It’s a Scream: FRA Recommends LGBTQ+ Halloween Reads

The leaves are changing colour, Autumn has arrived and spooky season is just around the corner with Halloween fast-approaching. With the weather changing, now is a great time to curl up with a good book while the rain pours outside.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community often feel an affinity with Halloween; whether it’s simply the chance to dress up and express yourself in a way that might be less accepted the rest of the year, whether it’s because more drag queens and kings are born at this time of year, or whether it’s a connection with characters and creatures that are othered, there’s often a draw to all things ethereal, witchy or spooky. So, from cosy Autumnal witchy reads and queer mysteries to creeping trans haunted house horrors and unexplained creatures, FRA recommends our pick of LGBTQ+ Halloween reads.

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Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

A Sunday Times Bestseller, Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil is a sapphic vampire tale told across multiple timelines. A twisted tale of power, immortality, love and retribution spanning from 1532 to present-day.

Payback’s a Witch by Lana Harper

A romantic comedy with a magical twist, Payback’s a Witch centres a bisexual witch, Emmy Harlow. The first novel in the Thistle Grove series, Emmy returns to her hometown for a historic tournament between spellbinding families but she is soon drawn back into a history of heartbreak, destroyed dreams, and potential new lusts.

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

Alison Rumfitt’s début novel is a dark, haunted house horror exploring transphobia, trauma, and the real-world horrors of life.

Queens of the Crypt by Dom&Ink

A début graphic novel from illustrator Dom&Ink, this queer coming-of-age tale is perfect for fans of Buffy, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Drag Race.

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars

The first in the ‘Misty Divine Mystery’ series, Holly Stars’ début novel is a drag-centric, witty murder mystery. Agatha Christie meets Drag Race in this tale of secrets and deception, all unravelled your new favourite amateur sleuth, drag performer Misty Divine.

Spoiled Milk by Avery Curran

A YA novel with Sapphic undertones, Spoiled Milk is set in Briarley School for Girls in 1928 where popular girl Violet has fallen unexpectedly to her death. Desperate for answers, Emily and her classmates turn to the spirits but things soon grow darker and more twisted than they could ever have expected.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Grief can do strange things but when mother, Magos, loses her son and cuts out a piece of his lung, it soon grows into an uncontrollable carnivorous creature. This thought-provoking and gory tale is full of queer characters, and is an exploration of love, family, loyalty, acceptance and second chances.

A Queer Case by Robert Holtham

Another whodunnit novel, Robert Holtham’s A Queer Case is a début set in the 1920s at a time when gay people had to keep their identity quiet. Gay man, Selby, is tasked with solving a murder in a mansion near London’s Hampstead Heath without revealing his own secret, lest he be arrested as a criminal. The first in the Selby Bigge mystery series, if you enjoy this novel then you can read A Morbid Passion next.

Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward

Sacha Coward’s Queer as Folklore delves into the depths of myths and legends and the queer history that threads through it. Spanning stories from across cultures and countries, Coward explores our connections as queer people to the intriguing, unique and often othered creatures, monsters and beasts from folk tales.

Arcana: The Lost Heirs by Sam Prentice-Jones

Another graphic novel, The Lost Heirs is the first in a series from Sam Prentice-Jones. This tarot-inspired fantasy explores witchcraft, queer love and chosen family, as the magical group of friends in Arcana must unite to uncover mysteries and break a familial curse.