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Horror Pride Month: Nine Essential Queer Horror Novels for Summer 2019

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Queer Horror

We’re almost halfway through June, so you’re well into your Summer reading lists, right?

Some of you are thinking, “Do people even do that anymore?”

When I was a kid, my mom and dad kept a tight leash on what I was viewing. I come from a particularly stringent religious background, and the few horror movies that made it into the house were not meant for my consumption.

They didn’t, however, monitor my reading habits too closely. I’m still not sure how it slipped by them that I was bringing home horror books from the library. All I know is that books were the foundation of my horror education. They were also the foundation for defining my identity as a gay man.

It has been my honor and privilege over the years to recommend many of these books to other horror fans, and I am constantly on the lookout for new and terrifying books that combine horror with the queer experience.

With that in mind, I decided to create this Summer reading list. Some of the titles here are very old and some have only been published in the last couple of years, but they’re all quite good and I cannot recommend them enough to all you horror fans!

Point Pleasant by Jen Archer Wood

Jen Archer Wood’s Point Pleasant was first published in August of 2013. Sadly, I did not discover it until about a month ago when it was recommended to me by a good friend.

Wrapped in the mystery of the famed Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the novel tells the story of Ben Wisehart who, as a boy, encountered the creature late at night with best friend Nicholas.

As the two grow up, their response to this encounter diverges, as do their paths in life. Ben leaves town at the age of 20 after he receives the cold shoulder upon admitting that he’s fallen in love with Nicholas.

When a series of events brings Ben back to Point Pleasant, he finds the town once again haunted by the beast that plagued his childhood nightmares. He also finds that Nicholas has worked a few things out for himself in Ben’s absence.

Wood brings something new to the legends of the Mothman that makes the story incredibly terrifying. She also manages to–narrowly–avoid the “gay for you” plot device between Ben and Nicholas that has become a stale trope in these kinds of stories.

Point Pleasant is available in digital and paperback editions on Amazon!

Sacrament by Clive Barker

Clive Barker’s fiction is some of the most effective and terrifying of the last 40 years. Evocative images combine with master wordcraft to create worlds more terrifying than most could ever dream.

An openly gay man, many of Barker’s stories and novels feature queer characters, though rarely is their sexuality the most important thing going on in the plot. This was one of the things that drew me to his writing long before I realized he was gay.

I’ve written before of what it meant to me when I found out that Barker was gay. It was a moving experience to say the least and almost immediately after finding out I read the novel Sacrament.

This novel is a bold existential nightmare tailor-made for anyone who has ever asked the question “Why was I born?”

The answers in Sacrament are ephemeral and fleeting, but rarely have I been so terrified and moved and uncertain if I was prepared for the ending of a novel as when I found myself lost in its pages all those years ago.

Pick your format and pick up a copy here.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters has made a name for herself with erotically charged lesbian genre fiction. Her stories are vividly told and her characters are often brutally emotionally raw.

Her talent for storytelling is abundantly clear in Affinity. The novel tells the story of Margaret Prior, an upper class Victorian woman, who after a failed suicide attempt begins volunteering at an horrific women’s prison.

There she meets spiritualist Selina Dawes. Margaret soon finds herself captivated by Selina and perhaps more dangerously, she comes to believe in Selina’s gifts.

It’s a hair-raising, diabolically plotted tale that you have to read for yourself to believe.

Pick up a copy of Affinity by Sarah Waters here.

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez

Evocative and thrilling, The Gilda Stories was Jewelle Gomez’s debut novel.

It tells the story of a runaway slave in Louisiana who finds herself taken in by Gilda, a vampire woman and brothel owner. Eventually, the slave herself becomes a vampire and takes on the name of Gilda, as well.

She learns about life and love from the women of the brothel and takes those lessons forward through her seemingly endless eternal life.

Gilda is openly bisexual and Gomez’s novel explores the convergence of blackness and sexuality beautifully, ultimately winning two Lambda awards for the novel.

If you’ve not read it, you must pick up a copy today!

Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite

I had a hard time choosing just one of Poppy Z. Brite’s novels for this list, but ultimately, it had to be Drawing Blood.

In the novel, Brite takes us back to Missing Mile, North Carolina, the location of Brite’s debut novel, Lost Souls.

At five years old, Trevor McGee somehow escaped the night his father murdered the rest of his family before killing himself. Now grown up and a burgeoning comic book artist, Trevor has returned to the old family home to attempt to figure out why he was spared.

Enter Zachary Bosch. A bisexual computer hacker on the run from the FBI, Zach also finds himself in Missing Mile, a nowhere place that’s perfect for hiding.

Zach and Trevor, of course, meet and begin a heated relationship, but the dark spirits and insanity that haunted Trevor’s father are never far away in the old family home.

It’s a fun haunted house story with a queer twist and one that I cannot recommend enough. Back in the 90s when a lot of us were discovering Brite, we had no idea that the author was coming to terms with their gender identity. Though Poppy Z. Brite remains their professional name, he has since come out as a trans man by the name of Billy Martin.

Also, if haunted houses aren’t your thing, and you’re looking for something more extreme, Brite wrote a novel called Exquisite Corpse back in the day. There are things in that book that you cannot un-read, but I highly recommend if you’re looking for something more extreme.

Pick up a copy of Drawing Blood here.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan

Twisting and turning, Caitlin R. Kiernan takes us into the mind of a schizophrenic woman named India Morgan Phelps aka IMP in her 2012 novel The Drowning Girl.

This is one of those books that nearly impossible to explain without giving anything away. It switches back and forth between first and third person storytelling as IMP navigates the strange occurrences around her with the help of her transgender lover Abalyn.

Kiernan is an adept storyteller and she uses all of those skills to take her readers in the midst of IMP’s mental illness as respectfully as she can while leaving much open to debate.

The use of this trope has come under fire in recent years with rightful discussion about the portrayal of mental illness in the horror genre.

Are the horrors here born of IMP’s mental illness? Is she able to experience because of the way her mind works?

The final scenes in the book will leave the reader with almost as many questions as answers. It is certainly open for interpretation.

Pick up a copy of the novel today and decide for yourself!

Queer Fear Volumes 1 & 2 edited by Michael Rowe

Queer Horror Queer Fear

Is it cheating to do at once? I don’t know, but a good anthology is hard to come by, and Michael Rowe did his level best in assembling both volumes of Queer Fear.

It should be noted that most of the stories contained here are decidedly on the erotic side, but that doesn’t take away from the horror aspect and in some ways, actually enhances it.

There’s something here for everyone in these collections and while tonally they land all over the place, the overall assembly is quite good.

What’s more important here, as it is with any collection of short fiction, is that readers can find the stories and authors they like and use that as a jumping off place to discover even more queer horror stories and novels.

And that, I think, is winning.

Order yours and being your own journey through Queer Fear.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Queer Horror Anne Rice

Say what you will, but Rice’s Vampire Chronicles may be one of the longest running series of novels filled with pansexual protagonists and antagonists alike.

Rice’s vampires, rendered unable to perform sexual acts after turning, nonetheless spend countless pages expressing a love for other characters regardless of gender expression. They love deeply and profoundly, reaching out to each other for companionship through their immortal lives constantly searching for one to walk with them.

It’s incredibly romantic. It’s also, at times, incredibly violent, especially when the Brat Prince Lestat de Lioncourt is involved. Still, the search for connection across centuries is one of the most compelling points of Rice’s novels.

What’s more, the sheer beauty of that writing has compelled her legion of fans to fall in love with the characters she’s given us in return over the course of four decades.

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‘Strange Darling’ Featuring Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald Lands Nationwide Release [Watch Clip]

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Strange Darling Kyle Gallner

‘Strange Darling,’ a standout film featuring Kyle Gallner, who is nominated for an iHorror award for his performance in ‘The Passenger,’ and Willa Fitzgerald, has been acquired for a wide theatrical release in the United States by Magenta Light Studios, a new enterprise from veteran producer Bob Yari. This announcement, brought to us by Variety, follows the film’s successful premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2023, where it was universally praised for its creative storytelling and compelling performances, achieving a perfect score of 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes from 14 reviews.

Strange Darling – Movie Clip

Directed by JT Mollner, ‘Strange Darling‘ is a thrilling narrative of a spontaneous hookup that takes an unexpected and terrifying turn. The film is notable for its innovative narrative structure and the exceptional acting of its leads. Mollner, known for his 2016 Sundance entry “Outlaws and Angels,” has once again employed 35mm for this project, cementing his reputation as a filmmaker with a distinct visual and narrative style. He is currently involved in adapting Stephen King’s novel “The Long Walk” in collaboration with director Francis Lawrence.

Bob Yari expressed his enthusiasm for the film’s upcoming release, scheduled for August 23rd, highlighting the unique qualities that make ‘Strange Darling’ a significant addition to the horror genre. “We are thrilled to be bringing nationwide theatrical audiences this unique and exceptional film with terrific performances by Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner. This second feature from talented writer-director JT Mollner is destined to become a cult classic that defies conventional storytelling,” Yari told Variety.

Variety’s review of the film from Fantastic Fest lauds Mollner’s approach, saying, “Mollner shows himself to be more forward-thinking than most of his genre peers. He’s clearly a student of the game, one who studied his forebears’ lessons with adroitness to better prepare himself to put his own mark on them.” This praise underlines Mollner’s deliberate and thoughtful engagement with the genre, promising audiences a film that is both reflective and innovative.

Strange Darling

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Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Barbarella’ Revival Forges Ahead

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Sydney Sweeney Barbarella

Sydney Sweeney has confirmed the ongoing progress of the much-anticipated reboot of Barbarella. The project, which sees Sweeney not only starring but also executive producing, aims to breathe new life into the iconic character that first captured audiences’ imaginations in the 1960s. However, amid speculation, Sweeney remains tight-lipped about the possible involvement of celebrated director Edgar Wright in the project.

During her appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Sweeney shared her enthusiasm for the project and the character of Barbarella, stating, “It is. I mean, Barbarella is just such a fun character to explore. She really just embraces her femininity and her sexuality, and I love that. She uses sex as a weapon and I think it’s such an interesting way into a sci-fi world. I’ve always wanted to do sci-fi. So we’ll see what happens.“

Sydney Sweeney confirms her Barbarella reboot is still in the works

Barbarella, originally a creation of Jean-Claude Forest for V Magazine in 1962, was transformed into a cinematic icon by Jane Fonda under the direction of Roger Vardim in 1968. Despite a sequel, Barbarella Goes Down, never seeing the light of day, the character has remained a symbol of sci-fi allure and adventurous spirit.

Over the decades, several high-profile names including Rose McGowan, Halle Berry, and Kate Beckinsale were floated as potential leads for a reboot, with directors Robert Rodriguez and Robert Luketic, and writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade previously attached to revive the franchise. Unfortunately, none of these iterations made it past the conceptual stage.

Barbarella

The film’s progress took a promising turn approximately eighteen months ago when Sony Pictures announced its decision to cast Sydney Sweeney in the titular role, a move that Sweeney herself has suggested was facilitated by her involvement in Madame Web, also under Sony’s banner. This strategic decision was aimed at fostering a beneficial relationship with the studio, specifically with the Barbarella reboot in mind.

When probed about Edgar Wright’s potential directorial role, Sweeney adeptly sidestepped, merely noting that Wright has become an acquaintance. This has left fans and industry watchers speculating about the extent of his involvement, if any, in the project.

Barbarella is known for its adventurous tales of a young woman traversing the galaxy, engaging in escapades that often incorporate elements of sexuality—a theme Sweeney seems eager to explore. Her commitment to reimagining Barbarella for a new generation, while staying true to the character’s original essence, sounds like the making of a great reboot.

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‘The First Omen’ Almost Received an NC-17 Rating

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the first omen trailer

Set for an April 5 theater release, ‘The First Omen’ carries an R-rating, a classification that was almost not achieved. Arkasha Stevenson, in her inaugural feature film directorial role, faced a formidable challenge in securing this rating for the prequel to the esteemed franchise. It seems the filmmakers had to contend with the ratings board to prevent the film from being saddled with an NC-17 rating. In a revealing conversation with Fangoria, Stevenson described the ordeal as ‘a long battle’, one not waged over traditional concerns such as gore. Instead, the crux of the controversy centered around the depiction of the female anatomy.

Stevenson’s vision for “The First Omen” delves deep into the theme of dehumanization, particularly through the lens of forced birthing. “The horror in that situation is how dehumanized that woman is”, Stevenson explains, emphasizing the significance of presenting the female body in a non-sexualized light to address themes of forced reproduction authentically. This commitment to realism nearly landed the film an NC-17 rating, sparking a prolonged negotiation with the MPA. “This has been my life for a year and a half, fighting for the shot. It’s the theme of our film. It’s the female body being violated from the inside outwards”, she states, highlighting the importance of the scene to the film’s core message.

The First Omen Movie Poster – by Creepy Duck Design

Producers David Goyer and Keith Levine supported Stevenson’s battle, encountering what they perceived as a double standard in the ratings process. Levine reveals, “We had to go back and forth with the ratings board five times. Weirdly, avoiding the NC-17 made it more intense”, pointing out how the struggle with the ratings board inadvertently intensified the final product. Goyer adds, “There is more permissiveness when dealing with male protagonists, particularly in body horror”, suggesting a gender bias in how body horror is evaluated.

The film’s bold approach to challenging viewers’ perceptions extends beyond the ratings controversy. Co-writer Tim Smith notes the intention to subvert expectations traditionally associated with The Omen franchise, aiming to surprise audiences with a fresh narrative focus. “One of the big things we were excited to do was to kind of pull the rug out from under people’s expectations”, Smith says, underscoring the creative team’s desire to explore new thematic ground.

Nell Tiger Free, known for her role in “Servant”, leads the cast of “The First Omen”, set for release by 20th Century Studios on April 5. The movie follows a young American woman dispatched to Rome for church service, where she stumbles upon a sinister force that shakes her faith to its core and reveals a chilling plot aimed at summoning evil incarnate.

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