Dystopian Horror Made Real: We’ll Always Be Here is an anthology of LGBTQ+ horror stories of solidarity and strength

 

 

We’ll Always Be Here: An Anthology of LGBTQ+ Horror

Edited by James G. Carlson

Gloom House Publishing, 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8286039685

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We are living in dangerous times. ICE has turned into a modern-day Gestapo, raiding homes and yanking immigrants out of their beds to cart them off to detention centers. Scientific organizations such as the National Institute of Mental Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have lost funding, putting a hold on research that could cure diseases and save lives. And a war criminal has been applauded upon his arrival to America.

 

But the most dangerous thing about living in our country right now is to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community. To be transsexual, homosexual, pansexual, etc. Because the government not only refuses to allow medical care for this marginalized group but it is also trying to erase this group entirely. People in our government don’t accept members of the LGBTQ+ community and they are trying to get rid of them. It is a disturbing and alarming stance the government has taken against the LGBTQ+ community and it has sparked fear, anger, outrage and rebellion among the many people who belong to it.

 

Meanwhile, we turn to literature for escape and possibly even for the imagined forms of revenge we would wish to exact on all the haters. And that’s exactly what readers of the anthology edited by James G. Carlson, We’ll Always Be Here: An Anthology of LGBTQ+ Horror, will find in these stories. From stories of the horrifying reality we have in store if Trump’s quest for power continues to go unchecked to those in the community who are fighting back against hate, these stories will entertain, empower, and delight fans of horror fiction.

 

This anthology starts off strong with “The Ghost Girls of Waterbury” by Rebecca Rowland. So many poor working conditions in the past have led to men and women coming down with a variety of ailments – cancer, mostly – and this story captures that in a dark, disturbing way. I love reading historical horror but this story was also a sad one. Those women were probably never compensated for the illness they all came down with as a result of where they worked.

 

“Night of the Living Fascists” by James G. Carlson was an epic story! With the addition of an alien to this story, I started to wonder if this was a nod to the many conspiracy theories that Trump is an alien. And there’s an intelligent cockroach named Bob! LOL I had to laugh over Musk being a zombie in this story and how one character noted that Musk is “on the dumb side.” The horror of Trump’s vision of how he wants to turn America into a country of blind Republican-worshiping followers was unnerving. That’s definitely an America I would hate to live in! I loved how the band members of the rock group Far Left joined the crusade to stop this alternate future from happening. They are likable characters. I loved how the alien tells the group members, “But you still have some serious struggles ahead. But with people like you in the world, I’m sure humanity will figure it out eventually.” I sure hope so. We can’t let this war of hate against the LGBTQ+ community win.

 

I also enjoyed reading “Mile-High” by Bridgett Nelson. This story is a very good example of how gender is fluid, but also a good reminder that we should never settle when it comes to love. Some people who are heterosexual transition to homosexuality even after their marriage. With me, I was heterosexual when I got married but now, after several years of marriage, I am asexual (I had to learn what this is after struggling with it for years!). Then there are some people who are homosexual and are in the closet and they feel like they should do what they are “supposed to do” and marry a person of the opposite sex just to make everybody happy or to fit in. But denying who they are is wrong and will only lead to a low sense of self-esteem and dejection. It could also create a loveless and poor marriage, as happens in this story. (And, yes, I know there are homosexuals who will marry the opposite sex JUST to have children with them then toss them to the curb with a divorce after those people have “served their purpose.”) So in this story, we see what that kind of suppression does. But I love how this story is written! And I loved the ending too. It’s a great story!

 

“Lackers” by Leo X. Robertson was such a bizarre story! What a weird term for people who are lacking parts of their bodies. But the story itself was so interesting to read! It really pulled me in and I was hooked until the horrifying ending!

 

I also loved the story “It’s Still Here” by Angellique Jordonna. It was so creepy! Her description of the monster is spot on and I was reading the escape scene with bated breath. I LOVED the surprise ending!

 

“Ethan is Following Me” by Michael R. Collins is another great story. It was SO creepy! I love reading ghost stories but this one was really scary. The ending left me surprised and speechless!

 

“Making America Straight Again” by Chisto Healy was such a good story. Warning to readers: There is transphobia in this story. It is a bunch of garbage spouted by MAGA (then again, what else do these supporters of our lying, delusional, racist, rapist, homophobic, transphobic, narcissist thieving president ever spout?). Chisto Healy is one of my favorite writers and this story was another one of his excellent works. As much as the transphobia and the MAGA characters grated my nerves and angered me, I really loved this story. Hopefully this story would make people THINK (although I realize that is too much to ask of MAGA), and just hopefully get people to understand that even if we love someone who is the same sex or even no sex, we’re all human beings who feel and care and want to be accepted.

 

And now for something completely different! That’s what readers are in for when they move on to the next story: “Kimmy Gibbler: Glamour Shot of a Switchblade Romance” by Phrique. I loved reading this script! It was hilarious in addition to horrifying. I loved watching Full House when I was younger (never watched Fuller House), so it was an interesting read. Although I gotta admit that I exclaimed “NOO! Not Michelle!” when I got to that part of the story. Still, the story was funny, surprising, and a uproarious blast to the past! The ending was surprising (though not really, if you paid much attention to the TV show) and I loved how it all came together. The spoofs of the characters were off-the-wall, farcical, and absolutely hysterical, especially the one about Aunt Becky. If only this was something we could watch on the screen! (Except for the part with Michelle. Have mercy!)

 

“Taken Away” by Denver Wheeler was another awesome story! So dark and disturbing. (Can you tell that’s my kinda story to read?) Not only do the characters in this story get lost but they end up WAY off the map where people who are “not infected” should not even be exploring. I get it that they were trying to get to a hospital, but it was like they ended up in some other kind of other dimension when they were at a hospital that just seemed so unusual. Like Mel, I was worried about what would happen to her baby. What a horrifying twist it takes at the end!

 

We’ll Always Be Here is an anthology of LGBTQ+ horror fiction that sends a powerful message to the world, a message that says, “We’re here, we’ve always been here, and we’ll always be here no matter what you try to do to erase us.” We will fight back. We will stand strong. And we’ll continue to write our stories, share our experiences, and create our art whether or not our society or our country will accept it.  

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: This review is entirely voluntary. I purchased a Kindle edition of this book and was not asked to review it by anyone involved in this book’s writing or publication. All opinions and ideas expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Things that Go Bump in Our Bodies: Lupus in Fabula is an Unforgettable Collection of Weird and Surreal Horror

 

Lupus in Fabula

Briar Ripley Page

Cursed Morsels Press, 2025

ISBN-13: 979-8988413868

Ebook, 192 ppg.

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I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Lupus in Fabula by Briar Ripley Page. I know that “lupus” is part of the name “canis lupus,” which is the scientific term for “wolf,” and the wolf is my favorite animal, but I didn’t know how a wolf would factor here. Apparently, “fabula” means “a traditional tale,” but these tales are far from traditional.

 

In fact, the title story is not your traditional “wolf” story and I absolutely loved how the author chose to portray the wolf here, along with a REAL wolf!

 

There is a nice mix of speculative and slipstream fiction in this book. It also offers a variety of characters, some who are straight or gay, some who are rich or poor, the outcasts and the misunderstood.

 

Here are my comments on some of the stories which I really enjoyed reading:

 

“Swallow Me (W)hole” was such a bizarre story. In some ways, I think I figured out what was happening, but maybe not. My take is that it was cosmic horror. The ending was a big surprise!

 

“The Witch’s Wife” was another story I really enjoyed reading. The love and devotion between the witch and her wife was beautiful and everything that happened with them was so tragic and sad.

 

As I read the story “The Holy Incubus of West Virginia,” I couldn’t help but think that the creature in the story is not what the character thinks it is. From the description, the creature sounds like a Mothman. The character thinks it’s an angel. But I was back to thinking it was a Mothman when the character’s first question to the creature was, “Did you make the bridge collapse?” Plus, it’s set in West Virginia. But, eh, who knows. I just kept reading to find out.

 

“Desire in the Flooded World” was such a good story, too. I liked how, despite after a natural disaster such as flooding, life went on for everybody. Even after cities are underwater. And how people are working and loving while living in a city struck by a natural disaster. I loved the way this story was told, and how the different POVs had me putting the puzzle pieces together at the end.

 

“Gorgonland” is another good story in this book. At first, I was a little confused by the constant dust, but the constant appearance of a stone Medusa as well as the mention of an exotic land helped me to realize what was happening with our young lover.

 

I also liked “The Mood After All” because it was such an interesting twist on the zombie trope. It’s a zombie story without being a zombie story!

 

The title story was my absolute favorite story. It is a strange werewolf story. Readers need a strong stomach and open mind to read this story. And, remember, it’s fiction! No real animals or people were actually hurt!

 

Lupus in Fabula is an unforgettable collection of stories ranging from the tragic to the unsettling, the mundane to the bizarre. It takes readers along an imaginative and otherworldly journey of stories capturing a variety of characters struggling to make sense of things. Told through the lens of horror and surrealism, these stories will leave a lasting impression on readers that maybe it’s better to leave the things we don’t know or understand to the mysterious other.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

 

Meanwhile, Back at the Haunted Ranch: Midnight Mother is a Creepy Story of Broken Promises, Unexplained Horrors and Shocking Family Secrets

 

Midnight Mother

Desiree Horton

Baynam Books Press, 2024

ISBN-10: 1917885725

ISBN-13: 978-1917885720

Ebook, 329 ppg.

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Leda remembers the last night living in her home with her mother and siblings very well. She remembers the shock, terror and horror of it all, the terrible news the family received that night, and how that was the very last time her family was an actual family. Since her mother was found with her own fingers chewed off, she was institutionalized, while Leda and her brother, Sam, were separated, with Leda going into the foster care system. So she is not all that broken up or distraught when, years later, she receives the news that her mother – “Midnight Mother” as she had called her – is dead. In this gripping and terrifying novel, Midnight Mother by Desiree Horton, Leda must return to the house of horrors she and her brothers lived in to clean it up and prepare it for sale – but Leda is haunted by horrifying memories from her past, so it’s not a task she is looking forward to!

 

And add to this the fact that strange, supernatural experiences keep happening to Leda on her way to this town, as well as while at her mother’s service, and it’s a perfect storm of terror and shock!

 

Unfortunately, Leda is the only person these very strange things are happening to. That is, until she reunites with Sam. Also coincidentally, she’s the only member of the family who one day ended up at the bottom of the family mine in a nest of baby snakes (unscathed!) and with strange dreams linked to that experience ever since.

 

When Leda returns to her old stomping grounds, she discovers that she has some very real problems to contend with: Being around a brother that hates her and an aunt not only suspicious of her but convinced that Leda might as well be the antichrist. It is only Vincent, Sam’s boyfriend, who is there to constantly break the ice and act as mediator between the siblings. I LOVED the character Vincent! He is so likable and endearing. He withholds judgment of everyone and tries to keep the peace in situations he is in.

 

As to Leda, I totally understood her nervousness and anxiety at being back at the old homestead. My family was constantly moving around, so there’s really no place I could call “home” from my past, but I too had some dark experiences in my past (mostly from my dad and younger brother!), so I get it. I do. Once that sort of thing is survived, there’s no going back. I mean, yes, those dark memories are recounted in therapy, but going back to where it all happened? No thanks. Hard pass.

 

What I didn’t understand, though, was the whole mystery surrounding the snake symbolism in the story. Sure, there are hundreds of myths, legends and symbolic interpretations attached to the snake, but I was trying to figure out what role this symbolism played in the story.

 

So I kept reading, and a bit at a time, some answers were revealed. But that wasn’t what kept me reading this story. What kept me reading was how terrifying this story was. So much weird and scary stuff kept happening. I wanted to find out what happened next, and if the characters in those scenes would survive those terrifying things! The story had me on the edge of my seat as I kept reading chapter after chapter.

 

I also understood Sam trying to constantly remain the skeptic despite all the crazy things that kept happening. Even the things that actually TERRIFIED him. It’s like, if he didn’t give that stuff a single ounce of belief that it was supernatural, it wasn’t real or that it would go away. But I think this was his defense mechanism, considering the kind of childhood he had when he lived with his mother.

 

There were indeed some VERY terrifying things taking place in this story! So much so that, when I did reach the end, I couldn’t believe the horrifying and thrilling story I had just read! After I finished reading it, I exclaimed, “This book is awesome!!” It really is.

 

Midnight Mother is a horrifying story of unresolved family disputes and a haunting legend as old as the earth itself. With constant thrills and chills, this novel will keep readers on the edge of their seats and sleeping with their lights on!

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.