Every Day is Halloween
Amidst rumours of costumed people being attacked by the Dead, high school junior Esther worries she may never feel safe again. She’s gotten comfortable wearing her skull mask and black robe, even though she feels herself fading away at the edges.
Without a costume, how can she appease Mishu, a black cat who patrols her street? Or walk safely to school, side-by-side with ghosts from eras past? Then there are the skeletal ghoul soldiers near the local cemetery who love to torment passers-by.
When Esther’s bestie mysteriously disappears, she still can’t ditch her costume. Dressed as Death, will she find out what happened to her friend? And will she ever find the courage to step out of her comfort zone before fading into a mere shadow of herself?
Everyday is Halloween is a dark, eerie, quirky modern tale with moments of gruesomeness. Blending body horror with emotional and psychological depth, this paranormal story is told through traditional and epistolary storytelling (newspaper articles, emails, podcast transcripts, even a comic strip). Kit Daven’s lyrical yet visceral prose creates an unsettling world where the line between life and death blurs.
The Last Rites Edition of Every Day is Halloween, was designed as a print edition with expanded text and and a few full-colour illustrations. Due to file size limitations, the ebook edition does not contain all the images found in the print edition.
May contain mature themes for some young readers.
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Reader Reviews
While the idea of the dead rising and clashing with the living is hardly a new idea, this is not a zombie novel, nor does it rely on shock and grotesqueries to move the reader along its pages . . . Of course, when every day is Halloween, we must question how it might all end and let me be the first to tell you that as good as the initial hook as well as everything which comes after, the ending might just bring you to your knees and mourn for just one more day of Halloween. Highly recommend.
—Rick Hipson, author of A Reviewer’s Guide to Writing Book Reviews & host of Dark Bites Podcast
Wow. Creepy and original, Kit Daven’s Every Day Is Halloween dragged me down a very dark hole into a world where the day I enjoy and look forward to more than any other is a hellish present that will not leave. The dangers faced by her characters are the kind that feel visceral and close, like you’re only one step away from travelling with them into the worst day of your life. Some of the images stuck with me long after I finished the book — haunted tulips anyone?
—Jen Frankel, author of Undead Redhead
The novel is targeted at young adults, but has broader appeal . . . it’s also a coming of age story that made me think of The Body (Stand By Me) and Carrie by Stephen King. The costumes that the dead force the living to wear are a metaphor for the tension that we all feel sometimes as we try to balance the need to be our authentic selves with our desire to be accepted by the larger community . . . It’s a relatable, creative tour-de-force.
—Donna, Amazon Review
Kit Davin’s Every Day is Halloween is a spellbinding journey into a world where the supernatural and the everyday intertwine. This novel uniquely blends paranormal mystery, suspense, and deeply human experiences. The story follows Esther, a fifteen-year-old who finds solace in her Halloween persona, as she navigates the unsettling disappearance of her best friend. Kit’s writing is both lyrical and visceral, creating a haunting and captivating atmosphere . . . Every Day is Halloween explores themes of identity, loss, and the courage it takes to confront the shadows within and around us. It’s a thought-provoking book that invites readers to reflect on what it truly means to be seen and to be alive.
—R G Gehue, Amazon Review
Virtual Online Launch — October 20, 2024
On October 20th, I launched Every Day is Halloween online in two livestreams, an afternoon session and an evening one.
A less polished version of this story (fewer epistolary elements) is available to be read for free on Regan Macaulay’s 13 Horrifically Silly Days of Halloween blog series…