The Gothic has always been a place where marginalized gender expressions and sexualities could be explored—though in the past, this was often either done through deeply buried subtext or in a way that punished transgression and reasserted the prevailing societal norms. Today, however, queer Gothic is one of the most lively and prolific areas of the genre, and many authors are writing stories where queer identities are overt, accepted, and even celebrated. Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, edited by Celine Frohn, collects a whole set of stories that do just that. The anthology came out back in February from Nyx Publishing after raising money through a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Unspeakable collects eighteen stories from contemporary queer writers that draw on the traditional trappings of the Gothic but with a new twist. You’ll see quite a few classic tropes in these stories, particularly haunted houses, deadly monsters, and murders most foul. But many of these tropes are played with and turned on their heads—especially the idea of what it means to be monstrous. And in contrast to the tragic endings you tend to see in early queer Gothic, most of the stories in this collection are quite uplifting and end on a positive note.
My favorite stories in this anthology were the romances. “Hearteater” by Eliza Temple is an adorable tale about Kat, a heart-eating werewolf who takes shelter in the lavish home of Lady Scarlet, the undead victim of a terrible curse. As the two fall in love, they try to warn each other of their monstrousness, but each thinks the other is merely talking about a transgressive sexuality rather than a supernatural state of being. In the end, they learn that none of these things make them monsters. Sam Hirst’s story, “Homesick,” depicts a very sweet romance between two sapphic ghosts who bond over their love of reading and find “home” in each other’s presence. The world-building and ghostly lore that Sam creates for this short story is fascinating and will leave you thinking about it long afterward. There’s also “Taylor Hall” by Jen Glifort, in which a sentient family home does its best to act as wingman for its owner Kit, while Kit struggles to figure out their gender and confess their feelings for their new roommate Emily.
While many of these stories opted for happy endings, there were a few that were genuinely scary and a bit tragic. One of these is “The Moon in the Glass” by Jude Reid, which recalls Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” After Charlotte kills her female lover, she is haunted by images of the moon from that night, filling her with unbearable guilt. Another is Katie Young’s “Quicksilver Prometheus,” in which a young artist, tormented by images of his lover’s death in the war, is driven to dedicate himself body and soul to a deadly work of art. Lastly, there’s “The Ruin” by E. Saxey, which touches on a fear that’s a bit too real: what do you do when you discover someone you love is violent and dangerous? Wolf meets his boyfriend Robin through their shared love of books about the end of the world, but the apocalypse isn’t just a fun thought experiment for Robin—it’s his end goal.
Whether you’re looking for a heartwarming story of ghostly love or a terrifying tale of murder and betrayal, Unspeakable has something for everyone. You can buy the book in paperback or hardcover online and support The Gothic Library in the process using this Bookshop.org affiliate link, or you can buy it in any format (including digital) directly from the Nyx Publishing website. Once you’ve read it, be sure to come back and share your thoughts in the comments!