Queer Horror: Fun and Freaky Perspectives on Macabre Media

by Gina Brandolino, Joe Carlough

Don't be scared straight! Curl up on the couch with Joe and Gina for a romp through their favorite horror movies, TV shows, and books from the 1930s to today, exploring their messages, meaning, and enduring appeal for queer audiences. From The Thing to vampire porn, The Exorcist to paranormal television, Goblin Market to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, these thoughtful, conversational essays will make you think, laugh, shiver, and see your favorite media in a new light (even if you have to cover your eyes for the scary parts).  Horror buffs and queer media mavens alike will enjoy this wide ranging journey through a genre often derided, dismissed, and misunderstood, but which offers rich opportunities to explore our culture's ideas about gender, sexuality, and desire. Whether you relate to the monster or the final girl, enjoy sleuthing hidden queer themes, or just want recommendations for obscure, low-budget ghost movies, this book'll be a scream.

Genres: Horror, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 2, 2025

Reviews

[Ashley Daviau]

This was so damn good and I enjoyed it SO much! If you’re queer and love horror then you absolutely need to read this one! Even if you’re just queer or just love horror or neither of those, just read this book.

[Kevin Murphy]

Queer perspectives on horror are vital, I think, and I've made an effort to expose myself to more of them. The opening essays in this book highlight why it's important: from Frankenstein's creation to the Babadook to Freddy Krueger, there is something that clicks and connects between them and someone who is thrown out for who they are or who does not traditionally embody gender characteristics and behavior.

Few essays in here are more than a couple pages, and that helps to make it so easy to blast through a whole bunch without necessarily doing one focused sitting, which means that it's a perfect format for my distracted mind.

The best pieces in here (like "Lost Girls", "The Forest is a Beautiful Fucking Nightmare", and "Lesbian Ghost") are outstanding. The lesser pieces are not as insightful and lack impact, but are often entertaining or amusing ("The Exorcism Department at Hallmark"). Between the 5s and the 3s, this collection lands on the upper side of a solid 4. It still gets a 5- small indie publishing by people who are cool as hell? I want this to get some more attention and I will gladly bump up the rating a little if it helps with that.

[Tehnehn Kaijaah Edwards]

ACTUAL score 3.5

So not every essay in this book is a knockout. But I loved loved reading the opinions of Gina and Joe. And I loved feeling the passion they have for horror and how horror is a genre that queer people feel connected too. The Dr. JEKYL and Mr. Hyde essay is my absolute fave! Loved the assessments in that one. I also appreciate the movie and book recommendations to add to tbr. This isn't a perfect book of essays but I enjoyed it. I think some of the essays could have been cut. Like if the filler essays were removed, would have given a four. Despite that if you are a horror fan...tehn out of ten would recommend. Also Happy Pride Month! Read a gay book!

[David Macpherson]

What a fun and heart felt book. This was lovely. They blended coming out stories with the horror movies they loved. I read some of these essays already because I had the zines this book was spawned from. But to have all these thoughts and ideas in one book improves it. Brandolino had an amazing essay in there about all the horror stories mentioned being told in the beginning of stories or books, but never fleshed out, which was terrific. I enjoyed the voices of both the writers. They contrasted and blended nicely.

[Rachel]

This is a nice little zine compilation by Joe and Gina, 2 queer horror lovers.

Some of the articles were a bit repetitive, like there were several about the Exorcist. But I really liked the lists of movies and their commentary on them. I found a couple I hadn't seen and sounded interesting. It mostly focused on movies and some books.

This would make a good coffee table book or conversation starter. The articles are short, casual, and relatable.

[Shona]

This a selection of essays on the theme of queerness and horror movies, with the essays alternating between the two authors. I greatly enjoyed one author's take on the subject over the other one, so ended up with mixed feelings on the collection over all.

[Jamie Kingston]

Lots of fab recommendations and interesting analysis on the themes in several horror films/books.