“Lantern Jack” (2010) by Christopher Fowler
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.
Lantern Jack, a spectral figure haunting a London pub, recounts a series of tragic tales circa 1600 to present, connected to the establishment and its patrons, blurring the lines between the living and the dead on Halloween night.
Setting: The Jack O'Lantern pub in London, England, on Halloween night.
Characters: Lantern Jack, the narrator and pub mascot; an unnamed young woman.
Halloween seen as: A time when the boundaries between the living and the dead blur, and the past intertwines with the present, highlighting the enduring power of stories and the cyclical nature of human experience.
Style: Ghost story with elements of urban fantasy and historical fiction, weaving together tales of love, loss, and the supernatural within the confines of a single location.
Point of view: First person, from Lantern Jack's perspective.
Jay
