Patrick Barb

Happy Halloween Friday. Slow-rolling into the day with coffee & the new Florence. It’s a damn good start.

27. "The Scare Groom" by @patrickbarb.bsky.social

Parent report from the Halloween Party trenches: Rumi has officially surpassed Elsa in popularity. It was a long Bruno Sammartino-esque reign for the Ice Queen but the KPop Demon era is here—so invest in those purple extensions now. #LetItGolden

Many congratulations to @jvgachs.bsky.social on release day!This is a fantastic collection of feminine rage and dark horror.Don't take our word for it but listen to the talented @pedroiniguez.bsky.social Wendy Dalrymple & @patrickbarb.bsky.social who we once again thank for their thoughtful blurbs 🖤

So, I see the email's going around, which means I can share the news. Due to recent leadership changes, I'll be stepping into the role of Treasurer for the Horror Writers Association in November. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I'm most appreciative of the faith placed in me by my peers.

Forget the polls. Take nothing for granted. And let's work our hearts out these next seven days.

Vote now: zohranfornyc.com/vote

Canvass + phonebank: zohranfornyc.com/gotv

Brimstone & Treacle

#recentlywatched Brimstone & Treacle. Sting is charmingly sinister in this tale of a con artist (demon???) insinuating himself in the life of Denholm Elliot, his sweet, oblivious wife, and their daughter who’s been bedridden and left mentally incapacitated after an accident. This one goes dark too.

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell

#recentlywatched Frankenstein & The Monster from Hell. Cushing’s Frankenstein is just a delightful bitch lol. Monster design is like Bigfoot with a bald head. Still I enjoyed it.

My dream of playing the unhinged weirdo in a found footage horror film came true, thanks to @carsonwinter.bsky.social & Sarah’s Halloween holiday greeting “card.”

The Big One - Patrick Barb's Ko-fi Shop Daddy's coming home." That's the promise Hank, a widowed ambulance driver finishing up his shift in San Francisco, makes to his two kids who are tra...

#buymybooks Signed copies of my latest novella (and last publication for 2025) THE BIG ONE are on-sale now in my Ko-fi shop for US readers. Wanna get one & your outside the States? DM me or email patrick.barb@gmail.com

So, I see the email's going around, which means I can share the news. Due to recent leadership changes, I'll be stepping into the role of Treasurer for the Horror Writers Association in November. I'm grateful for the opportunity, and I'm most appreciative of the faith placed in me by my peers.

2025 Eligibility Post The Works

It's that time again. 2025 Eligibility Post Time (+ some other publications from this wild year with zero chill). patrickbarb.substack.com/p/2025-eligi...

2025 Eligibility Post The Works

It's that time again. 2025 Eligibility Post Time (+ some other publications from this wild year with zero chill). patrickbarb.substack.com/p/2025-eligi...

All the junk food eaten by The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Working through the metamorphosis from married horror author to divorced horror author. (Mutual, amicable, but tough nonetheless.)

This is a very accurate depiction of how I want to eat in preparation.

The Big One author copies

And I came home to author copies of THE BIG ONE (published by @tonyanuci.bsky.social). Available now w/ a @lynnehansenart.bsky.social cover that really pops.

A wreath of eyeballs (what else would it be?)

Also of note: the Biblically-accurate angel wreath at the optometrist.

Black & white Carver

Color Carver

Black & white Carmen San Diego

Red trenchcoat & red fedora Carmen San Diego

Halloween Trial Run: local businesses hand out candy during the day on the Saturday before Halloween. Here we have The Carver (from Roblox Piggy) & Carmen San Diego. (PS This hambone insisted on posing that way.)

This is today! Come see me at 2. But really head over at noon for the full (moon) experience!

Blurred photo of a tabby cat and comfy slip-on shoes propped up on an ottoman in a garden. Text over the pic reads: “beach & backyard reading season is ending: up next: cozy indoor horror reading season. What’s on your rainy day TBR?”

⛈️The stormy season is starting here, I’m indoors covered in cats instead of outdoors covered in cats, and next on my TBR list are: Abduction by @patrickbarb.bsky.social + Our Love Will Devour Us by @rlmeza.bsky.social + a couple ARCs from @tenebrous-press.bsky.social - how about you?? 👀

#amreading

Hey, guess who finished up manuscript revisions and returned them to his agent.

It's me. I'm who you should guess.

Trick ‘r Treat steelbook

#recentlywatched Trick ‘r Treat. Picked up the Steelbook 4K of this Halloween classic. Forgot how Dylan Baker just crushed it at playing dorky creeps between this and Happiness (now there’s a double feature). Glad to own this & have it in rotation for spooky season viewing.

King Sorrow hardcover

#bookmail KING SORROW by Joe Hill. This fucking beast. The last short-story collection didn’t quite hit for me but hopeful this tome is a fun read and never draggin’ (ya see cuz there’s a dragon in the book and oh never mind!). Hill is one of my favorites so this return definitely has me hyped.

The Mausoleum of Gore

#pbarb2025books The Mausoleum of Gore by Jonathan Raab. Oh I can’t wait for the 3rd book in this trilogy of meta found footage/cursed media horror. This book is perfect spooky season reading, unafraid to get weird with it. Plus a slasher character/design that I would LOVE to see on an actual screen!

Come see me & check out Night of the Witch-Hunter and a few other titles as I’ll be at @nextchapterbooksmn.bsky.social on Saturday October 25 from 2 to 3 pm Central (with fellow @shortwavebooks.bsky.social author @annieneugebauer.bsky.social) for Bookstore Horror Day.

This is direct to video horror in book form. If you're the type to get misty-eyed at your 90s copy of RUMPELSTILTSKIN, this is for you.

Night of the Witch-Hunter cover

#BuyMyBooks NIGHT OF THE WITCH-HUNTER. My contribution to @shortwavebooks.bsky.social’s KILLER VHS series.

Check out what happens when

THE CRAFT vs. THE CRUCIBLE

Y2K. Time travel. Magic. Witches. Witch-hunters.

Oh my!

Call me crazy but I have to believe there’s a better option somewhere between (or beyond even), I dunno, Hakeem Jeffries calling Donald Trump “whack” or something corny like that & ex-military guy with Nazi tattoo.

I just read THE BIG ONE by CHM alum Patrick Barb and thought it was a very entertaining romp that combined Old Ones with what was essentially a disaster movie plot. Keep your eyes peeled for this one.

Any indie horror books you dug recently?

At Interstellar Flight Mag, Patrick Barb revisits the classic horror character Wolf Man--a retrospective magazine.interstella...

We can't wait to be scared on Bookstore Horror Day--this Saturday!