A while ago, while running an informal space for queer writers, we had a discussion about genre and expression of queer experiences. We all struggled, in one way or another, to find words to express our lives. This is something that is spoken about – the dominance in all societies of cis-gender heteronormative structures that renders marginalised voices invisible (you can read about this in the work of theorists such as Michel Foucault and Judith Butler). I’m reticent when it comes to prose that evokes fear, sometimes laden with gore – although not all horror writing takes this approach of course.
Stories that I have read that left me with a sense of dread and horror are few, as I rarely read the genre. But if I had to pick, it would be Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes – I read it when young and was terrified by it. Recently I read a short story by Helen Grant called “The Professor of Ontography” (in an anthology called In These Hallowed Halls) which has stayed with me. I still think about the story, what it means and why it has stayed with me. Other than the pacing, structure and accomplished prose, there are also familiar themes that I identified with. This drew me in as I was left to imagine what it would be like to be these characters.
When I wrote the stories in Hell’s Breakroom I wanted to explore the following:
- intersectional identities (see my story “All You Need is Blood”)
- body dysmorphia (see my story “Unleashed” for example)
- traditional family structures vis a vis queer lives and timeline (see Jack Halberstam) (in my story “Gimme Helter Shelter”)
- and the transformation of folklore through reconfiguring historical story-telling (my story called “Amor Vincit Omnia” – the hardest to write, and the least successful, I feel, in terms of character-driven prose).
What was difficult was to harm characters or even frighten them. As a result, there is much more I can experiment with in the genre. I already have many more unsettling stories planned.
Let me know if you are a queer writer who is also exploring the horror genre. It would be interesting to learn how you are pushing the boundaries of the genre.
Wishing everyone a wonderful and creative weekend,
Love Olivia and Bailey
O. S. King 