“The Hand of Vengeance”: A Blast from My Past
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…
Category: Sawney Writes
Q&A: DIRTY SPIRITS, A HORROR NOVEL
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…
ChatGPT (Mostly) Lies!: My So-Called (Other?) Life
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…
From the VENT! Vault: Interview with Filmmaker Larry Fessenden
I recently unearthed this candid Q&A* I did back in the late ’90s with acclaimed indie director Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter, Depraved). He continues to be one of the most unique and intriguing…
DEAD SIZE: The Lost Ending
Who doesn’t love discovering a lost piece of something precious? For an author, finding a lost ending to a book they wrote is like revisiting a place with great memories… that they didn’t remember. Many…
Shaved Gerbil Blues: A Short Script by Sawney Hatton
“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.…
The Details in THE DEVIL’S DELINQUENTS, a Satanic Panic Story
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…
Lest We Forget: A Grimly Amusing Anecdote
This is a true story. 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…
Recycled Writing: From Script to Book
I’ve long been an advocate for repurposed writing. After finishing my latest novella, part of an anthology of teen-led Noir stories to be published later this year, I realized it is the final work that…
WTF Am I Reading?: Sawney’s Twisted Short Stories
EVERYONE IS A MOON is my definitive collection of short stories (at least, until I write a bunch more). While I’ve categorized the book as Dark Fiction as a whole, I don’t think that label…