Samantha Josephs is the author of the trans horror novel Carrying, out tomorrow from G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Below, she recommends three trans and queer horror reads. (Photo credit: Jack Dailey.)
Content warning: homophobic slur
Herculine by Grace Byron
After flailing around broke in New York City, a trans girl in her twenties goes to an all-trans commune in the woods run by her ex-girlfriend, hoping to be saved from her old Christian demons in a new queer utopia. But at the secluded camp, she finds secrets, sex, and unfortunately, actual demons. A deft portrayal of how hard it is to actually be in community with each other, especially when we all come with so many scars. If you want a tender but painful portrait of trans women that builds to a big, bloody conclusion, this book delivers.
The Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes
In Rio, Brazil, four childhood friends struggling to pay the rent turn to hosting elite secret cannibal dinner parties. As the parties grow bigger and bigger, making more money, needing to push the boundaries of this culinary frontier, the friends get more and more attention from the outside world and law enforcement. This book dares to make your mouth water with delicious descriptions of stomach-churning food. There is one scene in here that is so unflinchingly dark that it will stay with me forever. If you like fast, shadowy books, with a gay male protagonist that never quite lingers too much on his queerness, you’ll love this first English translation for the incredibly popular Brazilian author.
Castle Faggot by Derek McCormack
An incredibly messed-up Saturday morning cartoon set in a haunting amusement park, this slim book truly stands alone. Count Choc-o-log, a Dracula made of chocolate and feces, lives in a castle with his other spooky friends where dead gay men hang from the ceiling like the most fashionable decór. I devoured this whole thing with a huge grin, blown away by the bravado and ingenuity. If you want classic horror icons in a way you’ve absolutely never read before, filled to the brim with unadulterated disgusting filth, you’ll feel like you need to wash your hands, and maybe more, after reading this book.
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