Sawney Hatton's Blog

I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to create this list. I adore so many sci-fi/fantasy films. (Some of which instead ended up on my favorite films of all time list.) Next to horror, these two genres have had the most impact on my storytelling. Like horror, you can make up your own rules, build worlds from scratch, and comment on weighty things ranging from politics to human nature without being overt about it.

In no particular order, here are my top ten sci-fi/fantasy flicks:

Time Ban...

The following piece is my oldest existing horror story. While not my oldest completed work of dark fiction (I distinctly remember writing a NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ripoff in 5th grade, and a werewolf tale in middle school), this is the earliest one I still possess. Likely written sometime in junior high, typed on an actual typewriter, I did not alter the original text in any way other than fixing a few typos and grammatical errors. It by no means showcases an obvious rising talent, but it d...

With the release of my new occult/ghost horror novel DIRTY SPIRITS (my first novel in 10 years!), I thought I would answer some questions about what makes this book so special.

Q: Why did it take you 10 years to write another novel?

A: Letting a decade elapse before releasing my next novel-length book was never my intention. I started and paused / abandoned at least 3 other long works of fiction in the interim. On one I hit a roadblock in plotting and have yet to work it out. On ano...

Ever the trend-follower, I recently tried the AI chatbot ChatGPT for the first time, asking it to produce text for the prompt “Sawney Hatton bio.” While the results accurately stated that I am indeed an author and editor (and even was a filmmaker), and got the titles for a couple of my books correct, the rest of the details about me were pretty much wrong. Still, I respect this alternate version of me. He sounds like he’s doing great!

Below is a composite of all the...

Larry Fessenden is one of those do-it-himself filmmakers who also does it on his own terms. He believes in his vision, and he is not very prone to compromising it. ...

Sometimes I imagine people are wondering, “What does Sawney Hatton like to read?” Wonder no more, my harrowed fans! Here is a list of recommended books by some my favorite contemporary authors:

ROBERT McCAMMON

Simply put, Robert McCammon is a pro, a top-of-the-food-chain taleteller with a sublime command of language. You don’t just read a McCammon novel; you are transported to its world, breathing its air, riding its rapids, committing its characters to memory. His always enthralli...

“Goddamnit, my glands! My mutherfucking glands!“

Sometimes it’s fun to rummage through old work. I recently rediscovered a short script that I believe I wrote back in high school (this one), maybe even junior high. It exhibits the kind of unfettered imagination and vibrant aesthetic one would expect from a burgeoning artist of my caliber. (Either that or it’s just batshit nonsense.)

Read “Shaved Gerbil Blues” short script below:

The post Shaved Gerbil Blues:...

I grew up on Long Island, New York in the 1980s/90s, a time when—despite all the picture-perfect middle-class suburban trappings—there was no shortage of salacious scandals and horrifying crimes being committed. It seemed there was a Satanic Panic story in the news every few weeks.

I’d heard about the infamous Northport cult killing a few years before reading the popular book based on the incident, SAY YOU LOVE SATAN. On June 19, 1984, three teens were involved in the murder of their friend w...

We were visiting from L.A., my friend Chris and I. We sat on the covered wood porch, nursing our bottles of beer with his uncles Mike and Johnnie. It was a quiet afternoon in the quiet town of Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania. The porch, belonging to Uncle Mike, who had built himself the A-frame house it was attached to, overlooked a pastoral, peanut-shaped lake. I noticed the hummingbird feeders — I counted seven total — hanging from a dead, sun-bleached tree looming on the bank.

“What’s up ...

Many years ago, before I began writing my Dark Comedy novel DEAD SIZE, I had first fleshed out the story in screenplay format. I set aside this detailed outline after the book was finished, and pretty much forgot it existed.

Recently I re-discovered the doc in the deepest bowels of my computer (in a folder named Gulliver extras). Id also forgotten that it featured a different ending from the one I ultimately penned.

While the original ending is not necessarily better, it is less surreal,...