Erik McHatton’s passion for horror literature began in grade school and can be credited to an early fascination with the “Terrific Triples” horror collections of Helen Hoke. He began writing fiction seriously in 2019, and has since been published several times in print and online publications such as CHM Magazine, Vastarien, Tales to Terrify, and Lovecraftiana. His first fiction collection, Straw World and Other Echoes from the Void, will be published in 2025 by Undertaker Books. He currently lives in Kentucky with his beautiful wife and kids, along with dear friends and family; surrounded on all sides.
His BNW-winning story, “The Man Who Collected Ligotti”, originally appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly.
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More, Vol. 3, is out June 24th.
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Give us the elevator pitch of your BNW-winning story.
A man is going around collecting Ligotti of all kinds, with dire consequences for all.
Great, so you wrote a story about Carson Winter. Like we don’t publish enough of that guy.
This world is friggin' Weird in a lot of ways right now, and many of those ways are not the fun kind. What secret tips can you share to help others navigate this mess on a daily basis?
While it may be cliche, the best advice I've ever gotten is, "Keep your chin up." Remember that all things pass, and the pendulum always swings the other way. People are mostly good, even if they disappoint you, and as Mr. Rogers said, "Look for the helpers."
Do you take naps?
Sometimes. More and more the older I get.
On the Tenebrous Discord board, we ask everyone to introduce themselves as a Film-meets-Music Artist (Citizen Kane x Metallica, f’rinstance). It doesn’t have to be your favorite, and don’t spend too much time overthinking it; now GO.
Clerks x Jim Steinman
What's the capital-W Weirdest thing that's ever happened to you (that you're comfortable sharing)?
Once, when I was a teenager, I had a group of people come up to me in a town I didn't live in and insist that they knew me, while calling me another name. They wouldn't let it go, and even after I insisted over and over I wasn't this person, they walked away giving me strange looks. I think about that a lot.
They did the same thing to me. I just insisted that I was Carson Winter.
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BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More, Vol. 3, is out June 24th.
