LGBTQ themes in horror fiction

[4] Influential and controversial entries in the genre include the lesbian vampire novella Carmilla (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu[1][2][3] and The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde, which shocked readers with its sensuality and overtly homosexual characters.

[6] Jenkins also points out what he sees as gay subtext in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), as the titular character wards off other female vampires and claims Jonathan Harker, stating "This man belongs to me!

"[12] Richard Dyer discusses the recurring homoerotic motifs of vampire fiction in his article "Children of the Night", primarily "the necessity of secrecy, the persistence of a forbidden passion, and the fear of discovery.

Zigarovich credits Stryker's work as a catalyst for subsequent queer and trans approaches to Gothic literary analysis, particularly amongst those seeking to reappropriate the maligned imagery of the "unnatural" and variant with regards to gender.

[5] A plethora of more recent horror fiction includes LGBTQ themes, as the genre's focus on the body, desire, and fear places it in a prime position to tackle issues of normativity and social identity.

[18] José Luis Zárate's The Route of Ice and Salt, a groundbreaking 1998 retelling of the voyage of the Demeter in Dracula, brings the subtextual queerness of the novel to the surface by making such themes explicit in his depiction of the ship's captain as gay.

[20] Emily Danforth's 2020 novel Plain Bad Heroines is a gothic story led entirely by queer female main characters, and references numerous other works of horror fiction.

[22] Lee Mandelo's 2021 debut novel Summer Sons explores gender identity and queerness in the subgenre of Southern Gothic, as does his 2024 novella The Woods All Black.