Author Clay McLeod Chapman on Losing Loved Ones to Extremism — and Writing Through It

Author Clay McLeod Chapman has done it all.. short stories, novels, a TON of comics, and screenplays for both indie and big-name films.

In this episode, we talk about his wild and winding journey through the horror genre.. from an early indie short that caught Elijah Wood’s eye, to co-writing Wendell & Wild with Henry Selick and Jordan Peele, and what a chaotic, drawn-out process making a movie can really be… even when you're working with legends.

Then we dive face first into Clay’s newest novel Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, which hit us on a deeply personal level. It’s a searing, surreal exploration of what it feels like to watch loved ones be consumed and "possessed" by extremist ideologies. We talk about the slow erosion of identity, the horror of misinformation, and how fiction can humanize without excusing.

It’s honest, emotional, and one of our favorite conversations yet so...

COME HANG OUT!!!

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Follow Us on Social Media:

Instagram & Threads: @mostlyhorrorpod

TikTok & Twitter/X: @mostlyhorror

Steve: @stevenisaverage (all socials)

Sean: @hypocrite.ink (IG/TikTok), @hypocriteink (Twitter/X)

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