Pre-Approved For Haunting: And Other Stories - Book Review

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Pre-Approved for Haunting is a collection of short stories by Patrick Barb, author of the horror comic Most Likely To. All the stories are horror, but there is a lot of variety among them, and is always the case with anthologies I thought that some stories were better than others.

Lost Boy Found in His Bear Suit
A short mood piece about a toddler lost in the woods who encounters the ghost of a mother bear. Cute is not normally what I'm looking for in a horror story, but I liked it anyway. 4/5

A Portrait of the Artist as an Angry God
An artist living in the shadow of his more famous father, now deceased, sets about vandalising the old man's work by adding monsters to his landscapes.

This reminded me of the pictures I've seen where people add monsters to thrift store art. 3/5

Casual
Serial killers getting together to share their mutual interest.

It's a fun concept, although I didn't find it scary. 3/5

Rose from the Ashes
A funeral home worker blackmails ghosts.

It's a good idea, well executed. 4/5

Have You Seen My Missing Pet
On a stormy night, a single mother opens the door to an elderly man looking for his missing pet.

I thought Barb really captured the mixed feelings a mother of a young child can have. I also found this one very creepy. 5/5

And Our Next Guest...
A successful actor waits in the green room to appear on a talk show, but all is not as it seems.

This one has a properly ominous atmosphere. 4/5

I Will Not Read Your Haunted Script
A screenwriter's script is somehow haunted, featuring eerie scenes he never wrote.

I enjoy horror stories set in Hollywood because the movie business provides so much scope for it with all the greed, vanity, and pretence. It's a very unsettling story, which reminded me of the short story collection Final Cuts , edited by Ellen Datlow. 4/5

The Other Half of the Battle
When the "soldiers" came for us, we weren't standing anywhere near that old freezer, with its rusted-out hinges and cobweb-draped interior."

What an excellent first line! I won't say too much about this one because I don't want to spoil it, but it was very atmospheric. 4/5

Pre-Approved for Haunting
The narrator's job is to inspect houses to determine whether or not they are haunted. 410 Lark Lane is not haunted in the traditional sense, but something about it definitely isn't right.

This was an odd one, but I liked it. 4/5

The Crack in the Ceiling
"At the end of every week, our town hangs burning bodies from the Ceiling so we'll remember what the stars looked like."

Another killing opening! This one is very imaginative and unsettling. 5/5

Return to Voodoo Village
A man returns to the strange, out of the way attraction he once visited as a teen.

This one is chilling, full of creepy crawlies. 4/5

Putting Down Roots
Somewhat successful author, Tom, brings his wife, Cat, back to his home town to see where he grew up.

I could really picture some of the more horrific scenes in this one. The plot reminded me of Sheri S. Tepper's novel Trees. 4/5

Melvin and the Murder Crayon
I don't want to spoil this one, but it's the kind of soul crushing horror that comes straight from real life. 5/5

There is No Bunk #7
A lone camper is up past lights out.

This is one of several stories in the collection that will appeal to fans of slasher movies. 3/5

Iggy Crane and the Headless Horse Girl
Iggy Crane is the new horse riding instructor, hired for the summer at an exclusive girls' boarding school. The girls in her class show her an unsettling video of a previous classmate's horrifying accident.

I enjoyed this fresh take on The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, especially as it included the phenomenon of a 'horse girl', who loves horses so much that she continually pretends to be one, which will be familiar to many readers. 5/5

The Decimations of Corn Silk Sally

I don't think I really understood this one. 3/5

Shattered
A televison personality mutilates herself with a shard of broken glass on national television.

This was an odd one. 3/5

The Giallo Kid in the Cataclysm's Campground
"On the last night of summer camp, my little brother Randy put on a cheap plastic Homer Simpson mask and killed all the camp counsellors, except for me."

This story is obviously inspired by Friday the 13th, and takes the premise to a weird new place. 3/5


While I didn't like every story equally, overall, Pre-Approved for Haunting is an excellent collection of short horror stories which would make a great read for Halloween.

Disclaimer: I was given a complimentary copy of this book by Turner Publishing Company, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Published: September 2023

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