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Seance in the Asylum
Clay McLeod Chapman (Ghost Eaters) and Leonardo Marcello Grassi (Undiscovered Country) team up for a horrific and creepy comics series!
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.
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.
93 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 3, 2025
About the author
Clay McLeod Chapman
194 books2,093 followersBooks. Children's books. Comic books. Film.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
September 7, 2025
the story is nothing exciting but I thought deserves 4 stars for the cool art work!
February 4, 2025
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2026
I wish this story carried a bit more punch. It was okay, if a little predictable. However, the illustration style really evoked the time period and genre, so props for that!
June 16, 2025
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.
June 18, 2025
dark and spooky and bleak. awesome.
September 9, 2025
Solid horror story. Go use of flash backs and dreams vs the real world.
Read
June 10, 2025I'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.
January 27, 2026
Séance in the Asylum is a chilling historical horror graphic novel by writer Clay McLeod Chapman and artist Leonardo Marcello Grassi, originally released as a four-issue series from Dark Horse Comics.
Set in 1865, right after the Civil War ends, the story unfolds at The Ashcroft Hospital—an overcrowded asylum in upstate New York overwhelmed by returning soldiers whose minds have been shattered by the war, along with other patients struggling with their own demons. Dr. John James Templeton, the head of the hospital, has a radical new theory: many of these cases aren't just mental illness but actual possession by spirits.
To test his ideas, he brings in Alicia Wilkinson, a spiritual medium who's recently been exposed as a fraud. Desperate for a second chance, she agrees to conduct séances with the patients. What starts as a supposed therapeutic experiment quickly turns terrifying as the sessions seem to summon real supernatural forces. Traumatized veterans, women institutionalized for "hysteria," and others become channels for something dark and otherworldly, blurring the line between madness, trauma, and genuine haunting.
The book explores themes of possession, the early spiritualism movement, the horrors of war's psychological toll, and questions of sanity versus the supernatural, all wrapped in a creepy, atmospheric tale that keeps you guessing what's real and what's not. Grassi's art brings the shadowy Victorian-era asylum and its haunted inhabitants to vivid, unsettling life.
Victorian spiritualists, ghosts, asylum... I'm in!
4 Stars
Set in 1865, right after the Civil War ends, the story unfolds at The Ashcroft Hospital—an overcrowded asylum in upstate New York overwhelmed by returning soldiers whose minds have been shattered by the war, along with other patients struggling with their own demons. Dr. John James Templeton, the head of the hospital, has a radical new theory: many of these cases aren't just mental illness but actual possession by spirits.
To test his ideas, he brings in Alicia Wilkinson, a spiritual medium who's recently been exposed as a fraud. Desperate for a second chance, she agrees to conduct séances with the patients. What starts as a supposed therapeutic experiment quickly turns terrifying as the sessions seem to summon real supernatural forces. Traumatized veterans, women institutionalized for "hysteria," and others become channels for something dark and otherworldly, blurring the line between madness, trauma, and genuine haunting.
The book explores themes of possession, the early spiritualism movement, the horrors of war's psychological toll, and questions of sanity versus the supernatural, all wrapped in a creepy, atmospheric tale that keeps you guessing what's real and what's not. Grassi's art brings the shadowy Victorian-era asylum and its haunted inhabitants to vivid, unsettling life.
Victorian spiritualists, ghosts, asylum... I'm in!
4 Stars
June 6, 2025
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.
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.
July 31, 2025
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.
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.
August 19, 2025
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.
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.
April 29, 2025
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.
January 2, 2026
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.
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.
April 23, 2025
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.
November 4, 2025
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.
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.
November 10, 2025
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?
July 15, 2025
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.
October 3, 2025
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.
May 2, 2026
It is always funny to see how the English asylums are looked back at with such distain, without context of what was happening to these people everywhere else at the time. But the lesson here is in the absence of God, be careful who you invite in.
June 18, 2025
Well, that was depressing. I guess I'm not sure what I was expecting though....
August 27, 2025
Not bad, but not great either. The story felt a bit disjointed. The artwork ended up being a little cheesy as well.
August 29, 2025
Creepy! I read it maybe 2 months early...great for Halloween!
September 1, 2025
The writing AND the art are so intense in this graphic novel. That shit was SCARY!
October 3, 2025
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.
June 10, 2026
Wtf was this crap?
August 9, 2026
At times, the story felt a little rushed, but I have no other complaints about this period piece comic. Check out the Afterward for some insight into the book’s genesis.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews