Title: Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories

Author: Patrick Barb

Release date: Sept 26, 2023

Huge thanks to Patrick and Keylight Books for sending me a digital ARC of this one!

Have you read Patrick’s novella ‘Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare’ yet?!?!

The reason I bring that up is two-fold.

1st – it is BRILLIANT and will make you an instant fan of Patrick’s work.

2nd – the atmosphere that Barb created within that novella is a perfect way to describe the atmosphere in this collection.

This is haunting. Bleak. Profound. Unsettling. Over and over again, rapid-fire in some instances, Barb sets the ball up and then knocks it out of the park, destroying the reader in the process.

What I liked: Time and time again, while reading these stories, Barb would deliver a story that had me think ‘Yup, that one, that’s my favorite of the batch,’ before the next one would arrive, and I’d repeat that thought. It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection that was just so heartbreaking. Andrew F. Sullivan’s collection that I recently read was close, a batch of real-life folks dealing with real-life sorrow, but this one just went an extra amount in the despondency conveyed and it made for a tough but worthwhile experience.

Let’s go through a few of my personal favorite stories.

This all begins with ‘Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit.’ It is exactly what the title suggests, where a small child has wandered away from the campsite. His parents are frantic, and a local legend suggests that a mother bear lurks around to steal kids. It all culminates in an ending that made me shudder.

‘Rose From the Ashes’ was an interesting look at someone connecting with the souls of those who’ve recently departed in a funeral home.

‘And Our Next Guest’ was a chaotic and anxiety-fueled look at ‘live’ late night TV and had a really engaging twist.

‘I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script’ as a unique take on and with mixed media. This was a blast to read and one that will stay with readers for a long time after.

‘Pre-Approved for Haunting’ might be the title story but it wasn’t something simply thrown in because of that. We follow a ghost hunter who gets called back to the same house over many different years with many different owners. It made me grin the entire time.

When it was all said and done, my personal favorite was ‘Melvin and The Murder Crayon.’ With shades of the novella, I mentioned previously, this one was simply heartbreaking and as a non-American, feels like something completely and totally avoidable. I loved this story, but it makes me feel ill inside when I use the word ‘love’ for this one.

What I didn’t like: While the stories throughout were all really solid and enjoyable, some just didn’t connect with me. Very common with collections (and anthologies) and in this case a few just didn’t rattle my brain the same way the others did.

Why you should buy this: If you’re already a fan of Barb’s work this is a no-brainer to grab. If you’ve not read his work yet, this is a really great place to dive in and discover why Barb is quickly becoming a must-read author for so many readers.

4/5