Inhalation - by Michael Boulerice (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A fresh and masterful exploration of what it means to be haunted." --B.R. Yeager, author of Negative Space With only weeks left to live, retired auto body mechanic Milo St. Lawrence refuses the option of hospice care in California and returns to the forgotten New England home where his family was destroyed. Dying of cancer and haunted by fragmented memories, Milo believes he must confront something buried in the shadows of the past before death claims him. Confined to a hospital bed inside the half-rotten structure once called home, repressed childhood memories resurface. One by one, he recalls his siblings' mysterious illnesses, his parents' rigid Catholic faith, and the cult-like devotion that replaced medical care with prayer. He remembers watching his estranged sister Marie speak to an imaginary friend in the corner of the living room--and how their parents eventually began communing with it too. As the past and present collide, Milo remembers the night he fled. The night Marie revealed the truth about the many-limbed caterpillar man and the alien hookah device that had siphoned the life from the St. Lawrence children for decades. Armed only with his engineering skills and a dying man's resolve, Milo devises a plan to modify the supernatural parasite's hookah for human operation in a desperate attempt to siphon the monster's life from the device before he becomes its final offering. Blending cosmic horror and psychological terror, Inhalation is a haunting exploration of family tragedy, corrupted faith, and the monstrous forces that lurk in the corners of darkened rooms.

Review Quotes

"It's a story of memory, families, and faith, all drenched in an oppressively hostile atmosphere, where past and present tangle, culminating in a knot of psychedelic phantasmagoria. By turns horrific and heartbreaking, Inhalation is a fresh and masterful exploration of what it means to be haunted." --B.R. Yeager, Author of Negative Space

"Boulerice takes us into Milo's world, rife with childhood trauma, a toxic sibling rivalry to beat all sibling rivalries, cults, and a haunted house with a truly scary Cosmic Horror monstrosity at the center of it all." --Lauren Bolger, Author of The Barre Incidents

"A bit like having your sleep paralysis demons invite themselves in whenever they please, Inhalation approaches terminal illness and the cult of religion in a way that forgoes asking permission, and instead forces you to grapple with the monster in the room." --Michael Bettendorf, Author of TRVE CVLT and MIDWESTERN CHROME

"Boulerice crafts a truly heartbreaking work of cosmic horror with Inhalation. It's got religious zealots, nightmare angels, familial tragedy, and the perfect ratio of dark humor to creeping dread. At moments tender and at others savage, this is one you don't want to miss." --Corey Farrenkopf, Author of Living in Cemeteries and Haunted Ecologies

"Inhalation beautifully addresses toxic family dynamics, harmful religiosity, and grief while also delivering a truly chilling supernatural terror that will have you holding your breath until the last page." --Emma E. Murray, author of Crushing Snails

About the Author

Michael Boulerice is a scarily inventive horror author who hails from the wilds of New Hampshire. Blending psychological horror and otherworldly entities, his stories have appeared in NoSleep, Tenebrous Press, and Cosmic Horror Monthly. His debut novella, Feeding the Wheel, was published by Dead Sky Publishing in July 2025. When he's not penning your next nightmare, Michael can be found snowboarding in the White Mountains or spoiling his pets rotten.