TOLEDO– For horror author Clay McLeod Chapman, there may be nothing more frightening than falling in love.
That idea is at the center of his newest novel, Devil Inside, a horror-romance Chapman describes as a “horrormance”- a blend of two genres that, despite their differences, have more in common than readers might expect.
Chapman will bring that story to Toledo on Thursday, Aug. 27, when he appears at the Toledo Main Branch Library’s Authors! Series.
“I think there isn’t anything scarier than love,” Chapman said. “When we talk about falling in love, we’re talking about making ourselves vulnerable, kind of letting our defenses down, bringing somebody else in.”
Devil Inside, released Aug. 11, opens with Jordan, who – dying in a traumatic accident – spends about two-and-a-half minutes in hell before being resuscitated. When he returns to the living, he begins questioning what is real – and what may be happening inside his own mind.
Then he meets Lilith.
The two form an immediate connection, but Lilith is not exactly who she appears to be. After she disappears following a passionate night together, Jordan searches for her, only to encounter another woman claiming to be Lilith, one who looks different but knows intimate details about him.
As Jordan tries to understand the mysterious woman and his own increasingly distorted reality, the story explores possession, desire, bodily autonomy and the risks of allowing another person to grow too close.
For Chapman, putting horror and romance together was not necessarily a radical idea.
“Romance in horror has existed since the dawn of storytelling,” he said, pointing to stories such as Dracula and Frankenstein.
Instead, Chapman said he was interested in what happens when the familiar beats of a romance are placed inside a horror story.
The novel follows the structure of a romance, including a happily-ever-after ending. But Chapman said that doesn’t necessarily mean everyone in the story gets a happy ending.
“Happily ever after for our main characters doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a happily ever after for anybody else in the book,” he said.
“I feel like this book is essentially a horror story embedded in the structure of a romance novel,” he said.
That tension also allows Chapman to explore the darker side of wanting to be loved.
Chapman said the book also asks questions about obsession, toxic relationships, consent and bodily autonomy.
“Love is really scary,” he said. “This idea of – am I going to find my soulmate? Am I going to be alone for the rest of my life? Is there someone else out there for me?”
Even after writing multiple horror novels, Chapman said love remains one of the things that scares him the most.
“Human connection is such a kind of fraught territory,” he said.
That does not mean Devil Inside is entirely bleak.
Chapman also uses comedy throughout the novel, something he said can give readers a moment to relax before the horror returns.
“If horror is just completely opaque and suffocating, your readers start to lose a certain momentum,” he said.
Comedy gives readers a chance to exhale, Chapman said – and then lowers their guard.
“That’s when the really spooky thing happens,” he said.
The novel is also grounded in a place Chapman knows well: Richmond, Va., where he grew up.
Chapman said setting the story in a familiar place gave him a sense of security while writing about characters and situations that were anything but safe.
“I wanted Richmond to feel like just as much of a character as the actual people are,” he said.
Chapman, whose previous books include Ghost Eaters, What Kind of Mother? and Whisper Down the Lane, said he is looking forward to bringing Devil Inside to Toledo and meeting readers in person.
He said getting people to leave their homes and attend an author event is meaningful in itself.
“Anybody asking people to come out to anything is such a big ask,” Chapman said. “Who wants to leave the comfort of their own home when they can just Netflix and chill?”
For readers willing to take a chance on the genre mashup, Chapman said he hopes they will come away questioning the people – and perhaps the demons – around them.
“I hope they walk away from this with this idea of giving everybody they pass on the street a little side eye,” he said. “Is there maybe a little demonic something or a little devilish something inside that person?”
“And watch out for your own kind of inner demons,” he said.
Chapman will appear at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library Main Library at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27. The event includes a 45-minute discussion followed by a brief audience Q&A. Each ticket includes a copy of Devil Inside, and Chapman will participate in a limited book signing following the presentation.
