby.

3. Pat Dennis, Dead Line

Sibling rivalry and a suburban Halloween decorating contest cause Kate to take a pitchfork to her sister's yard display.


4. David Housewright, Time of Death

A young girl under arrest for the brutal murder of her cheating boyfriend attempts to convince the investigator that she is innocent, claiming the murder was committed by a ghost.

5. Stephen Blackmoore, World's Greatest Dad

By the time Franklin Delacorte wakes up, he's been dead six hours and is unsure of how he feels about his sons turning him into a zombie. When Franklin's behavior gets out of control, the boys feel compelled to undo what they've done, but Daddy knows best.

5. Heather Dearly, Troubled Water

The anniversary of two deaths brings about the return of the Grim Reaper to Anya Madjigijik's house on Cemetery Road.

6. Mark Hull, Friday Night Dining with Marianne

It's Halloween, and a food critic finds herself dining on chubby Boy Scout, mountaineer eyeballs, and sea monkeys.

7. Leandra Logan, You Called

A bitter, lonely woman spends Friday nights drinking cheap wine and entertaining herself by redialing the days unanswered calls to harass telemarketers.


8. Marilyn Victor, The Ogre of Her Dreams

Fledging witch Aurora Piddleworth wants a soulmate, and she blackmails instructor Olympia Dalrymple into creating the man of her dreams.


9. Julia Buckley, Motherly Intuition

A mother's job is never done, and death is no reason to keep Daphne's mother from looking out for her daughter.

10. Lance Zarimba, Fangs and All

It's love at first bite for Billy Joe Jim Bob when he brings his first vampire home in this hilarious and deliberately cliché-packed story.

11. L.K. Rigel, Slurp!

Feed your Muse takes on a whole new meaning when a writer has a breakdown on Halloween.

12. Kelly Lynn Parra, Graveyard Soul Sucker

It's Halloween, and group of college students visit a graveyard in an attempt to reanimate a dead serial killer with a ritual found in an ancient book of spells.

13. Jason Evans, She Came on the October Wind

A stray black cat appears nightly at Natalie's window, bringing with it memories of a sister who ran away years earlier.

14. Paula L. Fleming, Tricks, Treats, and Terror in Tin Lake

Halloween is the one day of the year when alien Adeela can shed her costume and walk freely among the humans.


15. Shirley Damsgaard, Bewitched

So what if you don't have the right ingredients to cast a spell? Rachel buys a magic book from an antique store and uses household ingredients to bring Mr. Right back into her life.


16. Anne Frasier, The Replacement

After a young man is reanimated, he has forty-eight hours to find a replacement for his empty grave if he wants to remain above ground.


17. Paul D. Brazill, This Old House

If you want a job done right, do it yourself. Or in the case of This Old House, never hire an idiot to burn down your home.

18. Michael Allan Mallory, Boo!

A lonely widower discovers that his old Halloween pranks no longer cut it with the new generation of jaded kids who are too old for trick-or-treat anyway. But when an unexpected visitor shows up at the widower's door, they hatch a plot the teenagers won't forget.

19. Daniel Hatadi, Playpen

When eight-year-old Tim vanishes while playing in Kids Playhouse, his best friend Manny must solve the crime and convince adults that there is more to Tim's disappearance than a human abduction or childish prank.