Horror is a genre that seems to buck its share of rules, ranging from genre bending, to the contrast between subtle frights to scare-your-pants-off horror. In the case of gay fiction, or queer lit, if you will, a greater sense of genre bending a rule compromising seems to take place, and to exceptional results. Michael Rowe's Queer Fear books (Arsenault Pulp Press) proved the potential that queer themes have in horror.

Any English Lit student will tell you that literature is charged with sexual connotations and, very often, queer themes. Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet , edited by Vince Liaguno and Chad Helder (Dark Scribe Press) takes its own liberties with the genre, by offering horror with literary sensibilities, not to mention abundant queer themes.

When FearZone sat down with Vince Liaguno and Chad Helder, we were curious to know more about how queer themes fir in with mainstream horror, as well as what makes Unspeakable unique.


FearZone: The concept of gay horror isn't new, but it hasn't had a great deal of exposure in the mainstream. How would you define "gay horror"?


Chad Helder: Mainly, I would define gay horror as horror stories with gay characters and gay themes. That is the simple definition. On a deeper level, these stories reflect the anxieties related to gay life; the closet, sexual repression, homophobia, alienation, and assimilation are a few examples of themes you might find in a gay horror story. In some ways, gay horror stories are targeted toward a gay audience, but I think a wider readership can identify with themes in a gay horror story.


Vince Liaguno : He's the theorist. I'm the sideshow (laughs). So, for me, it's more of an analogy: Queer subtext is to the horror genre what a lime wedge is to a Corona -- a tart little twist that flavors but doesn't change the essence of the brew itself.


FearZone: Some readers mistake GLBTQ fiction with erotica. What are the distinct differences?


Chad Helder: I see a very distinct difference. Erotica has a specific purpose to sexually arouse the reader. GLBTQ fiction involves all of the multifaceted components of any literary story, which also might include erotica, but sexual arousal is not the primary purpose. And horror stories also include all of those components.


FearZone: While some authors in Unspeakable are known in the gay horror fiction market, how has the point of view of the heterosexual authors influenced the anthology?


Vince Liaguno: I think what amazed us most as we read through the submissions was how universal the idea of metaphorical closets is. Gay, straight, bisexual -- it doesn't really matter. Closets hide more than sexual orientation. We've all hidden some aspect of ourselves away in the back of some mental closet for fear of detection. Addiction, religious views, political affiliation, facets of our gender identity - even certain vices and virtues - are often closeted aspects of our true natures. The idea of those repressed aspects distorting our real selves, festering in the shadows of those closets, is where the horror comes in. Repression can do ugly things to people. I think this collection speaks to the universality of living through the experience of hiding pieces of ourselves away and explores what happens to those aspects at various stages of repression. Only in truth is there light, and for many of the characters readers will meet in these stories, there is only darkness.


FearZone: Tell us a bit about your selection process. As first-time anthology editors, how did you achieve balance in your chosen tales?


Vince Liaguno: Above all, we set out in search of strong, literary voices. There were some easy cuts in the beginning - stories in which the queer subtext was as peripheral to the plot as to be virtually non-existent or secondary. Then, with those stories we passed through to a second round of readings, it became a process of deliberation and elimination in an effort to discover and establish a cohesive mood. There were several excellent stories that we ended up passing on simply because their tone didn't complement the evolving mood of the anthology.

Mindful of our literary predispositions as two gay male editors, we were also cognizant of ensuring the collection was representative of a diversity of sexual orientations and included lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered characters and themes.

We personally invited six authors to be part of the project, and all but one eventually ended up in our table of contents. The other pieces were from a general call for submissions. At the end of the day, we put a secondary focus on finding that delicate balance between established authors, up-and-comers with solid credits to their name, and newer writers. Proudly, we have five talented newcomers making their professional debuts in the collection.


Chad Helder: With this first anthology, I think we were very aware of balancing various aspects of the genre. There are many facets of the horror genre, and I think this anthology contains a balanced representation, including both established sub-genres (gay vampire fiction and Lovecraftian fiction, for example) and extremely experimental stories that defy categorization.


FearZone: In terms of your original vision, how has the collection shaped up? Has it met your personal expectations?


Chad Helder: It has definitely surpassed my expectations. The response was amazing. I couldn't believe how many submissions we received. There was a very wide range of stories. I am very happy with the balance between award-winning, established writers and new talent. I was very thrilled by the response from the gay-horror community. I had a list of gay horror authors that I wanted in the anthology, and they are all there!


Vince Liaguno: Met and exceeded. I think readers will be genuinely blown away by the depth and emotional resonance of these stories.


FearZone: When you set out to create this anthology, what mood and tone were you going for?


Vince Liaguno: We honestly approached this from the starting point of a blank slate. We knew we wanted horror stories with strong queer subtext and themes. But we left ourselves wide open in terms of style and tone. Truthfully, we weren't sure what we were going to get in terms of the submissions. And when the gay vampires started rolling in en masse, there was a brief moment of panic. (laughs)

I think the turning point and decisive moment in terms of what direction the anthology was going to go came when we read Jameson Currier's submission, "The Bloomsbury Nudes." It's a brilliant piece with a remarkably strong, confident voice that just wowed us. After that, it all started to click. I think the second piece we accepted was Gary McMahon's "The Shallows" and then Kevin Reardon's "The Portico Angel" - again, both with very assured, literary voices. Then we knew what we were looking for and the process came together marvelously.

There were a few surprises along the way. We never expected to have a dark fantasy story in the collection, but were blown away by Joy Marchand's malevolent faery tale "Black Annis." Likewise, we took a gamble with Christopher Fox's "The Next Big Thing" which I can only describe as the literary equivalent of a hallucinatory acid trip.

Looking at the finished collection, what we like is the diversity even within the cohesiveness of mood, if that makes sense. We've got strong period pieces like Michele Scalise's "I Am the Shadow That Walks There," which evokes images of a spooky Merchant-Ivory film, alongside more modern-day, realistic horror like Rick Reed's "Sublet", and peppered with a few sprinkles of the supernatural like Lee Thomas' "I'm Your Violence" and Lisa Morton's "Double Walker" and a pinch or two of straight-up allegory like Sarah Langan's "The Agatha's" and Kealan Patrick Burke's "A Letter from Phoenix".

Horror often gels with many other emotions, feelings, experiences and movements. Aside from, say, the coming out experience, prejudice and marginalization, how do horror and queer themes gel together?


Chad Helder: Good horror stories resonate with archetypal fears of death and the unknown. These are the foundation of all good horror stories, so the additional components related to gay experiences rest on this foundation. When it all comes together, it is really amazing.


FearZone: In what way does sexual orientation need to be integrated into a story to be successfully queer-themed?


Vince Liaguno: Like the question itself suggests, the key is integration. For us, the stories that worked best and ultimately made their way into the collection were those in which the sexual orientation of the characters was woven into the tapestry of the narrative itself. Writers like Lee Thomas and Rick Reed are probably best representative of this, knowing how to craft horror first with the sexual orientation of their characters integral and informing all choices and actions yet never sticking out like a big, flapping rainbow flag.

Sexual orientation shouldn't clobber over the head in fiction any more than it should in real life. It's one aspect of our multifaceted selves and shouldn't overshadow our myriad other characteristics. People are the sum of their parts - not just one piece of an equation.


FearZone: How is this anthology different from others in the same arena, such as Michael Rowe's Queer Fear anthologies?


Chad Helder: This project is definitely following in the footsteps of Michael Rowe's groundbreaking anthologies.


Vince Liaguno: Michael - who was the well-deserved recipient of this year's Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction for Other Men's Sons - is a fabulous writer and anthologist. If Chad and I can achieve a fraction of the greatness he brought to the Queer Fear anthologies, then we can claim success.


FearZone: Will Unspeakable appeal to most horror fans or does it cater to a niche audience?


Vince Liaguno: More than anything, this collection will appeal to those who enjoy good storytelling. And while it'll certainly have an added appeal to GLBT readers, I think horror fans from all walks will be drawn to the universality of the theme and the quality of the writing.


FearZone: How do you feel Unspeakable will fare in the independent press? Will queer-themed anthologies make the mainstream?


Chad Helder: I think it's going to be a hit with all kinds of horror readers. As far as the mainstream, it seems unlikely, but I do seem to remember that Tom Cruise once played a queer vampire on the big screen, so I guess anything is possible.


Vince Liaguno: We've deliberately taken a slow, methodical approach to the marketing of this project, opting for a gradual build in buzz. We've got a six-month post-release marketing plan that builds on the pre-release plan we initiated from the first call for submissions. We know the caliber of what we've got here and we want the roll-out to capitalize on what we anticipate as being great word of mouth.


FearZone: Will queer-themed anthologies hit the mainstream?

Vince Liaguno: Listen, anthologies are a tough sell, even though short stories are a venerable, historically rich medium. As with any written work, the theme matters less than the quality. Sure there are trends - but trends start somewhere, usually with a single buzz book. What determines buzz? Readers. So we unleash our 'unspeakable horror' on the world and leave the rest to the readers.


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