Queerness and horror

)this was something I wrote awhile ago for college, its pretty bad but the ties between queer and horror is so tasty to my brain so I thought i'd post it on here incase anyone wanted to read or add more examples or their own opinions :))(

Queer Themes in Horror: Freaks and Outcasts

Frequently, the themes of horror are said to emulate the anxieties of the times. For example, during the height of the first wave of the covid pandemic in 2020, the movies contagion, world war Z, and 28 days later saw an increase in popularity in streaming sites. Likewise, following the financial crash in 2008, when people lost their houses, there was an increase in horror movies featuring families being driven out of their homes by ghosts. Perhaps, reflecting the haunting nature, previous ill-advised borrowing caught up with people, leading to housing loss. Horror stories have been a big part of society for thousands of years, used as cautionary tales and filled to the brim with folklore and community. Anxiety around queerness has long been prevalent within society, often driven by fear of otherness and the potential threat to heteronormative and conservative ways of life. This essay aims to explore the themes of queerness within horror.

On the one hand, horror can represent queerness in a negative and frightening light. Yet, many within the horror community are queer. Although this may seem like a coincidence, when you look back at history, horror is queer. And Horror stories have arguably been used as a form of queer expression, a place where they can almost find representation even when it is not acceptable to be openly so. 

 The original meaning of the word queer is strange and peculiar. It became a slur against the LGBT+ community as they did not fit the usual social standards. Queer has been used by those in the community for years becoming a political identity. Many now find the word to be empowering. However, when we look at the original meaning, its use is deeply tied to horror. Early stories focused on the queer in its original sense, the strange and the peculiar. In the context of this work, the term queer is used in descriptions that exist in horror that may represent LGBTQ+ themes. Characters or behaviours that may indicate this, such as transgender experiences, same-sex attraction or differences to heteronormativity. 

Heteronormative is a term used to describe how society views heterosexuality as the norm, and the typical associate behaviours, as default. It also enforces the gender being described as two sexes only, the binary. And the idea of a nuclear family is ideal; Made up of a mother and father with set gender roles and children as the ideal.  

The concept of othering is used a lot in horror. This is because many fear what they cannot understand. The process is used against many marginalized groups, for example, queer, disabled and People of Colour(POC). It is used to make these groups feel abnormal and make those who fit what society and heteronormative values feel superior. In horror, the monsters are often othered in similar ways to encourage empathy with the heroes. The reason why queer people feel connected to horror stories may be explained by this. The old tales of the monsters in the closet bring stark parallels of how often queer people describe themselves as being "in the closet". 

Horror typically takes the fear that people hold—the fear of the supernatural, the unknown, the others. Witches are one of the most well-known creatures used in cautionary tales for children. The most notable case of witchcraft is the Salem Witch Trials. Many accused of witchcraft were lesbians themselves. Thought to be controlled by Satan to explain their attraction to women. People worried they might "influence" other women to become the same, upsetting the status quo.  

The horror film The Craft is prevalent among the queer community. It centres around four teenage girls being outsiders, practising witchcraft and finding a community through this. Though it is not explicit in the story, some circles interpret this as a coming-of-age film about queer identity. The love these girls share becomes incredibly dark as witchcraft starts destroying their lives to the point three of the girls must stop witchcraft altogether. The one who continues practising gets sent to a psychiatric ward. Drawing parallels to what happened to many queer people in the past. The film came out at a time when a law similar to the British section 28 was in place in America. Section 28 enforced schools not to "promote" homosexuality; many interpret this movie to be commenting on that law. Due to the context surrounding witches, lesbians being accused of witchcraft, and many queer people being classed as mentally ill for years and sent to psychiatric wards. It is obvious why many queer people identify with the film. 

Just as there as associations between witches and lesbians, comparison between vampires and pansexuality. Vampires have always had fluid sexuality. The first known novel featuring vampires is Carmilla, which predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by 26 years, and is about a female vampire with a lust for women. Vampires have shown pansexuality with no set boundaries on the gender of their "victims." Their attraction comes from blood, and their feeding on their victims are described as mutually pleasurable to vampires and victims alike. Written descriptions hint at a strong, sexual element to this process. Bram Stoker's Dracula has always had a significant homoerotic sub-text that has been a topic of debate for many years. It is speculated that Bram Stoker was queer himself. His marriages are described as "sexless". Letters he's written to the author Walt Whitman read like love letters. In his novel, Dracula has a desire for Jonathan Harker. In the book, Dracula insists on attempting to seduce Jonathan himself rather than allowing female vampires to do the same, proclaiming that Jonathan is his. 

In this way, vampires are a direct threat to heteronormativity and how their life cycles work. A Vampire is created, not birthed. The only way a vampire dies is to be killed using certain weapons. This is contrary to the idea that nuclear families hold. There is no clear gender role. These beings do not die; they do not need to create a family to carry on their lineage. The idea of this may strike fear in those who fit in a heteronormative society. However, it also gives space to people who do not fit this mould to tell stories about their desires without punishment. Those who are not queer may not notice the subtext of the fluidity of sexuality in these novels, which create safety to tell these stories. When these novels moved to the screen, many could use this subtext to get around the Hay's Code. A self-imposed industry guideline that prohibited many themes from being used in cinema, including homosexuality. In cinema more recently, we see vampires defying gender binaries too.

"Let the Right One In" is a horror film following the story of a young boy, Oskar, and a vampire Eli. Eli becomes a vampire as a child, eternally trapped as one, befriends Oskar. As the film progresses, these children form a bond, and Oskar asks Eli to "go steady" with him. Eli's response to this was that they were "not a girl, not a boy(...)nothing." Oskar does not mind this. In the book the film is based on, the writer switches between he and she pronouns for Eli, hinting at a non-binary identity. The character of Eli being transcoded created a space where trans people were able to read and watch characters like themselves openly.  

A further example from horror, which challenges heteronormative values, is the mad scientist trope. This trope has always been non-conforming to heteronormative standards. It is often a man filling the role of what may be seen as a mother's, creating life. The trope is interpreted in two ways, the desire for motherhood and making the thing you desire. The most famous example of this is Frankenstein. People speculate that Mary Shelly herself may have been bisexual. There are records of her attraction towards women, although she married a man. She was well-known to be queer in the sense of her non-conformity, losing her virginity on her mother's grave and carrying around a piece of her dead husband's heart. So, it is not hard to interpret Frankenstein as a writing of her own internalized guilt towards her queerness. Frankenstein creates a man he desires, and violence then comes from it. Frankenstein's monster is a victim of a judgmental society and villainized by the community surrounding them. It is understandable as to why many queer people relate to this topic. James Whale, the director of Frankenstein, was an openly gay man, and he draws on this subtext a lot in his work. When Bride of Frankenstein was released, many believe Whale depicts the pressure of heterosexual marriage. The bride is born only to satisfy Frankenstein and has no other desires.  

In The Rocky Horror Picture Show, they lean into the queerness of the mad scientist trope. With Tim Curry playing a transvestite coming from a place in space called transsexual Transylvania. The play and film became a cult classic filled with campy and over-the-top characters. Curry's character, Frank N. Furter, is a parody of Frankenstein. However, they draw attention to this mad scientist's desire for their creation. Frank N. Furter dressed in clothes considered unsuited for their gender and showing the idea that the mad scientist wants to fill the role of mother.  

Camp and over-the-top characters are something that horror thrives in; The melodramatic characters in slasher films like Friday the 13th and the absurd comedy in characters like Freddy Krueger. In a society where people are often criticized for showing these kinds of love for drama and the idea of camp, horror became a place where queer people were able to enjoy it without fear of ostracization. 

Horror has always hinted at the idea of one's forced choice or decision to hide parts of themselves. In the film Carrie it shows in the form of her religious mother going as far as to lock Carrie in a closet, which many queer people resonate with. The concept of werewolves draws heavily on this with tales of man turning into this creature they keep hidden to terrorize or turn people in the village. Werewolves have often been used in homophobic narratives to imply that queer people are threatening violence against the community and keep their otherness hidden, the fear that anyone in the community could be queer.  

It is hard to look at the history of the horror genre without acknowledging its ties with being queer. Both as a means of caution against deviating from the norm and how queer people have used the genre to tell stories of their repressed feelings and desires. This is a demonstration of art that allows expression in a hidden and safe form, particularly in periods where self-expression and non-conformity are restricted and can carry heavy consequences, varying from social ostracization, incarnation, and ultimately even death.