Love at First Fright (ExorSquad)

Haunting #362: Grimthorne Manor, nr Devizes, Wiltshire

History: Built 1347. 21 confirmed deaths, 37 suspected. Current owners bought it sight unseen—big mistake.

Wanted: Immediate ghost removal. Renovation crew refuses to work after "flying hammer incident."

The ExorSquad Team: Star employee Brad Harrington (works alone, prefers it that way) & new recruit Charlie Hayes (doesn't believe in ghosts—yet).

Additional notes: Unusual EMF spikes detected near the music room. Recon team reported "aggressive 90s alternative rock" playing at 3am. Black smudges appearing on bathroom mirrors—appears to be eyeliner.

P.S: Avoid the basement at all costs.

Charlie

I'm broke, I'm desperate, and I've just signed up with ExorSquad—a ghost-busting company that's definitely conning vulnerable people out of their life savings. But hey, minimum wage is minimum wage, even when it means spending multiple nights in a crumbling Georgian manor with my new colleague Brad, a complete tosser.

The job's simple: pretend to clear out the ghosts, collect our fee, go home. Easy, right? Except the locals keep crossing themselves when I mention Grimthorne Manor, the renovation crew literally ran away screaming, and I just got locked in the attic with dust motes that stroked my cheek.

Still, ghosts aren't real. They can't be. Can they?!

Bat

Being dead has its learning curve, but I've gotten quite good at it, thank you very much. Grimthorne Manor is mine—well, mine and the other forty-odd spirits who call this place home—and we've perfected the art of scaring away anyone stupid enough to disturb our peace.

But then Charlie walks through my door with his fluffy golden hair, coaxing melodies from my forgotten guitar that I thought were lost forever, and suddenly I don't want to terrify him. I want to protect him from the thing lurking in our basement. I want to touch those gentle hands. I want to hear him play again.

Problem is, I'm dead. He's alive.

However…

His insufferable partner Brad is looking very... possessable.

The ExorSquad Series is a collection of standalone MM romcoms centred around the unfortunate employees of ExorSquad Ltd, the UK's shadiest ghost-busting operation. Expect supernatural shenanigans, things that go bump in the night, sizzling encounters, and hard-won happy-ever-afters.