Queer Fear

Queer Fear #1

by Michael Rowe (Editor)

A striking and ambitious collection of gay horror fiction by some of today's hottest authors and talented newcomers, covering a wide spectrum of creatures of the night and all manners of urban terrors. These dark, often disturbing tales expand the boundaries of the horror genre; the sexuality of the protagonists is a point of reference for the "horror" of otherness that defines and, at times, divides us.

Cover painting: Detail from The Ambassador of Obloquy by James Huctwith

Contains the following stories:
"The Nightguard" C. Mark Umland
"Piercing Men" Douglas Clegg
"The Siege" Michael Marano
"Bear Shirt" Gemma Files
"Little Holocausts" Brian Hodge
"The Sound of Weeping" Thomas S. Roche
"Hey Fairy" Edo Van Belkom
"The Spark" William J. Mann
"Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956)" Caitlin R. Kiernan
"The Perpetual" David Quinn
"Genius Loci" Becky N. Southwell
"Goodbye" Michael Thomas Ford
"Tabula Rasa" Robert Boyczuk
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" T.L. Bryers
"The Bird Feeders" David Nickle
"No Silent Scream" Nancy Kilpatrick
"Second Shadow" Joseph O'Brien

Genres: Horror, LGBT, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Queer, Gay

252 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Rowe is an independent international journalist who has lived in Beirut, Havana, Geneva, and Paris.

His work has appeared in the National Post, The Globe & Mail, The United Church Observer and numerous other publications. He has been a finalist for both the Canadian National Magazine Award and the Associated Church Press Award in the United States. The author of several books, including Writing Below the Belt, a critically acclaimed study of censorship, pornography, and popular culture, and the essay collections Looking For Brothers and Other Men's Sons, which won the 2008 Randy Shilts Award for Nonfiction, he has also won the Lambda Literary Award. He is currently a contributing writer to The Advocate and a political blogger for The Huffington Post.

--from the author's website

Reviews

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are eighteen stories in this, and I skipped past at least nine after sampling their terribly-written beginnings. The editor's introduction, while colorful, accurately set my expectations when I found myself counting errors in spelling and grammar.

[Sharon]

DNF - skimmed to page 79

I've been "reading" this book for months and never feeling up to really digging into it. I finally sat down and skimmed my way through several stories, read one, and decided that I should probably get it back to the library instead of trying to push on 😅
Love LGBT horror, but this particular collection just wasn't for me.

[Andrew Herold · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this anthology, I truly did, but just couldn't. With the exception of one story out of eighteen (Caitlin R. Kiernan's Spindleshanks) every story in this collection was poorly written. Beyond poorly written. They are utter trash. Dialogue is bad, characters are bad, the ideas behind the stories themselves are bad. It's evident that some of the authors (a term used in the loosest sense) don't read and don't know how to write a narrative. Words were misspelled (editor's fault), words were picked to make the author seem more intelligent when it was obvious they didn't know what the word meant (ex. A character gorging on food and being described as positively torpid when to that point the writing level is what I would describe as that of a fifth grader), and story lines were so convoluted it was frequently difficult to figure out just what the hell was going on. It's a shame because I don't think there's enough queer horror fiction out there, but if this is the best that we can do, maybe the genre needs to just die out. I'm not sure how Clive Barker and Poppy Z. Brite lent their praise to this collection--both of them write exceptionally well for this genre--but I won't be suckered in by praise from people I admire again. Truly, I can't say enough bad things about this collection.

[Deanna]

I did not finish this book. Some of the stories were okay, but I would end up reading the first few paragraphs of a story before deciding to skip it. Then I was skipping so many I just decided not to pick it up again.

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars: A collection of stories that range from bearable to wonderful. All have some connection to homosexuality, most because the main character is gay, but those that are effective would have been equally so with straight characters.

My short synopsis and rating (* to ***** stars):

The Nightguard (C. Mark Umland) - a prisoner in a hellish lockup deals with a sadistically strange guard. ****
Piercing Men (Douglas Clegg) - outwardly normal and straight suburban men play S&M games that get out of control. ****
The Siege (Michael Marano) - not sure what this was about. *
Bear Shirt (Gemma Files) - modern day skinhead obsesses over bear powers **
Little Holocausts (Brian Hodge) - a man collects souls ***
The Sound of Weeping (Thomas S. Roche) - a morgue worker has a strange attraction to the corpse of a beautiful young man ****
Hey Fairy (Edo Van Belkom) - a gay man is attacked by some thugs but manages to get the best of them. *****
The Spark (William J. Mann) - deaths in a neighborhood seem connected with a strange boy. ****
Spindleshanks (Caitlin R. Kiernan) - use of a ouija board at a party seems to work too well for one of the hosts. ****
The Perpetual (David Quinn) - a screenwriter takes to his motorcycle after a spat with his lover and seems to meet characters he was writing about. **
Genius Loci (Becky N. Southwell) - An old man recounts an encounter with a ghost at a boys camp many years before. *****
Goodbye (Michael Thomas Ford) - a young boy collects butterflies as a way to remember -- and maybe communicate with -- his dead grandmother. *****
Tabula Rasa (Robert Boyczuk) - a group of gay men at a snowbound cabin in the woods play a cruel game with unexpected consequences. *****
You Can't Always Get What You Want (T.L. Bryers) - a young hustler sets his sights on a beautiful creature he thinks is a vampire. **
The Bird Feeders (David Nickle) - A homeless young gay man survives being passed around amongst old, wealthy men until he meets a Hungarian restauranteur who takes him away for a weekend. *****
No Silent Scream (Nancy Kilpatrick) - a man loses it after a string of events he feels confirms his view of humanity and its poor state. **
Nestle's Revenge (Ron Oliver) - after moving from West Hollywood to a small desert town with his lover and his lover's dog, a man finds nothing to do until a series of events involving the dog spiral out of control. *****
Second Shadow (Joseph O'Brien) - Following the death of his lover a man gives up all his possessions to find a legendary lost land. ****

Of the ***** stories, I most enjoyed Nestle's Revenge, due to the writing (as well as the unexpected twists.)

The Arsenal Pulp Press edition has an introduction by Michael Rowe and includes short bios on each author.

[Dean Italiano · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great, Gay Horror anthology. I usually find it difficult to write useful reviews for anthologies, as I don't take the time to write about each individual story, and I don't like picking the best and worst, either. Every one has merit for various reasons. In this case I know some of the writers, which means I'm less inclined to pick and choose.

But I will say this... These are not "fluff" stories. Each one pulls you into a different world, delivering a unique flavour of intense darkness. I found myself wanting to take a break after every tale to consider the imagery, and implications. They made me think, made me want more, and the characters were memorable.

Highly recommended for horror fans.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t really my type of book. I found some parts a bit too suggestive of sexual violence for my comfort, and it left me uneasy rather than intrigued. I only picked it up as part of a reading challenge, and while I appreciate the intention behind showcasing queer horror, I’m hoping there are other titles in this genre that explore fear and identity in more nuanced or less disturbing ways. Would be open to trying others, but this one didn’t quite land for m

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror gives us an honest sense of the world many other genres ignore, so queerness seems only a natural draw to this form. Hate, prejudice and the specter of death: these are the natural tropes of horror, and an unfortunate reality to many in our progressively regressive culture that claims to be reclaiming greatness. Queer Fear reminds us why horror exists and thrives.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wildly variable in quality, as anthologies often are, but this one truly ranges from like un-proofread derivative sophomoric smut to like one of the best works of short fiction I've read in recent memory (Brian Hodge's "Little Holocausts"). Other favorites were William J. Mann's "The Spark," Michael Marano's "The Siege," and Ron Oliver's "Nestle's Revenge."

[Mills College Library]

Fiction Q382a 2000

[shahar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Queer fear?! More like cishet ennui!!

[YoSafBridg · Rating 3 out of 5]

not for the faint of heart
Although the title might be give-away enough, Queer Fear: gay horror fiction edited and with an introduction by Michael Rowe is not for everyone. Like all short story collections the quality of the stories tends to be somewhat uneven, and some of them include graphic sex, violence, and horror (but what do you expect?). If you're willing to take it on, they make for nice little stories to read as breaks between the other books you may be reading (at least that's what i was doing this month.)
My favorites in the collection included Little Holocausts, a beautifully told tale, by Brian Hodge, The Sound of Weeping (set in a morgue) by Thomas S. Roche, Hey Fairy (about an actual fairy who has had enough) by Edo Van Belkom, Genius Loci (a ghost story) by Becky Southwell, and Nestle's Revenge by Ron Oliver (reminds me a little of David Sedaris if he decided to go the murderous route). Goodbye by Michael Thomas Ford was an absolutely wonderful and very touching story but i'm not sure why it was in this collection. Caitlin R. Kiernan's Spindleshanks (New Orleans, 1956) seemed to go nowhere, and David Quinn's The Perpetual was a bit too much (even for me) it seemed to be written to appeal to the prurient serial killer inside the reader and i don't think that's in me. And Nancy Kilpatrick's No Silent Scream was ALMOST like just another day in my life (now that's really scary!)
Just a thought i had as i was reading: if we heterosexuals choose not to expose ourselves to certain lifestyles that is certainly our prerogative, but where does that leave the other ten percent of the population who literally has our lifestyle flung in their faces on a daily basis?

[Maria Lago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Estoy de acuerdo con quienes se quejan de que no deberían llamarlo queer cuando lo que quieren decir es gay (hombres homosexuales), pues el tibio intento de incluir el lesbianismo se queda en eso, en un intento y, que yo recuerde, de bisexualidad no hay nada.
También coincido con la crítica a la calidad: ciertamente, no todos son buenos, ni todos están bien escritos.
Sin embargo, a mí este libro me entretuvo a horrores (jeje... uf, qué malo). Incluso diría que me inspiró. Y el puñado de relatos buenos (Piercing Men, The Spark, Spindleshanks, The Sound of Weeping) merecen mucho la pena. Amén de Nestlé's Revenge, que es pa descojonarse.
Necesitamos pronto un análisis de alquien inteligente que nos explique la relación entre homosexualidad y género de terror, ¿no os da que tendría mucha enjundia? Yo estoy deseando leerlo. Pensemos en cuán pocas películas/novelas de terror con protagonistas homosexuales hay, en comparación con la miríada de películas/novelas con subtexto homoerótico. En el sigo XXI, ¿qué es exactamente lo que necesita seguir subyugado? ¿Qué imagen sigue siendo tabú, qué deseo escondido merece seguir en la sombra? Otras temáticas, como la relación femenina con la locura, se han hecho ya cansinas de tanta versión...
En fin, que yo sigo aquí esperando, novelistas, ensayistas, cinematógrafos del mundo. He comprado fuegos artificiales para cuando se dé la ocasión.

[Rafael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am partial to compilations of any sort because they'll usually have a range literary styles. This means that I will not only find something I like but also, explore types of styles I would not normally read.

Of course this also means that every collection have a few duds. And I do not like everything in this collection but that is more the exception than the rule. The best stories are either subtle about their treatment of the Queer rubric and focus on the fear factor or they explore the sexual mores and taboos that belong with gay male culture (i.e.leather daddies, masochism, bath houses), "The Piercing Men" stands out in the latter regard. Overall a great read.

[Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

8 of the 14 were awesome. The other 6 weren't bad--just not my favorites. Caitlin Kiernan's was, of course, the best imho. Only 4 in the anthology were by women and even fewer involved lesbians. This is my main issue with anthologies of "gay fiction." Most of the time the number of male writers far surpasses the women. I still enjoyed it though, and I do want to read the second volume--it is, after all, gay horror.

[perry winxxx · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh. the writing of a lot of the contributors leaves something to be desired. some of the stories were awesome and creepy, but the majority were just too real in the bash-y we're-all-gonna-die-cuz-we're-gay sense. overall this book was ...just alright, i guess.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hated it. First, horror is not my thing. Second, none of these people are good writers. Pass.

[Alison]

I just finished reading this book and I loved every moment of it.

[Mexican · Rating 1 out of 5]

Scary for the bad writing!