Horror is a popular genre amongst LGBTQ+ people. There are many reasons for this, like how, historically, LGBTQ+ or queer-coded characters are more likely to appear in horror. These characters weren’t always the best representation though. Luckily, that’s changing thanks to LGBTQ+ horror authors. Read on to learn about four authors who write incredible, gut-wrenching horror pieces that feature LGBTQ+ themes and characters.
Clive Barker
Clive Barker is well-known and critically acclaimed within the horror world. Barker is an author and screenwriter known for Books of Blood, a six-volume horror anthology that starts with a sham psychic whose skin is turned into the aforementioned books by ghosts upset with him for his lies. The stories within the collection are those found on the body of the psychic. Though his work isn’t always explicitly queer, such themes can be found throughout.
Andrew Joseph White
Andrew Joseph White’s work uses horror to explore queer, transgender, and autistic experiences, as well as Appalachian culture. His debut novel, Hell Followed With Us, follows transgender teen Benji, who escapes a cult that has turned him into a monster. It will be adapted into a full-length animated film, directed in part by Lilly Wachowski, one of the minds behind The Matrix.
Eric LaRocca
Eric LaRocca is a horror writer and two-time Bram Stoker Award finalist. His work leans heavily into the disturbing and disgusting. LaRocca is best known for his novel Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, which follows two queer women that connect over a chatroom in the 2000s, as well as his short story collection, The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories. This collection includes eight stories about tragedy, trauma, and grief.
Suzan Palumbo
Suzan Palumbo is a Trinidadian-Canadian author of horror and speculative fiction. Skin Thief: Stories is her debut novel and a collection of twelve short stories dealing with queerness, identity, racism, and other forms of oppression. She also incorporates her Trinidadian culture in her book through folklore. If you enjoy the gothic and complex themes, Palumbo’s work is a must-read.
Alison Rumfitt
Alison Rumfitt is a transgender, British writer of both horror novels and poetry. Her debut novel, Tell Me I’m Worthless, is a gory, disturbing tale where Alice and Ila venture back into a haunted house years after their first experience there and must relive the traumas they suffered. Rumfitt’s work explores the transgender experience through the horror genre in a visceral way and through a contemporary lens, and her writing should not be skipped over.
Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Gerardo Sámano Córdova is a Mexican author currently living in Brooklyn. This up-and-coming horror novelist is known for his debut novel, Monstrilio. Following an old folktale, a devastated mother cuts and nourishes a piece of her dead son’s lung, but instead of growing into a man, it grows into a monster. Córdova is working on his second novel, so watch out for his future work.
If you want a fresh take on the horror genre, these writers and their works are highly recommended. Any one of these horrifying reads will be sure to not only set the spooky mood but also broaden your understanding of the LGBTQ+ experience uniquely.
Want even more thrilling LGBTQ+ novels? Find them here.
Find these books and more on our LGBTQ Voices bookshelf on Bookshop.org.
