Halldark Holidays

Halldark Holidays, edited by Gabino Iglesias, is a fun anthology of holiday horror. I started watching Hallmark movies a year or two ago with my Mom. She likes them (okay, maybe sometimes I do too), but I always shake my head at how predictable and formulaic they all seem. Halldark Holidays is an anthology that takes the familiar tropes, themes, and images of Hallmark movies and twists them into horror stories. I love the premise of this book and found several stories to be really outstanding! I throughly enjoyed The Morbs by Greg Sisco, A Winterland Surprise by Kathryn E. McGee, A Total Super Miracle on 34th Street by Mackenzie Kiera, Holiday Traditions by Cina Pelayo, Mother and Child by Todd Robinson, and the introduction to the anthology by Gabino Iglesias. Some of the other stories were enjoyable too, though a few seemed underdeveloped. I also disagreed with the point of view that seemed to be expressed in one or two of these tales, though I suppose provoking that kind of response in me is an artistic achievement in and of itself. Overall this collection is a mixed (Santa) bag in terms of quality. The themes and tropes common to many of these stories, like the Hallmark movies they parody, get a bit repetitive after awhile. Still, this is a really fun anthology for horror fans familiar with Hallmark movies, and is a great read for the holiday season. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️