Seance in the Asylum

by Clay McLeod Chapman, Leonardo Marcello Grassi (illustrator), Mauro Gulma (Colorist)

Séance in the Asylum will have you questioning what is real, and what’s not…or in this case, who’s mad, who’s sane, or who’s actually possessed?

1865. The Civil War finally reaches its grueling end. Soldiers returning from the frontline come home broken, their minds shattered. An influx of patients overwhelms The Ashcroft Hospital, an asylum in upstate New York. Dr. John James Templeton is busy developing a radical new spiritualism—the act of communicating with the dead—is its own form of therapy. What better way to draw out these mental maladies then with a little assistance from the other side? Templeton enlists Alicia Wilkinson, a medium who as a young girl established herself as a sought-after conduit capable of contacting the dead…but her own past continues to haunt her.

These séance sessions become a cutting-edge form of “spectral therapy,” where patients are permitted to converse with, perhaps expunge, their own maladies. By reaching out beyond the veil of our own world, these spirits aid in drawing out the illness of the patient. But something is changing in the patients. They are acting different...possessed, perhaps. Templeton’s experiment is a success. Too successful. It is up to Alicia to understand what is happening to the patients of Ashcroft…before it’s too late.

Collects Séance in the Asylum issues #1–#4.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Historical Fiction, Supernatural

96 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2025

About the author

Books. Children's books. Comic books. Film.

Reviews

[The_5ft_reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

the story is nothing exciting but I thought deserves 4 stars for the cool art work!

[Maxie Froelicher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this graphic novel from Edelweiss+, thank you!

I liked this graphic novel a lot; the backstory that's slowly fed to us, the art style that adds significantly to the creepy factor, the light amount of gaslighting. I think the biggest highlight of it was the art. It was visceral and 100% brought the atmosphere that was needed.

What I think I would have wanted was more of an original twist, if that makes sense. Her being a patient the whole time (or was she?) was interesting but it's definitely been done before. That's not to say it isn't done well, it is, and I wasn't really expecting it by the end. On top of that, the final image of her is icky in the best way.

Overall I would absolutely check this graphic novel out if you're a fan of gothic literature and Clay McLeod Chapman.

[Michael Doane · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Shutter Island and gothic horror, you’ll enjoy this. Art and concept are good but nothing to write home about. The plot was a bit predictable and the ending utilized a common twist.

[Chris Provost · Rating 5 out of 5]

dark and spooky and bleak. awesome.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid horror story. Go use of flash backs and dreams vs the real world.

[Alex Sarll]

I'm not saying there are no original horror stories left, but the title Seance In The Asylum suggests this ain't going to be one, and so it proves, right down to the medium being, yes, a fraud who nevertheless stumbles into the real thing. But the escalating unease is handled competently enough, and really it's just a scaffolding for Grassi's perfectly suited art, all wild staring eyes and nightmare angles that would have been right at home on early Vertigo, or maybe Dylan Dog.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alicia Wilkinson was once a child psychic. With her abilities debunked, she needs a new profession - enter Ashcroft Asylum, where a doctor wants to use her 'powers' to help cure some of his patients. Unfortunately, their experiments unleash something none of them can control.

I'd liken this to a Twilight Zone episode. It's a quick read, even at four issues, and you can probably see the twist coming after three issues, but it keep me interested for the entire page count. There's a small cast, mostly just Alicia and two doctors with a few of the patients at the asylum getting names, but you don't really need more than that for this kind of story.

The art's a little odd - it feels a bit Mike Mignola, mixed in with Paul Azaceta - a kind of less-is-more approach from Leonardo Marcello Grassi.

A decent little horror book. Worth a look.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The year is 1865 and the Civil War has just ended. Alicia Wilkinson, a young woman known to be medium, is invited by Dr. Templeton to Ashcroft asylum. Overrun with patients, his plan is to use spiritualism in an effort to heal various mental afflictions. Though she is really a fraud, Wilkinson has surprising success at attracting the spirits during seances at the asylum. But something more is happening which will soon throw everyone into a waking nightmare.
I'd previously only read Chapman's novels and short fiction. But his period piece horror comic work was just as spooky and surprising as his prose. The final chapter goes in very unexpected directions and will leave you questioning what is real and what isn't.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

The plot goes in many unexpected directions. The art is great; very creepy at times and works really well at illustrating the paranormal concepts that are taking place. I loved the depiction of the ectoplasm, reminded me of The Haunting in Connecticut.

The story jumps between past and present and other bits of information are slowly given, plus the addition of an unreliable narrator keeps you guessing until the end, which leaves more questions but is still ultimately a satisfying closure.

[Calliope · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up because I liked the ending. Sometimes had to slow myself down to understand what was happening in this art style, but that doesn't mean the art is bad-- it fits the story, I think. I wish it took more time to expound on its ideas and spend time with its characters but I know in graphics that time and space just aren't always there. This definitely isn't going to be for everyone, but it was pretty good for me.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ye olde charlatan mystic finds out that ghosts are real. I was a bit disappointed that the interior artist was not the cover artist. The interior art is realistic, thin line and heavy blacks. Sean Phillips-ish.

Set in the 1800's, a seance scam artist is invited to a mental institution to see if the voices the patients hear might be ghosts. The story gets confusing from there.

I could see this working as a horror movie with some moody music in the background.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is set after the Civil War. It's about a medium working at an asylum who turns out she may not be the fake that she has always believed she is. This starts off very slow for only a 4 issue series. The art wasn't to my taste. It was scratchy with a lot of lines and it looked like those lines had been connected by Connect the Dots.

[David Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

Following the Civil War, a fraudulent psychic medium is brought into an asylum to try and help those by using spiritualism as a therapeutic method. A good asylum tale always has the element of who should be in there and this story has that.

The art does a nice job of conveying the mysterious and other worldly aspect to spiritualism. It can be almost like water color sometimes.

[Jeff Wait · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s quick, it’s scary, it’s visually appealing (though the cover didn’t attract me until I saw it was written by Clay). Glad I squeezed it in on my day off. I’m a big fan of Clay’s horror mind. Had a similar feel to Ghost Eaters, if it took place a century or two earlier (I can’t remember when it’s set). And ay the end of the day, what’s scarier than a seance mixed with an asylum?

[Kyle Spishock · Rating 1 out of 5]

The entirety of the plot is right there in the title, with enough ectoplasm to make you wanna call the Ghostbusters. This trope of the entire story being inside a crazy person’s head got old… several decades ago.

[Mehsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Haha, what the heck did I just read. I did like the twist (though I had my suspicions early on), but it just got a bit too much for me with all that happened. The art, not my favourite at all. Such a shame as the cover is cool, and the sketches in the back look good.

[Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, that was depressing. I guess I'm not sure what I was expecting though....

[Calla Bjorklund Jarvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, but not great either. The story felt a bit disjointed. The artwork ended up being a little cheesy as well.

[Andrew Metadrouid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy! I read it maybe 2 months early...great for Halloween!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The writing AND the art are so intense in this graphic novel. That shit was SCARY!

[Karrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is a traditional kind of art in comics, but it didn’t do the story justice. It was dark, and the font was just a bit too small to read. I think I would have liked the story a lot better if it was a short novella.