Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories

by Patrick Barb

A collection of weird, dark stories and millennial anxieties. In this new collection, Patrick Barb explores themes of family found and lost, media consumption and the dangers of runaway nostalgia, the supernatural in our lives, and the impact of violence in both the long- and short-term. From rural backwoods to Park Slope brownstones, Barb's characters face impossible, awful situations, testing their inner strength and understanding of reality. Covering quiet horror, weird fiction, supernatural horror, slasher horror, topical dark fiction, and more, these stories spotlight supposedly familiar terrors and fears in new and unexpected ways.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

About the author

Patrick Barb is an author of weird, dark, and spooky tales, currently living (and trying not to freeze to death) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. His published works include the dark fiction collections The Children’s Horror and Pre-Approved for Haunting, the novellas Gargantuana's Ghost, Turn, and JK-LOL, as well as the novelette Helicopter Parenting in the Age of Drone Warfare. He is the editor and publisher of the anthology And One Day We Will Die: Strange Stories Inspired by the Music of Neutral Milk Hotel. His forthcoming works include the Killer VHS novella Night of the Witch-Hunter from Shortwave Publishing and his debut sci-fi/horror novel Abducted from Dark Matter Ink. His 2023 short story "The Scare Groom" was selected for Best Horror of the Year Volume 16. Visit him at patrickbarb.com.

Reviews

[Stitching Ghost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-Approved for Haunting is kind of a hard one to review for me because there's no uniting theme and the stories were really uneven. There's a few stories that are really strong so I would still recommend the collection as a whole for these but there were quite a few of the stories that I felt needed more work.

Here's what I thought of each story in a nutshell:

Lost Boy... Short and uncomfortable. 4/5
A Portrait of... Family horror meets art horror in a beautifully fevered story. 4/5
Casual, well that was a different type of dating, possible not so positive aro-ace rep (/jk)? Not particularly scary but quite fun. 3.5/5
Have you seen... A cautionary tale about paying close attention when people speak. 4/5
Pre-approved for.... This one I would have wanted more of and I would recommend this collection solely for this particular story about a peculiar brand of haunting 4.5/5
The Crack in the... I feel like I've read this one before (an isolated community that performs ritualistic sacrifices...) 3/5
Melvin... I get the message, but it felt out of place almost inappropriate in the context of this collection.
There's No Bunk... I read it a couple of times and I think I don't *get* it. 2/5
Iggy... That one was really fun; horse girl horror is something I don't see often enough. 4/5
The Decimation... Oddly choppy read almost like an outline more than an actual story.
Shattered, the women have been changed by The Signal, there's a nice little splash of body horror. 3/5
The Giallo Kid... Is another one that I could have taken more of, slasher action meets end of the world type scenario in a gritty and fast-paced package, really solid. 4.5/5
And rapid fire round for the other stories: Return to Voodoo... 2.5/5 And our Next... 3/5, Rose from... 2/5, I Will Not... 3/5, Other Half of... 2/5, Putting Down Roots 2/5.

[Marci Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of several short stories. I was very impressed with a handful of the stories and a few of them were simply okay. All of the stories were incredibly well written. I would like to rate this 3.5stars.

[Lezlie The Nerdy Narrative · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of the ARC from the publisher, Keylight Books (an imprint of Turner Publishing Company), in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are subjective to myself as a reader.

Patrick Barb is known for his excellent prose, his ability to expose and explore the dual nature of different elements/situations and for writing unforgettable tales of tragedy and horror.

Last December was when I read my first piece of literature by Patrick Barb. I read the novelette, HELICOPTER PARENTING IN THE AGE OF DRONE WARFARE and was blown away by the writing, its atmosphere and the outside-the-box presentation of the story. I knew right away that this was an author I wanted to read more of. When I received the email asking if I'd be interested in the ARC for this one, I was thrilled.

This short story collection contains 18 tales that cover a wide spectrum of topics: living in the shadow of one's father, loneliness, loss, found family, violence, human experimentation, post apocalyptic worlds, fame - and that's just barely scratching the surface. The variety of genres and in some cases, the blending of multiple genres - make this one a fantastic read for the spooky season because you cover ALL the bases: supernatural phenomena, weird horror, speculative fiction, terror, hauntings, and even a slasher or two.

Out of the 18 stories, there were maybe 3 or 4 that I felt lukewarm on. The rest - I LOVED. I'm talking 4 and 5 stars reads for each of them. I surprised myself by pulling out tabs and tabbing these stories. I've never done that with a short story before. I was marking quotes that made an impact on me or struck me as exceptionally well written. Moments that I felt shone a spotlight on the purpose of a character or story. I have several places that I tagged that I found to be atmospheric and made me feel physically present in the story.

If I just had to choose a few top favorites, I'd have to pick:
"A Portrait Of The Artist As An Angry God (In Landscape)"
"Casual"
"Rose From The Ashes"
"Have You Seen My Missing Pet?"
"And Our Next Guest..."
"I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script"
"Pre-Approved For Haunting"
"Melvin And The Murder Crayon"

I place importance on variety when I read a short story collection by the same author, or else the stories run together and I forget them too easily. With the mixture of different types of horror and dreadful character situations - not to mention Barb's unforgettable writing style - there was no need to worry about that!

I think this collection would be pair nicely for readers who would like to dip their toes into the horror genre for the first time or for those readers who enjoy "bite-sized" horror stories for the Fall/Winter months.

You can find this review and many more on my website, https://www.thenerdynarrative.com or if you prefer video format, you can find those on my BookTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/thenerdynarra...

[Syn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling collection of short stories, a variety that meshes and threshes together quite well. Barb's terrrifying tales are a fantastic body of work. They make you want to sit around a campfire and roast marshmallows while reading aloud scary stories in the dark as the flames flicker from the fire.

My absolute favorite story in this was 'Return to Voodoo Village' it was such a strange and creepy crawly gets under your skin kind of story. It gets your imagination running wild as to where the character will end up when it's all said and done.

A perfect book just in time for spooky season. Ghosts, creatures, slasher horror, snorting ashes of dead people, when trees exact their revenge, and so much more. There's a little something creepy and weird for everyone.

[Carson Winter · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many fans, the horror genre transcends the roller coaster-thrill of sitting in a dark theater, white-knuckling the arm rest. Given enough time, horror has a way of seeping into your bones and forming the lens of your perspective. Conversations on bodily autonomy reflect The Exorcist, consumerism becomes a re-enactment of Dawn of the Dead, and of course, death and human frailty loom over it all.

Horror becomes a tool, a series of building block-shaped tropes that fit together in such a way that we can assemble our own worlds and test our own dark hypotheses. We have no choice but to write horror—we know no other way. It’s become a part of us.

I don’t know that Patrick Barb considers himself a postmodernist, but it’s worth noting that in his debut collection, Pre-Approved for Haunting, the lens applied is twofold—to that of the story and to that of its structural foundation. I’ve long been a fan of Barb’s unique take on horror fiction (read “Haunting Lessons,” please), because as an artist he is not only at ease with the fundamentals of the craft, but also: the reader gets the impression that he’s having fun while traipsing through the graveyard. Barb’s stories are full of human, lived-in moments, but these moments flourish in often absurdist distortions or deconstructed echoes of the genre itself.

This is all to say that Patrick doesn’t just write horror stories—he also writes about horror stories.

Pre-Approved for Haunting is an excellent collection of weird and dark fiction that explores both the genre and more immediate themes of violence, found family, and the supernatural. To say the collection is any one thing would be to discredit it—as there are a handful of stories in here that have little to say about the horror genre itself. But its heights are when Barb feels like a kid in a sandbox, a mummy in one hand and a vampire in another. The glee borne from this imaginative process is contagious.

“A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God” is an early standout that takes a haunted painting and runs it for the touchdown by emphasizing its father and son relationship, the idea of legacy, and some interesting insights into low and high art. “I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script” is a mind-bending monologue of sorts, as meta as the title announces, but extremely enjoyable nonetheless. The title story, however, might be the crown jewel of the collection, a brilliant deconstruction of the haunted house tale that asks poignant, yet simple questions of the reader to get them to consider what makes a house haunted. By the end, the story transforms from a playful romp through hallowed ground, into an exercise in inevitable dread.

The final, and perhaps the most extravagant genre-experiment is “The Giallo Kid in the Cataclysm’s Campgrounds,” where Barb weaves together several disparate horror elements—the giallo, slasher, and apocalypse—to create a sort of Cabin in the Woods riff starring a killer in a Homer Simpson mask. It is, in a word, batshit. But in the good way. Barb excels when he’s juggling horror iconography, letting the pieces fall where they may, and then sketching in the sinew.

My favorite story in Pre-Approved for Haunting though, breaks this mold in favor of bleaker subject matter and the elimination of genre navel-gazing. “Melvin and the Murder Crayon” is a dark tale about the death of a child by a trigger-happy resource officer and how the tragedy takes shape after the child’s death. The story is told across five pages, with plenty of scene breaks, creating the feeling of witnessing a flip book of snapshots—the initial violence, the press conference, the clean-up, and, of course, the titular crayon which takes on symbolic (perhaps supernatural) relevance. It’s a brilliant piece of horror fiction that is confrontational, empathetic, and sadly reflective of real life.

As a whole, Pre-Approved for Haunting moves quickly. There’s a fair amount of flash fiction, and most stories run less than fifteen pages, giving the reader a sense of breathless revelation as they turn from one to another. I’m a big proponent of leaving novellas out of collections because of the dead stop they put on the pacing and I was happy to find that Barb’s debut is a well-sequenced sprint, rather than a stuttering crawl.

Pre-Approved for Haunting is a book of horror stories written for horror fans. Barb dumps out his play-chest of slashers, hauntings, and monsters and asks you to see your own life built from the remnants of shrieking music stings and half-remembered direct-to-video rentals. Pre-Approved for Haunting shows us that horror, above all else, is a language.

[Steve Stred · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[greta · Rating 2 out of 5]

when I saw this book, I was really intrigued because it’s a horror short story collection containing 18 different stories. this was my first book by Patrick Barb, but it didn’t go that well for me sadly.

out of the whole collection, I didn’t have no 5 star nor 4 star stories. my highest rating was 3.5 and only three of the stories were rated that: Have You Seen My Missing Pet?, The Crack in the Ceiling and Shattered. all the other stories were either mediocre or I didn’t like them at all… I felt like some of these stories were quite thought through, but others felt like they were so simple and not at all scary or had any interesting plot about them and I just found myself wanting to be done with them…

even if I had three stories I enjoyed, I still wouldn’t really recommend this book, but that’s just my personal opinion. this could be a great book for horror beginners, I guess.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some fine short horror story collections have come out in 2023; however, Patrick Barb’s forthcoming collection, ‘Pre-Approved for Haunting and Other Stories’ stands out for its originality and magnificent prose, and for sheer intelligence. In fact, this is the kind of stories I have sought in the work of Brian Everson, Stephen Graham Jones, Brian Hodge, and John Langan; the kind of stories even people outside horror pay attention to. Would it be far-fetched to put Barb’s name among these terrific writers? I for one am convinced that sooner or later (may it be sooner!), Barb’s name will stand among those who ’ve done horror a great service, not only by allowing us to see what horror can be, but also by showing that it’s possible for short horror to be a thing of beauty right now, not some time in the future: Barb makes horror very real, bringing out what we always knew was there but rarely stopped, in the darkness of our times, to examine. (Richard Thomas’ Foreword enforces this impression, and he certainly knows what he speaks about!)

What impressed me most about the book is how smart the stories are: the intelligence lurking in the most uncanny of places in this book is striking. There’s an abundance of imagination (take a look at the opening story, “Lost Boy Found in His Bearsuit,” where Barb, with few words and some intriguing snapshot-like descriptions, manages to narrate a full tale of a child returned to his parents from the clutches of a mama bear), loads of creativity (check out “Have You Seen My Missing Pet?” with its totally unexpected twist, about an old man who has lost his pet and visits a new mother, asking her for it), and startling prose (“At the end of every week, our town hangs burning bodies from the Ceiling so we’ll remember what stars looked like,” from “A Crack In The Ceiling”). But, again, for me it’s the intelligence that stands out: in the titular story “Pre-Approved For Haunting,” written as a cross between a review article, a journal entry and a riddle, the resolution of the ghost story is simply so good, it borders on the bizarre and the magnificent. And the amazing imagery is surprisingly inventive: picture a writer discovering trees are taking over his home town (“Putting Down Roots”), or a painter taking revenge on his father by secretly putting monstrous figures in his father’s paintings (“A Portrait of The Artist As An Angry God (In Landscape)”), or a final girl who does not fulfill her intended role, bringing the end of the world (“The Giallo Kid In The Cataclysm’s Campgrounds”). But the story which, I think, will stay with me for some time, is “I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script” (according to the synopsis: “a jaded screenwriter can’t escape the haunted screenplay that’s ruined his career”): it combines everything good in the collection in a single fantastic story – it’s original, unsettling, perfectly written, with a great ending, quite cunning, and smart, smart, smart!

In brief: If you’re a horror fan (or always wanted to be one!), this is required reading.

Huge thanks to the author and the publisher, Turner Publishing, for the ARC.

Releases September 26, 2023!

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to thank the publisher for sending me an eARC of this short story collection.

The first thing I want to mention is the cover, which seems very simple at first glance, but perfectly sets the tone for the eighteen dark stories within.

PRE-APPROVED FOR HAUNTING AND OTHER STORIES is packed full of strange and weird tales featuring a cast of very different characters who lead their own personal haunted lives. No story is the same in theme or even format. But they're all an interesting variation of horror in its many forms, and each one stands out for its own eerie reason/s.

As is typical with collated tales, some grabbed me more than others. My personal favourites are: Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit because of its subtle but strong horror, A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God (in Landscape) because it's a fever dream of art and obsession, Rose from the Ashes because it's an intriguing revenge fantasy, Iggy Crane and the Headless Horse Girl because it's fascinating, and The Giallo Kid in the Cataclysm’s Campgrounds because it's slasher with a difference.

Another thing I really like are the actual story titles. There are some very clever and creative titles in this bunch.

Overall, I really enjoyed this collection.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite stories are Pre-Approved For A Haunting, The Crack In The Ceiling, Iggy Crane and The Headless Horse Girl. I think this is a really great collection with stand out stories. I would recommend this to those who enjoy horror stories. Special Thank You to Patrick Barb, Turner Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Zachary Ashford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of stories.

[S.D. Hintz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written and entertaining. My favorite story was A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God. Found myself wishing the monster would go berserk on everyone in the hotel. 😂

[Alex Ebenstein]

If you’ve read anything by Patrick Barb before, I expect you to pick up his short story collection, PRE-APPROVED FOR HAUNTING. I’ve been a fan of Barb’s work since the first story of his I read, “The Crack in the Ceiling”, which features perhaps my favorite opening line of all time, and is included in this collection. And, while I had no worries, PRE-APPROVED only served to solidify my opinion of his work. Barb’s got a fan for life in me, there’s no doubt about that. I’ll follow Barb to whatever murky depths his imagination conjures, fully expecting the horrific, the heartrending, and the Weird, lurking around every corner. Join me, won’t you? I promise, if you like sharp prose, biting wit, and inventive and accessible weirdness, you’ll feel right at home.

[The Library Ladies · Rating 4 out of 5]

(originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com )

Thank you to Turner Publishing and Keylight Books for sending me an ARC of this collection!

Though I do see myself as an avid horror fan (probably more than avid if we are encompassing all of my pastimes and interests), I am always discovering creators that are new to me, either because they are also new, or more likely because I just haven’t tuned into them yet. It’s always fun to have a new horror author end up in my path, and “Pre-Approved for Haunting: And Other Stories” by Patrick Barb (who is also a local author for us Minnesota people!) is the newest example of that. I had never heard of Barb before, but the description of his works in this collection definitely had my attention from the jump. A short story collection is a great way to get a feel for a new to me author, and I can definitely say that this book is a good example of that. Holy varied works, Batman!

As always with short stories collections, I shall focus on my favorite three stories and then review the collection as a whole.

“Casual”: This was a story pretty early in the collection, and it was the first one to make me say ‘okay, this guy knows what he’s doing’. Talk about a twisted take on a pretty well worn concept! Jack and Lizzie are meeting for the first time in person after meeting online, choosing a quiet bar to get to know each other a little bit… and to do their first dual murder together. From the jump you know that these two young people are here to do something terrible, but it’s written in a way that feels like a cozy meet cute between two people who have similar interests and sparkling chemistry. I really liked the subversion, and how even though you know how it’s going to go you can’t help but kind of like the banter and flirtation as they get to know each other, and feel the poignancy of the end.

“I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script”: As a person who enjoys an urban legend, especially ones that involve haunted Hollywood and cursed movies, this one had a lot going for it out the gate. A screenwriter is sick of people approaching them with supposedly haunted and cursed screenplays, as their own notorious script may or may not have cursed an entire production, leaving them the last person involved alive. But this newest one may be the exception, and not because the writer has any say. I love the construction of this one, being somewhat second person from the screenwriter’s POV, and how it vacillates between a rant with exposition, and bits from a screenplay. I loved the frenzied build up and the absolute bonkers unraveling of it all.

“Iggy Crane and the Headless Horse Girl”: I’m pretty certain this was my favorite in the book, as I love anything related to “Sleepy Hollow” and I REALLY loved the way that Barb updated it and made it fit into a modern framework. Iggy Crane is the new riding instructor at the prestigious Sleepy Hollow Girls’ Preparatory Academy. She is drawn to headmistress Cat Van Tussel, but finds some of her students, specifically the Bones Girls Clique, difficult. And when she sees a viral video involving a girl who pretends to be a horse, things get all the stranger. I really, really loved this story, and how Barb takes the ideas of superstition and lore and translates it into viral videos and idle gossip. It feels like “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” without trying too hard, and I adored how it all lines up with the original tale while still being pretty novel and unique.

As for the collection as a whole, it was probably pretty evenly distributed between the three I loved, then the ones that were pretty good, okay, and not really for me. I did like the overall unease of these tales, and I definitely see the tweaked and twisted take on certain aspects of Millennial nostalgia in a good number of them (I’m specifically thinking of “The Other Half of the Battle”, which, without giving too much away, was making me flashback to both the ‘Pork Chop Sandwiches!’ meme and my G.I. Joe sleeping bag from when I was but a child. MAN did that tap into multiple layers of nostalgia memories). A few were a little much for my triggers and horror boundaries, so it’s probably a good idea to know what your triggers are and know that there will probably be a few content warnings that would be good to be aware of (child harm, some body horror aspects, some gendered horror but not in an exploitative way). At the end of the day there is variety here and it touches upon multiple genres, multiple tones, and multiple entry points for horror fans of all types.

“Pre-Approved for Haunting” is a weird and sometimes nasty collection that is a good introduction to an author I was unfamiliar with. I will be looking for more from Patrick Barb in the future.

[Angel]

I was very fortunate to get an early copy of 'Pre-Approved for Haunting.' One thing I absolutely love about anthologies is how many different sides of a writer's writing style you get to see. This collection by Patrick Barb is no different. The story range is wild and I found myself growing cautious into each new story. I never really knew what I was getting into.

A few stand outs for me that I thought were really creative and fun were:

Have you Seen my Missing Pet
And Our Next Guest...
The Crack in the Ceiling

All of these stories vary in range of experience, atmosphere, and emotion. There really isn't much to complain about here. This is a really strong collection of stories overall. This was my first time reading anything by Barb but I can promise you I'll be back for more.

[John Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4.5-5.0

Right off the bat, this collection was a whole lot of not what I was expecting. That's a good thing. I don't know why I was expecting something typical. Go read Barb's novella Gargantuana's Ghost and you'll know this guy's work is outside most boxes.

This collection is weird, will make you uncomfortable in a way you want with weird fiction, make you laugh at times (and look around like I did to ensure no one saw me giggling), and leave you satisfied.

All solid, unique, and compelling stories that make you turn the page asking, "What in the hell is going to happen next???"

Favorite stories: Have You Seen My Missing Pet?, I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script, There is No Bunk #7, and Lost Boy Found In His Bear Suit. First heard a story in this collection, The Other Half of the Battle, on Tales to Terrify. Still not sure how I feel about this one, but I likes it better here on page.

Great collection. If you forced me to compare Patrick Barb to other authors out there, I'd put him on the same shelf as a Joe R. Lansdale, David J. Schow, or Stephen Graham Jones at his most "out there." Go get this one!

[Lyrical · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved horror anthologies, and now I have a new one to add to my favorites. PRE-APPROVED FOR A HAUNTING is everything a collection of horror stories should be. It is scary, mind-bending, and funny at times. My favorites were Lost Boy Found In His Bear Suit, Putting Down Roots, Iggy Crane And The Headless Horse Girl (always a fan of Sleepy Hollow), and The Giallo Kid In The Cataclysm's Campgrounds (brilliant). I found the stories to be entertaining, and I couldn't wait to start the next one. Thank you to the Patrick Barb and Turner Publishing for the ARC.

[Callie Towne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pre-Approved for Haunting is a set of 18 horror stories that are each unique in their own way. While most of these short stories are fantastic and hooked me from the beginning, there were a couple that just didn't do it for me. BUT that is the beautiful thing about collections and anthologies! They open you up to a range of reads for everyone. I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script was by far my favorite in the book. Cannot wait for more!

[Steph Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pre-Approved for Haunting is everything a short story collection can be. Each tale opens with a bang that makes you want to keep reading, and each is full of complex characters I wasn't ready to part with by the time the final scene came.

I especially enjoyed A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God (in Landscape), I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script, and Melvin and the Murder Crayon. Barb has a way of making the weird accessible, and the accessible weird. His writing flows effortlessly between the two, with prose that's inventive, but also unputdownable.

Can't wait to see what else he does!

Thank you to the author and the publisher, Turner Publishing, for the free review copy. My opinions are my own!

[Feyre Stark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chilling collection of short stories. Patrick Barb is a new author to me and his terrifying tales are really a fantastic work. They make you want to sit around a campfire while reading aloud scary stories in the dark.
The stories were such a strange and creepy crawly gets under your skin kind of stories and they are relay suits to the weather in the fall. A perfect book just in time for spooky season. Ghosts, creatures, slasher horror, snorting ashes of dead people, when trees exact their revenge, and so much more.

[Angelique Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Turner Publishing Company for this ARC in exchanged for my honest review.
Pre-Approved for Haunting is a collection of short stories that were quick and interesting. Some more creepier than others but it was overall a nice read.

4/5.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the title of this collection I had some high hopes going in. Over all this collection, as a whole, was just ok. These are very short horror stories with weird twists. I actually expected the title story to be a favorite, but I liked the first few stories a lot more. I would like to pick up a full length novel from this author at some point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy.

[Ingrid Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories that cross every type of horror genre you can think of. Some are very clever, some disturbing, and some just didn't do it for me, but I'm hard to please.
Barb's style of writing is easy to read, and his imagination is witty, dark, and a little disturbing. I like that in an author.

Recommended.

Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opion.

[Chris Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better horror short story collections I’ve read this year. Surprising, creative, and genuinely creepy. Patrick Barb seems like a total natural at this, which makes his stories a joy to read. Looking forward to reading more from him.

[Kim Sundling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio ARC. This was a fun, quick read that is perfect for spooky season. I enjoyed most of the stories and found myself looking forward to reading more of this author.

[Adelina Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing short story compilation. Consistant writing style. I loved “Rose from the ashes” that one was really creepy! Definitely going to look for more from this author!

[Jonathan Gensler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just ripped through the second half of Patrick Barb’s PRE-APPROVED FOR HAUNTING, and damn, I wish I had written some of these terrifyingly good tales. He covers a wide swath of territory and themes, and crawls inside your mind with dark shadows and modern anxieties. My favorites were “The Other Half of the Battle,” “And Our Next Guest…,” and the penultimate story “Shattered.” But really, any of them could be my favorites. This collection is that good.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patrick Barb's short story collection, Pre-Approved for Haunting, deals horror goodness with each story. Themes of familial relations, bullying, dystopian worlds, and revenge became encased in terror. A twist on the camp counselor/knife wielding maniac turns the genre on its head. Women's liberation becomes a gruesome blood bath of body horror in Shattered. Each story seems to get darker and darker, so make sure you don't read this before bedtime. These stories are definitely for horror lovers.

[Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few very good shorts in this collection, Barb is definitely a name to look out for in the future as far as I'm concerned. Fun throughout and a little spooky at points.

[Sheena Forsberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I was sent an ARC of this by the publisher.

Zeitgeist, at times lyrical, uncanny and even playful; another 5-star read by Barb & entirely perfect for spooky season.
-All of these stories crept under my skin.

And overview of the stories below (avoid if you don’t want any spoilers. My favorites are marked with an “*”)


-Lost Boy Found in his Bear Suit:
Parents reunited with their missing son finds him sorely changed. Feral or something more linked to an urban legend about a bear?

-A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God (in landscape):*
A son has a complicated relationship with his father & decides to change his father’s painting with unforeseen & brutal consequences. Deals with the expectations one might not be able to live up to, be they our own or our parents.

-Casual:
A date between 2 people with the same murderous interests. A surprisingly tender short story all things considered.

-Rose from the Ashes:*
How far would you go to line your pockets? Would you, say, snort the ashes of the dead to blackmail them into telling where they’ve hidden money? Mindy sees nothing wrong with this. That is, until today.

-Have You Seen My Missing Pet?*
An old man shows up at a mother’s house looking for his pet. What follows is a thoroughly tense & claustrophobic read which nearly broke me. Reading this while expecting my 2nd child brought it home in a way I never would have imagined; an impeccable horror story of parental fears.

-And Our Next Guest:*
What starts like an actor’s drug-fueled fever dream and a mosaic of memories is gradually weaved into a claustrophobic tale of revenge.

-I Will not Read Your Haunted Script:
The walls are broken down in this story where a screenwriter is approached with a script he refuses to read. Having had his career ruined due to an infamously haunted script, we can hardly blame him. Even still, fate has something else planned for him.

-The Other Half of the Battle:
Stoner friends sneaking some downtime in a junkyard are dragged into a weird psychedelic sci-fi tale of the horrors of war. Couldn’t help but think about battle shock as I read this one.

-Pre-approved for Haunting:
A paranormal investigator keeps getting called to the same house. Ever thought about preemptive hauntings? -This would be it.

-The Crack in the Ceiling:*
A post-apocalyptic story where a ceiling has come down and the people have forgotten what real stars look like. Instead they make their own stars. This story could very well rival Ellison at his best.

-Return to Voodoo Village:
A man with questions and holes in his memory returns to the place that changed his life in unknown ways. What is real? Told with a tint of flow of consciousness

-Putting Down Roots:*
The man in this story finds himself dragged back to the hometown he has spent avoiding the years since leaving. What he is greeted by is a town much changed since he last was there; devoid of people & overgrown with trees. Loved this eco-horror story.

-Melvin and the Murder Crayon:*
Probably the story that hits most closely to home considering the Tamir Rice case + current climate in the US, school shootings and some people’s call for further armed school resource officers (or even teachers) to deal with the problem.. it was an equally heartbreaking and frustrating read for me and I’m just left enraged because it really is as simple as: “the guns are the problem”.

-There Is No Bunk #7:
The first final girl story of the lot; this one embraces the trope of taking place at a summer camp, but that is really where the tropiness ends. Don’t go into this one expecting an answer.

-Iggy Crane and the Headless Horse Girl:*
A modern take on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with a hint of Ringu, this story follows Iggy Crane as she takes a new job as a riding instructor for 4 odd girls at Sleepy Hollow Girls’ Preparatory Academy.
What can I say, I love reimaginings of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and this did not let me down either.

-The Decimations of Corn-Silk Sally:
A short & oddly lyrical Halloween slasher and tale of witches & vengeance.

-Shattered:
A fateful talk show clip sees women lose their minds and both self harm with glass as well as hurt their men who are powerless to stop it. There’s a strong undercurrent of loss and betrayal in this one. A thoroughly uncomfortable read (I dread glass-based cuts!).

-The Giallo Kid in the Cataclysm’s Campgrounds:*
Sibling relationships are complicated, even more so when your brother is a crazed killer at the end of the world and you the lone survivor.
This is the second final girl story of the collection & it sees the girl with more agency than the previous story. Although gory it manages to be disconcertingly uplifting at the same time. Fans of Stephen Graham Jones will probably delight in this one.