Lynn Combs

When Sam Wilson arrives at the long-abandoned Hawthorn Estate, he’s told the same thing that’s scared off every buyer before him—it’s haunted. But Sam isn’t easily rattled. With his loyal dog Chip by his side, he moves in anyway, unfazed by clanging pipes, floating furniture, and the ghostly tantrums of a frustrated spirit named Harold.

As the haunting escalates, the house’s resident ghost can’t understand why nothing seems to scare this man—or why the dog keeps treating his supernatural attacks like a game. But Sam has a secret of his own. He’s not just a fearless buyer—he’s an exorcist with an unconventional approach and a knack for turning haunted houses into sold properties.

Witty, eerie, and full of delightful reversals, The Unconventional Exorcist proves that sometimes the most frightening thing for a ghost… is a man who refuses to be scared.

This story took third place in the Springfield Writers Guild 2023 Spring Literary Contest. It was published later that same year in A Pathway To Mystery and More a collection of short stories penned by Sleuths’ Ink Mystery Writers.