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Queer Horror: Fun and Freaky Perspectives on Macabre Media
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.
192 pages, Paperback
Published September 2, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 28, 2025
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.
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.
August 28, 2025
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.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews