Dark Matter(s): new cosmic horror from the Void

Erik McHatton will be the first to tell you that he is a product of his influences—what he probably won't tell you, though, is how wide a spectrum those influences are. From the baroque styling of Clark Ashton Smith to the bleak nihilism of Thomas Ligotti, Erik's work often investigates the darker, more unsettling corners of philosophical argument. Despite this, Erik's stories do not lapse into gaudiness or didacticism—they are always mindful that narrative can also provide entertainment—and this collection will reward the intellectually curious as well as those who delight in the allure of the hideous. A frequent contributor to the estimable Cosmic Horror Monthly magazine (editors-in-chief Charles Tyra, Jolie Toomajan), Erik's work has also been seen in venues such as Vastarien, Tales to Terrify, Sley House, and various anthologies.

Now, collecting some of his previously published work (as well as including some originals), Erik's first collection of short fiction will be published via Undertaker Books, bearing the title of STRAW WORLD and other Echoes from the Void.

The stories included in this collection are of a theme—existential, self-aware, and acutely conscious of mortality. Wry, deadpan and winking at the reader every step of the way, this collection runs the gamut of metafiction and genre horror ably. These are not stories which are easily forgotten. Even afterwards, both the imagery and what is subtly implied beneath the telling of each linger long in the mind of the reader. It is not a collection for those who seek comfort—indeed, STRAW WORLD has been built for those who are discomfited by that which too easily offers succor and surcease from existential quandary. STRAW WORLD invites those who hunger, those who question; its characters exist bent on solving the presented puzzle. The conclusion of the narrative almost always comes accompanied by a kind of intellectual apotheosis—but here, even god goes to sleep at night heavy-minded by what has yet to be answered.

Central to the theme of this collection, readers will find the Void. It serves as the shadowy aperture through which one enters into Erik McHatton's world of inquiry and despair, and the echo of that entropy reverberates through all the stories. "Straw World," the title story, tells the tale of a strange art exhibit that has a different effect on each of its witnesses, and it is via this lens that the entire collection is viewed. Nostalgia, loss, psychosis, and yearning provide the cardinal directions in this existential labyrinth. There are those which consume, and there are those who are consumed—often, by the same smiling mouth.STRAW WORLD and other Echoes from the Void, by Erik McHatton, edited by TJ Price. Coming September 2025 from Undertaker Books.