To Be a Ghost

Rapture Publishing Chapbooks #6

by Chad Lutzke

After secretly living in its attic, a runaway teen watches a new family move into an empty murder house. As he observes their life from above, the abuse he thought he’d fled returns to claim more victims.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

Paperback

Published July 29, 2025

About the author

Full-time family man, artist, musician, and ferret owner with twenty books under his belt, Chad Lutzke dips his toe into all things dark: Crime, grit-lit, slice-of-life, dirty realism, and horror, every one smothered in heartache with the occasional sliver of hope. Lutzke's work has been praised by authors Jack Ketchum, Richard Chizmar, Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen Graham Jones, Tim Waggoner, and his own mother.

He can be found lurking the internet at www.chadlutzke.com

Reviews

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5
To Be a Ghost by Chad Lutzke
July 29th, 2025 | small chapbook
“After secretly living in its attic, a runaway teen watches a new family move into an empty murder house. As he observes their life from above, the abuse he thought he’d fled returns to claim more victims.”
A big thank you to Rapture Publishing who gifted me with a set of little “weird books” by familiar horror authors. I have been a Chad Lutzke fan for a long time. He has an accessible, engaging storytelling voice that captures my attention immediately–sucking me right into some emotionally devastating coming-of-age tale or captivating slice-of-life story. To Be a Ghost is poignant and sad. I always enjoy investing my time and feelings in a Chad Lutzke book. This one would be a good place to start.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another knock out from Rapture.

This was like a nightmare creepy pasta/urban legend/lore tale, and I mean that as a HUGE compliment because I love those, especially about the ones with people living unknown in someone else's house, but typically it's from the view point of the homeowners, the is time it's from the person creeping..

So what happens when instead of being a malicious creeper spying, it's just a young kid, with a bad luck streak and nowhere to go + a murder house + a new family moving in, nothing good I'm sure.

I was not expecting to get emotional over this one but it was just heartbreaking as I read along, and you saw this boy rewatching a past he thought he'd escaped.

When your on your own, really roughing it like this you tell yourself it's worth it, you got put, you escaped, but when you see it again, in living color you start to think, was it worth that hardship just to be caught in what feels like a toxic loop?

I have absolutely been loving the weird hazy POV in horror lately you go in thinking you know the layout, but then are you really getting a reliable picture and more important, does the MC know what's going on themselves?

I love how I started to wonder, has the last abuse and trauma shaded what we were being told, is it a haunting or something else more sinister.. And who is the main character here really?

Steven oh Steven..

[Marguerite Turley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was so original and heartbreaking. I just loved Chad’s style and I need to read more of his work now! This was about a boy who ran away from an abusive home and the house he ends up hiding out in. Such a sad story full of dread and the reality of how abuse affects your life. I know this is sold out now, but if you can get your hands on it, do it!! Thank you so much to rapture publishing for the arc!!

[Jesse Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The window scene? Fucking diabolical. The ending came completely out of left field. While I was reading this I was thinking if Chad is a psychopath? After all the fucked up shit I just read… yeah, probably. The story was fucking awesome!

[renee w · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Now he's a fly on the wall a ghost in the attic who floats above the chaos, listening, sympathizing, unable to become visible.”
“Only bruised, not broken.”


Welcome to 110 Seaside where a young boy has found refuge in an attic or so he thought. When Gary, his wife Kathy, and their two young children move into the home. It is quickly revealed that a tragedy has previously happened here and there is more to come . Not to mention the children believe their home may be inhabited by ghosts.

Lutzke ,has once again written a captivating story where coming of age meets horror….while breaking your heart.

[Jose Villanueva · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one does it like Chad Lutzke. This chap book is 30 pages long but somehow in that short amount of time he's able to absolute break my heart for these kids. So so good.

[unstable.books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This chapbook by Chad is rife with heavy topics. In just 30 pages, he creates a full and complete picture of familial dysfunction and abuse. We meet a child running away from his own home’s demons only to be confronted with more, from a different family. It’s a dark and disturbing look at the effects of a child’s environment, examined from the perspective of one’s self and also as observed as a bystander. I will definitely be reading more of Chad’s work very soon. Thank you so much to Mitch over at Rapture Publishing for sending me an ARC copy.

[Alan Houk · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this Author. Very good story! I will definitely read more of his work!

[Nick Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. A haunting story. Lutzke can do no wrong.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started this book, I wasn't sure where Chad Lutzke was going to take me... but once again he delivers just a perfect slice of emotional horror. Brilliant.