“Pumpkin”
Bill Pronizini
Cemetery Dance
various ebpub editions , $0.99

Cemetery Dance has been publishing Halloween themed short stories on weekdays for the last couple of weeks and will continue to do so until Halloween.  It’s part of a promotion called 13 Days of Halloween. I’ll be taking a look at some of them, randomly selected.

These are all short stories, so I won’t go into too much detail.  In this one, Amanda Sutter and her husband run a pumpkin farm in California.  One day one of the field hands discovers that there’s something wrong with one of the pumpkins…

Pronzini is one of my favorites.  While he’s never to my knowledge written any heroic fantasy, he does occasionally venture from the mystery/crime fields to dip his toes in the waters of dark fantasy and horror.  I wish he would more often.  Although I have to admit that Pronzini is one of those writers whose work I would read regardless of genre.  In my opinion he’s that good.

This story isn’t his most gripping, but it’s still worth a read, especially the last page or two.  Pronzini isn’t one to go for the gross-out.  Instead, he prefers the quiet buildup.  And he’s good with the twist at the end.  This story fits that bill quite well.

It’s short, only about 10 pages long, but worth the price.  If you’re in the mood for a Halloween treat with a little trick at the end, check it out.