Clay McLeod Chapman writes books, comic books, children’s books, as well as for film and television. His most recent novel, What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters are grief horror stories. Chapman’s vibrant personality and energy are magnetizing, and seemingly contradictory to his writing material. Todd Keisling and I joked that the Whisper Down The Lane author is “like a cup of coffee” — rejuvenating.
It’s there, in that duality and range both on and off the page, where Chapman’s talent lies.
Chapman spoke to Cemetery Danceabout What Kind of Mother, Ghost Eaters, fellow horror authors, and his upcoming projects.
(Interview conducted by Haley Newlin)
CEMETERY DANCE: You’re one of the Scarelastic Book Fair featured authors for the second year. What do you like about events like this?
CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN: When you do stuff like the Scarelastic Book Fair, you meet this tapestry of other authors at various points in their careers. What I find comforting is that we’re all just trying to navigate the same waters.
Who are the authors you find most exciting or captivating at the moment?
I finished Nathan Ballingrud’s The Strange and loved it. I love short story authors like Gordon B. White. When they write their novels, it’s like the dimensions have expanded.
Rachel Harrison, Nat Cassidy, and Eric LaRocca have been super supportive. We’re all writing very differently, telling very different stories, but what’s great is that there are so many other branches of horror.
It goes back to Scarelastic, where you could be reading these books by these people you love and admire, and then there they are, like a few tables down from you.
Reviewers and various platforms have dubbed your novel Ghost Eaters and your recent book release, What Kind of Mother, grief horror. How do you feel about that?
I have to break out of the cycle of grief horror. The reason I’m writing about grief is because it’s where my head is at. I ask myself, what scares me the most right now?
Writing is about taking components from our lives and revisiting or reevaluating them. Sometimes, you can even do a redo. (Laughs) If people want to peg me as the grief guy, I won’t complain.
What Kind Of Mother emphasizes your ability to create emotionally immersive stories? Could you share the books or movies that have inspired and influenced this particular aspect of your work?
Hereditary (2019)was one of the more profoundly affecting movies for me in the last five to ten years. It wasn’t a pleasurable experience. It was the most suffocating horror film I’ve seen in a long time.
Love isn’t the right word. It was traumatizing. It lingers. The challenge of horror in films and books is seeing the characters in these specific scenarios make decisions based on their necessities and desires. The monster isn’t under the bed. Instead, you have to escape this rut with your family. It’s more upsetting.
With Hereditary, Midsommar, and Lighthouse, the monster is within a character or family dynamic. I love that.
Aside from grief horror, how would you characterize What Kind of Mother?
It’s southern gothic folk horror, where the specific region is a character, and the people there operate with a particular philosophy that may be very different from other places in the country.
Folk horror is taking these elements from the outside and placing them in an environment different from their own. It’s a conflict of old and new.
Parental horror is another one, working with nature vs. nurture.
What elements in this book required the most research?
I became fascinated by a few true crime cases, specifically missing persons, where a psychic comes in and claims they know where the body is or just that they can help in some way, and they integrate themselves into the process. I researched palmistry and tarot readings.
The deception here is “old lovers reunite.” On any given day, this could’ve been a love story. I became enamored with Nicholas Sparks and wanted to write a novel like Safe Haven, only gone totally off the rails.
Where can people learn more about you and your work?
www.claymcleodchapman.com and I’m on social media @claymcleod on Instagram and @claymcleodchapman on TikTok.
