Reality has a tendency to unravel in a Clay McLeod Chapman story. The uncanny crawls its way into the everyday, horror gives way to humour, and even his most monstrous inventions find themselves driven by a desire to be loved. His latest novel, Devil Inside (out August 11 via Mira Books), pushes those obsessions to their most inventive iteration yet.
Whether you know Chapman through novels like Ghost Eaters and Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, his Marvel work on Venom and Scream, or the Jordan Peele-produced horror podcast Quiet Part Loud, his latest feels like a culmination of all of the above wrapped inside a possession story that uses the supernatural to dissect the restless, ravenous rhythms of contemporary life.
The novel follows Jordan, who begins to experience unsettling hallucinations after surviving a near-fatal accident. A passionate encounter with the mysterious Lilith offers a fleeting sense of stability, but when she disappears only to return in different bodies—each with the same intimate memories—Jordan is forced to question his own reality.
For us, Devil Inside turns demonic possession into a sui generis and intriguing metaphor for the ways we consume—and are consumed by—love, influence, and the endless hunger to be wanted. Told through a series of ingeniously singular, mystifying perspectives, the novel also asks whether the digital age has left us all drifting like restless spirits, forever searching for the next body, the next obsession, the next fleeting connection. By the end, the reader is left with a welcome reminder that the very best books possess us just as completely as any haunting ever could.
To mark the book’s release, CinemaChords spoke with Clay McLeod Chapman about the novel’s unique collision of horror and romance, and why love, obsession, and possession have become such fertile ground for storytelling right now. He also shared insights into the book’s unique POVs, the inspiration behind its body-hopping demon mythology, and the ways he explores identity, desire, and the search for connection in an age of parasocial relationships and disposable attention.
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