I read Murder for Halloween, edited by Michele Slung and Roland Hartman, in September, a good month and a half before the appropriate date, but no matter. This book was initially published in 1994 and contains a mix of original stories and reprints, the latter going as far back as Edgar Allan Poe ("The Black Cat"). The highlight of the anthology is Peter Straub's "Pork Pie Hat," a novella that was originally published in this volume, concerning a jazz musician and strange events that occur to him. Other good stories include Robert Bloch's "The Cloak"; Bram Stoker's "Walpurgis Night"; Steven Saylor's "The Lemures"; and "The Theft of the Halloween Pumpkin" by Edward D. Hoch. The conceit of the book is that each tale revolves, in one way or another, around Halloween or, in the case of the Saylor story, a predecessor of that holiday. There's nothing terribly exciting here, but it's a good read for whiling away an early fall evening. ( )

Most Halloween anthologies are nothing more the collections of mystery stories with macabre overtones. What makes this volume so satisfying is that it includes stories that take place on or around Halloween. Authors include stalwarts such as Ed Mc Bain, Robert Bloch, and "Ellery Queen." I found this book a great companion for an October evening.