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The horror genre mirrors the American queer experience, both positively and negatively, overtly and subtextually, from the lumbering, flower-picking monster of Frankenstein (1931) to the fearless intersectional protagonist of the Fear Street Trilogy (2021). This is a historical look at the queer experiences of the horror genre's characters, performers, authors and filmmakers.
Offering a fresh look at the horror genre's queer roots, this book documents how diverse stories have provided an outlet for queer people--including transgender and non-binary people--to find catharsis and reclamation. Freaks, dolls, serial killers, telekinetic teenagers and Final Girls all have something to contribute to the historical examination of the American LGBTQ+ experience. Ranging from psychiatry to homophobic fear of HIV/AIDS spread and, most recently, the alienation and self-determination of queer America in the Trump era, this is a look into how terror may repair a shattered queer heart.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1.¿The Queens of Hollywood: Queer Roots, Censorship, and the Lavender Menace (the 1930s-1940s)
Chapter 2.¿Psychos, Aliens, and Ghosts: Mass Conformity, Gay Liberation, and the Underground Response (the 1950s-1970s)
Chapter 3.¿Villainization: AIDS and Casual Homophobia (the 1980s)
Chapter 4.¿Manifesting Monstrous Bodies: The Use of the Transgender, Intersex, and/or Non-Binary Body as Horror (1932-2001)
Chapter 5.¿Exposure: Queers and the Millennium (1990-2009)
Chapter 6.¿Queer Resistance: Representation and Trump's America (2010-2021)
Chapter 7.¿Catharsis as Revenge
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Abigail Waldron is a queer historian and horror film scholar whose work can be seen on horror sites such as Rue Morgue and Gayly Dreadful. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Summary
Provides an historical look at the queer experiences of the horror genre’s characters, performers, authors and filmmakers. Offering a fresh look at the horror genre’s queer roots, this book documents how diverse stories have provided an outlet for queer people - including transgender and non-binary people - to find catharsis and reclamation.
