Halloweenland

Author: Sarrantonio, Al
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Page Count: 307pp.
Pub. Date: October 2, 2007
Publisher: Leisure/Dorchester

In Orangefield, Halloween is never normal — and this year is no exception. For Orangefield is now the home of Halloweenland, a bizarre carnival run by the mysterious Mr. Dickens. No one who sees the carnival doubts that it’s a very strange place, but its real secrets can hardly be imagined.

Orangefield is also the home of Detective Bill Grant, who thinks he’s seen it all. He’s on the trail of an odd little girl, a girl who could hold the end of the universe in her hand. The trail leads Grant to Ireland, the ancient home of the Lord of the Dead, then back to Orangefield, where, on what may be the last Halloween, the ultimate battle between Life and Death takes place.

The Undead Rat’s Notes:
Part one of Halloweenland is a reworking of a short novella called The Baby. The Baby was originally published by Cemetery Dance Publications in hardcover as the third book in their special Cemetery Dance Signature Series. It is currently out of print. The rest of Halloweenland is new material. At the end of the book is a page explaining the history of the story The Baby and then the actual novella as it originally appeared. As Mr. Sarrantonio writes:

I had, in the end, two versions of the same basic story with utterly different conclusions.

Both stories are now a part of the rich Orangefield Cycle by Al Sarrantonio. He also points of that a reading of the two stories, side by side, each with different endings to serve different objectives would be a valuable lesson for fledgling writers.

For readers interested in the rest of the Orangefield Cycle Leisure/Dorchester published Hallows Eve and Horrorween both of which collect the rest of the stories and are still in print. Together they make for chilling Halloween reading.