Professor Erik Hanson in the Department of Languages and Literature at Sacred Heart University published his debut horror collection this past August, titled All Things Deadly (Salem Stories).
“In my spare time, I mostly write plays and screenplays. Covid completely impacted the theatre scene. Short plays that were going to be staged in this or that festival were canned,” said Hanson. “Overall, I needed to try something new.”
Hanson says his debut horror is a silver lining that came out of the pandemic for him. He was able to use his past experience in writing plays and screenplays to write up a debut horror collection.
“I created a main storyline for readers to come back to as they progressed through the debut horror. I’m a sucker for family dramas, so I inserted a story about a fractured father- daughter relationship,” said Hanson.
Although the story is fictional and is set in a mysterious town of Salem, Hanson finds a way to incorporate more serious topics, including self-harm. Hanson incorporated the heavy topic of self-harm for various reasons.
“To create awareness. But I worked with someone many years ago, they ended up taking their life in a shocking way,” said Hanson. “While I scratch the surface with the main character, I think it’s something that could be explored in a follow-up story of some sort.”
Hanson wants to inspire his readers to follow in his footsteps.
“I hope they are entertained,” he said. “I hope they examine the story structure and realize that they, too, can put together a debut horror in this fashion.”
Sophomore Hannah Alexanian, expressed her excitement toward All Things Deadly (Salem Stories).
“All Things Deadly (Salem Stories) sounds extremely appealing to me. Being from Massachusetts and that it is written by a Sacred Heart professor compels me even more to give it a read,” said Alexanian.
Hanson’s All Things Deadly (Salem Stories) doesn’t end after the last page.
Hanson is working with Dr. Sandra Young, a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at Sacred Heart, on an on-campus event for the publication of Hanson’s debut horror.
The event will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 27. It will be held in the Martire Center in room E145 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Following this event, Professor Young and Professor Marie Hulme of the Department of Languages and Literatures will host an open house for writing minors in Martire Center rooms W315 and W316.
Although Hanson is satisfied with his various five-star ratings on Amazon, he’s not quite ready to put his writing pen down yet. Hanson already has his next project in the works.
“My novella, WICKED BLOOD, is slated for release in 2022,” said Hanson.
