We Bleed Orange & Black by Jeff C. Carter is a collection of thirty-one short stories about Halloween. From the goosebump inducing to the heartwarming, this collection has a huge range!
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. I also purchased a copy.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on We Bleed Orange & Black by Jeff C. Carter
This collection was SO MUCH FUN! It helped kick me into the Halloween spirit this year, which was much appreciated!
The stories in this collection that really stood out to me include:
- Take One
- The Dentist
- Haunted House – One Star
- Costume Drama
- Split Test
- Trunk or Treat
- An Attack of Conscience
- The Dog Walker
- Inky’s Day Out
- Red Snow
- TOP TEN TIPS TO GET YOUR BODY READY
- On Moonlit Rails
- The Tale of the Burning Midnight
Per usual, here are my notes about each tale:
Foreword –
A wonderful opening letter. I loved that the author wrote that this collection is his love letter to Halloween!
Family Friendly Stories –
The author takes a moment to outline stories in this collection that are friendly for all ages while a few more are PG. what an awesome idea! For parents that want to share what they’re reading with kids, this is clearly a collection to grab!
Take One – Five Stars
When a trick or treater sees a sign to take one, his greed gets the best of him. But the silly kid should have listened to the sign!
I loved this one! What a great tale to kick off this collection with. We all knew a kid that never took just one…
The Dentist – Five Stars
A dentist that doesn’t give out mini toothbrushes and apples for Halloween?!
This tale was a brilliant take that makes SO much sense!
Haunted House – 1 Star – Five Stars
Set up as a review left online, this reviewer gives a play by play of entering a haunted house and what her experience was.
My goodness if this story doesn’t hit on the insanity of online reviews! While super dark, I couldn’t help but laugh at this woman and how dense she was. Yikes!
Costume Drama – Five Stars
Three boys are convinced that one house in their town can make your costume your future. But which house? And what’s the trick?
Phew, this one was so fun right up until the big event that certainly gives it a dark twist. The thought of eating all that candy made me so queasy! But ah, the joys of trick or treating!
All Gallows’ Eve – Four Stars
A man that works as the towns executioner is about to have good things come his way after years of hard work. But when he’s asked to keep a promise, his decision will change his course.
What an unsettling tale. The lengths these people we to was alarming and so dark. I loved the final scenes!
The Collection – Three Stars
A quick and brutal poem!
Unsettled – Four Stars
A girl has been hearing things at night. Her father tells her it’s just the house settling…
Oh man, this one brought me right back to childhood and the terror of the dark bedroom with strange noises!
Copper Nails – Four Stars
A woman determined to get rid of a tree on her property decides to hammer a ring of copper nails into it to try to kill it. But this tree can fight back.
What a killer eco horror tale! You can’t help rooting for the tree (ha!), but man, as a homeowner that has had to have many trees cut down, I understand this woman’s frustration!
Split Test – Five Stars
Offered up a chance to make it big, will this vampire take the plunge?
This one was so fun! A money making scheme pitched to a vampire is fun enough, but that ending!
Eye Witness – Four Stars
A man determined to figure out what happened at a crime scene waits for his informant to arrive. When he finally does, he can’t stop itching his eye.
Ick. What is it about body horror in relation to eyes that makes it go up a notch immediately? This one had me feeling feeble while reading! And of course, my eye started to itch and kept itching all night!
The Silent Parade – Three Stars
Eco-ish horror? What an unsettling premise.
Eyeshyne – Three Stars
This faerie has quite the partnership going!
Trunk or Treat – Five Stars
Attending a local trunk or treat event, these two parents are annoyed with the judgement they got from other parents about robbing their kids of their independence on Halloween… but that’s not the only thing they should be worried about.
That ending… My god.
An Attack of Conscience – Five Stars
When a man sneaks into a woman’s room, he doesn’t have the best of intentions. But when someone pops up, he realizes what a poor idea this was.
I love this! The ending was intense!
The ABCs of a Healthy Halloween – Four Stars
This is a clever format that you need to see for yourself!
The Cobra Effect – Four Stars
When a man is paid to destroy vampires to keep their population down, the town is concerned that they just keep popping up…
I loved the story inside this story! What a twisted tale.
Halloween on Mars – Three Stars
Set up like an article explaining the holiday to someone who has never experienced it, this goes over the ins and outs that would be good to know.
This one was fun! It’s interesting to think about holidays on other planets!
The Dog Walker – Five Stars
A man out on a walk with his dog comments on how they never take the same exact path twice. When the dog locks onto a scent we’re about to figure out just why that is.
I loved this one! I love the whole idea, the pacing, and how clueless I was about what was going on until the end!
In Terrorem – Four Stars
Sent out to read a will, this man is expecting drama. But when just one heir appears, he then needs to convince her to let him read the whole thing will.
That last line! Wonderful!
Inky’s Day Out – Five Stars
On Halloween, a class takes a trip to the aquarium. When a bully pesters the octopus, a girl stands up to him but the situation ends in tears. However, this boy is about to learn just how smart Inky is!
This is my favorite of the family friendly tales. Such a fun little adventure! I’d love to see a children’s book made out of this one!
Red Snow – Five Stars
Oh man, this one was unsettling from the start and only got more and more suspenseful. This poor girl. I loved that this one featured my favorite animal, the polar bear!
TOP TEN TIPS TO GET YOUR BODY READY – Five Stars
Who doesn’t want their body to be ready for the next step?!
This story was a hoot! It’s literally ten tips to get your body ready to be a spooky scary skeleton!
On Moonlit Rails – Five Stars
When a man rolls into town with quite the treasure, the local gold buyer is interested in learning just where it came from.
I was already hooked when they mentioned where this treasure came from, but then learning the tale of how they got the items out was intense. Then the ending! Truly awesome. What a great tale!
The Tale of the Burning Midnight – Five Stars
A club of kids that are from all different schools come together to share scary stories. Tonight, they have a potential new recruit. All he needs to do is spook them.
This one was absolutely terrifying! This passage gave me goosebumps:
“A campfire drives the shadows from a clearing, but when you face the light it makes you blind to the darkness. You may feel the heat on your front, but you never feel the eyes on your back.”
Full Moon Halloween – Three Stars
When a teen is forbade to go to a Halloween party, he just sneaks out when his parents are unaware of course. But he’s got a doozy of a costume planned. All he needs to do is try to keep his cool.
What an angsty teen!
The Low Dark Place – Four Stars
After humans have faced attack after attack by various monsters, the dark ones are all excited for humanity to fall as the humans join them where they are now…
That ending got me! Perfect as is, but I can’t help but also want more from this world!
Nearby Incidents – Three Stars
Ah, everyone’s favorite person… the neighborhood Karen! I couldn’t help but wonder how she had so much time on her hands!
Anonymous IRL – Three Stars
Related to the last tale, this one had some unlikable characters that will make you just shake your head with their antics.
A wonderful story of the boy who cried wolf!
The Great American Scare-Off – Three Stars
Who will be this year’s scariest monster and most popular Halloween costume? This crew of judges is about to make that call.
I loved the humor and upbeat tone of this one!
Working the Roots of Pumpkins – Three Stars
As this mother and daughter bake, the mother tells a story of their family. And while the young one is told this is all innocent, the mother has other plans.
What a fun quiet horror tale!
The Year Without a Halloween – Four Stars
A major snow storm on Halloween can’t deter these kids from going out! But through the confusion with the snow, they end up in a place they didn’t mean to go.
I loved this teaser! I would love to see more of this story!
Pumpkin Head – Four Stars
Attending a party on Halloween, one man isn’t into going out, while the other man begs him to just go along with it and be in a couples costume. When they get to the party, the man decides to make a change in his costume to make his date happy. But once the pumpkin is on, something odd happens…
This tale bothered me at first at how rude the man is to his date! But I loved the path the story took, and the ending was so cute.
How to Preserve Your Pumpkin – Four Stars
A boy determined to make Halloween last a little longer tries everything to keep his pumpkin rot free.
What a perfect tale to end the collection with! And what a great lesson for kids and adults alike.
My Favorite Passages from We Bleed Orange & Black
Something shuffled through the dark bedroom towards the little girl. She pulled the covers over her head. She couldn’t see what it was, and she didn’t want it seeing her either. Cold breath stirred the blanket against her face, slowly creeping inside, invading her last pocket of safety.
The people gathered on the sidewalks watched dumbstruck as Harlan exploded. He became a gushing wave, crashed into a red slick of mud and smeared all the way to the edge of town.
The embers of the campfire flickered, giving little heat and just enough light to paint the children with feeble tinges of orange and red.
“A campfire drives the shadows from a clearing, but when you face the light it makes you blind to the darkness. You may feel the heat on your front, but you never feel the eyes on your back.”
My Final Thoughts on We Bleed Orange & Black
This collection was so much fun. It’s the perfect read to either get you into the Halloween spirit, to celebrate the holiday, or if you just need a pick me up during the rest of the year.
Thanks for reading!
In December, stay tuned for my review of Jeff’s collection, We Bleed Red & Green!
Sounds like a really good collection overall. I love that they tell you about the more kid-friendly stories!
<3