“Before the Parade Passes By” by Marie O'Regan

The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories (2018) edited by Stephen Jones

Readers unfamiliar with The Mammoth Book of Halloween Stories may prefer to read these notes only after reading the anthology.

Hannah and her young daughter Tilly are new in town. They note increasingly disturbed classmate and parent behavior as the upcoming Halloween Parade approaches. Setting: A contemporary town, with a focus on a school, a house, and a haunted house.

Characters: Hannah, a mother; Tilly, her daughter; Annie, Tilly's friend; Mrs. Smythe, a teacher.

Halloween seen as: A time of focus on the vulnerability of prized children and the power of tradition.

Style: Psychological horror, with a focus on the anxieties of motherhood and the darkness lurking beneath the surface of ordinary life.

Point of view: Third person, primarily from Hannah's perspective.

Jay