We all wrestle with the mistakes of the past, even when they weren’t our mistakes.
It’s this conflict that drives the main character of Death On The Swayback, a limited edition novelette by author Chris Panatier which he calls “supernatural horror disguised as psychological horror.”
With Swayback now available as either a signed numbered edition or a signed lettered edition, both directly from Rapture Publishing, I spoke to Panatier via email to find out what inspired and influenced this story, as well as what film studio he thinks could make a really good movie based out of it.
To start, what is Death On The Swayback about, and when and where does it take place?
Death On The Swayback is a novelette about a man who has sacrificed nearly everything to acquire a parcel of family land that his dilletante father had lost many years back. Now he is hunting for the perfect place to build his home and settle with his wife so they can raise a family.
The exact location and time are ambiguous, but it’s in the far Northeast during the late 1800s.
Where did you get the idea for Death On The Swayback?
Naming the literal inspiration would be a spoiler. Let’s just say I wanted to do an angle on a trope that I had never seen before. The nugget of an idea came quickly, but then I had to build a story around it. It’s a weird concept, but I think it works.
So, is there a reason why the land that the guy wants back was sold by his delinquent dad as opposed to, say, foreclosed upon by a bank, or lost in some other way?
I wanted to set up the main character as someone who has gone through great lengths to erase a smear upon the family. Sure, foreclosure and other ways of losing property are tough to deal with, but there’s way more hurt when the injury is self-inflected. I wanted to position our protagonist in contrast to his father.
Death On The Swayback sounds like it’s a horror story of the psychological variety…
I think it’s supernatural horror disguised as psychological horror.
Prior to writing this novelette you wrote three novels — Stringers, The Phlebotomist, and The Redemption Of Morgan Bright — as well as a number of short stories. Are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Swayback but not on anything else you’ve written?
I feel like Swayback is very much a stand-alone in setting, era, and feel. I caught a little bit of the muse with this one.
I have to shout out to John Langan whose stellar novel The Fisherman I’d just read. And I think I was calibrated to write a strange wilderness tale because of it.
What about non-literary influences? Was Death On The Swayback influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
I can’t say that there was any literal influence, though my style is certainly shaped by much of what I consume.
When it comes to survival or wilderness tales, I’d say that Langan’s book, much of what Jeff Vandermeer and Cormac McCarthy have written, as well as movies like The Revenant have shaped my writing brain.
Now, Death On The Swayback is a novelette, and is being released in limited numbers. There’s 150 numbered editions and 26 lettered editions. First, why the limited run?
Well, that’s the decision of the publisher, Rapture Publishing. Chapbooks sometimes come in limited runs because they’re often hand assembled and signed by the author, etc. There are lots of folks who are really into collecting them. Thus the limited number. The care that Mitch Hull (owner of Rapture) puts into the layout, covers, stitching, and all of that is above and beyond. I like the idea of some handcrafted gems floating around out there.
Second, why publish Death On The Swayback on its own as opposed to in a collection with some of your short stories? Or is that something you’re planning to do in the future?
That’s still possible to do. Rapture Publishing has first rights to publish it, as well as a modest exclusive period. After that I can offer it to anthologies, other publications for reprint, or for my own collection — which I’ve been loosely planning for a couple of years.
One other special aspect of this version of Death On The Swayback is that you did exclusive illustrations for it, including the page number art. Who came up with the idea to include illustrations, and to have you be the illustrator?
Mitch at Rapture is a major art fan. He originally brought me in to illustrate the chapbook he did for Tyler Jones’ Carved In Salt, which was released in October. Tyler was the one who originally suggested me for the work, I believe. Then Mitch read my novel The Redemption Of Morgan Bright and asked if I had anything of an appropriate length for him to put out under his label. I’d just written Swayback, so it worked out perfectly. He loved the story and offered to put it out. Then I got to drawing.
Earlier I asked if Death On The Swayback was influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games. But to flip things around, do you think Swayback could work as a movie, a TV show, or a game?
I think it would make a nice A24 film. Moody and atmospheric, while also catastrophic. That’s their brand.
And if A24 decided to make a movie based on Death On The Swayback, who would you want them to cast as the main characters?
I’m not much into casting, but I’d honestly like a total unknown for this. Someone whose face we don’t already associate with anything. That way we could be totally invested in the story and the struggles of the main character.
So, is there anything else you think potential readers need to know about Death On The Swayback?
They don’t need anything going in, but hopefully they’ll look at trees differently when they’re done.
Finally, if someone enjoys Death On The Swayback, but it’s the first story of yours they’ve read, which of your novels would you suggest they check out?
I’d say The Redemption Of Morgan Bright. It’s horror and somewhat literary in the way of Swayback. While the stories are very different, the tone is similar. So if you like one, you’ll probably like the other. Hopefully I’ll have some more horror novels on the way soon.
