horror – Live Laugh Love Do

Our Most Anticipated Queer Books for October 2025

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 09:21:52 +0000

[ad_1]

At last, it’s October, the month that often brings my favorite lineup of queer and trans books because of all the horror offerings! The top picks this month are looking especially enticing, so let’s dive right in, shall we? As always, if there’s anything we didn’t shout out that you think deserves our anticipation, let us know in the comments!

Autostraddle’s Top Most Anticipated LGBTQ Books for October 2025

Uncanny Valley Girls: Essays on Horror, Survival, and Love, by Zefyr Lisowski (October 7, Essays)

So these first two on the list —both out today —are hands down the books I’m most excited about this month! From Zefyr Lisowski comes this collection of essays that mix theory, memoir, and cultural criticism in their exploration of intimate personal narrative and horror cinema. Absolutely for fans of Horror Is So Gay! I can’t wait to devour this one. Let’s go, horror queers!

Herculine, by Grace Byron (October 7, Horror)

But I’m equally excited for this trans horror novel featuring a trans girl narrator haunted by sleep paralysis demons and shitty exes. To escape a malevolent force, she runs away to rural Indiana, where her ex-girlfriend runs an all-trans girl commune in the woods named after 19th-century intersex memoirist Herculine Barbin. Spend horror month with this novel! I certainly will be doing so.

The Natural Order of Things, by Donika Kelly (October 7, Poetry)

AND we get new Donika Kelly poetry this month?! I loved The Renunciations, and I can’t wait for more from one of my favorite living queer poets.

All Girls Be Mine Alone, by Sophie Strohmeier (October 14, Literary Fiction, Novella)

Set in Vienna, this novella features an unnamed lesbian narrator whose friendship with her high school classmate Joachim deteriorates over their rivalry over his girlfriend. The book is about a group of opera-obsessed music students who accidentally summon the spirit of an excommunicated monk. It sounds like an ideal mix of erotics and horror — in other words, extremely up my alley.

Little F, by Michelle Tea (October 14, Memoir)

New Michelle Tea?! New Michelle Tea! From the iconic queer author —whose Valencia remains a standout fixture in the lesbian literary canon —comes this new Feminist Press novel about a queer runaway on a cross-country journey of self-discovery. It’ll definitely be a welcome addition to our queer road trip book list.

Veal, by Mackenzie Nolan (October 14, Horror)

The publisher copy describes this as a mix of Twin Peaks and Dykes To Watch Out For, and I am INTRIGUED. The novel is about Delores “Lawrence” Franklin, who has a meltdown at her corporate job and then moves to Mistaken Point, a place known for murdered girls. While at her part-time arcade job, Lawrence meets Francesca “Franky” Delores (are you catching the name mirroring?!), who convinces Lawrence there’s a monster in town and that they should link up to hunt it down.

Local Heavens, by K.M. Fajardo (October 14, Fantasy, Horror)

An anti-capitalist, dystopian, cyberpunk, queer retelling of The Great Gatsby? Sign me the hell up!

This Is the Only Kingdom, by Jaquira Díaz (October 21, Literary Fiction)

Brilliant memoirist Jaquira Díaz puts out her debut novel, about Maricarmen, who encisions a life beyond her small community and many jobs in Caserío, Puerto Rico after meeting Rey El Cantante, a musician on the rise. The novel time-jumps ahead 15 years to when Maricarmen and her daughter Nena find themselves swept up in a murder investigation. The sweeping novel covers family, sexual identity, generational grief, mother/daughter dynamics, and more.

Girl Dinner, by Olivie Blake (October 21, Horror)

There are multiple queer characters at the heart of this campus-set sorority horror with a touch of cannibalism.

And now enjoy the rest of our most anticipated LGBTQ books for October 2025!

October 7

Her Wicked Roots, by Tanya Pell (Horror)

This horror-fantasy novel presents a queer retelling of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Rappaccini’s Daughter.” In it, protagonist Cordelia is on the run following the disappearance of her brother Edward and eventually seeks employment at the estate of a botanist named Lady Evangeline.

Crafting for Sinners, by Jenny Kiefer (Horror)

Protagonist Ruth is trapped in her tiny religious town in Kentucky. She’s living in the closet and paycheck-to-paycheck. When her queerness is discovered, she’s fired from the church-run craft store she works at called New Creations. And when she tries to get revenge, she’s brutally attacked and trapped in the store, where she has to use crafting supplies to fight her way out, all the while learning terrifying new secrets about the church that runs this town.

Cinder House, by Freya Marske (Fantasy, Novella)

A queer Gothic retelling of Cinderella, Cinder House tells the story of Ella, a girl murdered at 16 whose ghost is trapped in her father’s house. She’s only visible to her stepmother and stepsisters. Yes, it’s a queer twist on Cinderella AND a ghost twist on Cinderella!

The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder, by Kiri Callaghan (Fantasy)

Here’s a cozy supernatural fantasy-mystery about a world where Fey live among humanity in secret but a rise in supernatural crime threatens to reveal their secrets.

Vampires at Sea, by Lindsay Merbaum (Horror, Novella)

What if a vampire couple went on a queer cruise! In this novella, you’ll find out! Apparently the genre is more accurately horror-comedy.

The Salvage, by Anbara Salam (Historical Fiction)

In 1962, a Victorian shipwreck is uncovered, and marine archaeologist Marta is convinced she saw a ghostly figure among the wreckage. She forms a close relationship with a local woman on the small island of the coast of Scotland where she has been summoned to investigate the discovery. Things progressively get eerier.

All of Us Murderers, by KJ Charles (Mystery)

A Gothic drama with a murder mystery and a queer love story, All of Us Murderers takes place in a fancy remote manor where Zeb Wyckham has been summoned by family he’d prefer to remain estranged from.

QUEERS AT THE TABLE: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food, edited by Alex D Ketchum and Megan J Elias (Nonfiction)

This anthology of essays, comics, and recipes combines queer food history and actual recipes for things you can make at your next queer dinner party. It would make a great hosting gift to the member of your friend group who throws the best soup nights. (Hint, hint —someone should give ME this book!)

Five Star White Trash: A Memoir of Fraud and Family, by Georgiann Davis (Memoir)

This intersex memoir sounds like the antidote to H*llbilly El*gy.

October 14

The Keeper of Magical Things, by Julie Leong (Fantasy)

Here’s a tale of many mages, some of them lesbians! I do prefer when mages are lesbians in literature. And this sounds like a sweet fantasy novel about friendship and more.

My Lips, Her Voice, by L.L. Madrid (Speculative Fiction)

Audrey and Mara inherit a haunting gift from their grandmother who was tormented by visions. One day, Mara’s body is found in the town’s old mine, and her spirit returns seeking vengeance and also reconciliation with her ex-girlfriend Zadie. Sounds like a wild and weird one, which is absolutely a compliment!

Minor Black Figures, by Brandon Taylor (Literary Fiction)

The author of novels The Late Americans and Real Life is BACK, this time with a novel about Wyeth, a painter tho meets Keating, a former seminarian. Set in the cutthroat art world and contending with spirituality, friendship, relationships, art and identity, and more, Minor Black Figures is sure to be another Brandon Taylor banger.

October 21

When They Burned the Butterfly, by Wen-Yi Lee (Fantasy)

Here’s a queer adult fantasy set in Singapore in 1972 and centered on loner schoolgirl Adeline Siow, who can summon flame in her fingertips.

The Isle in the Silver Sea, by Tasha Suri (Fantasy)

Stay tuned for an Autostraddle review of this standalone sapphic romantasy release that combines medieval folklore with adventure and romance.

Crawl: Stories, by Max Delsohn (Short Stories)

One thing about me? I’m always going to urge you to read more queer and trans short fiction. This story collection explores trans life in Seattle in the 2010s, featuring a cast of transmasc characters.

October 28

Cry, Voidbringer, by Elaine Ho (Fantasy)

This is a high fantasy saga set in a dystopian world and featuring multiple main characters who are queer.

Hazelthorn, by C.G. Drews (YA Horror)

Encounter botanical body horror and murder in this queer YA horror-fantasy.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

[ad_2]

The “Alien: Earth” terror we can’t unsee

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 19:14:45 +0000

[ad_1]

Among the many strange biological wonders Charles Darwin observed in his time, one haunted him above all. “‘The eye, to this day, gives me a cold shudder,” he admitted in a letter to an American colleague, “but when I think of the fine known gradations, my reason tells me I ought to conquer the cold shudder.”

Whether the father of evolution overcame his fear is a mystery, but if he felt that way about the eyeball, his first sight of Trypanohyncha Ocellus, the “Alien: Earth” creature known as the eye midge, might have given him a heart attack. Our first look at it made my skin crawl, too, after I reflexively shielded my face.

Noah Hawley’s speculative future is set more than two and a half centuries after “On the Origin of Species” was first published, a not-too-distant future in which humankind has taken to space and expanded its colonialist hunger to conquer other planets and species. The eyeball monster was among the captive cargo on a research vessel, the Maginot, commissioned by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the “Alien” franchise’s main corporate villain.

Its scientists also captured a xenomorph, whose moves we know all too well. The titular alien is fast, has razor-sharp teeth and a whip-like tail capable of impaling its victims. On the off chance that an adversary pierces its tough exoskeleton, they risk being injured if not outright dissolved by the creature’s highly concentrated acidic blood.

(FX) The “eye midge” in “Alien: Earth”

Terrifying as that is, the eye midge manages to be scarier. Start with its resemblance to an eye that’s been knocked out of a skull — identical to a human eyeball, until it displays a carousel of irises. It’s also highly intelligent and fast, propelling itself via slick tentacles like a bloody octopus.

What makes it slither through our nightmares is its means of conquering lesser life forms, described in a research log left behind on the Maginot, the doomed vessel carrying the creature until Weyland-Yutani’s business rival, Prodigy, absconded with it:

The tentacles carry extraordinary strength and are built to climb into and dislodge the eyes of other living organisms. Once replaced in the eye socket, T. Ocellus takes over the ocular pathways to the brain, overriding the neurotransmissions throughout the body.

In other words, it rips out its victims’ eyes and hotwires their brains, all while they’re alive to scream through the agony.

“Alien: Earth” sees our robot future

As any seasoned horror movie fan can attest, few frights are as reliably nauseating as eyeball trauma. Darwin’s confessed heebie-jeebies about the unmolested eye hints that this response is related to something primal. Long before humans studied anatomy, all it took was a stiff wind and some dust to figure out that our eyes are sensitive and susceptible to damage. They’re also full of jelly, wet, and can be rheumy, making them a go-to target in lurid nasties directed by the likes of Lucio Fulci, 1970s horror’s Leonardo da Vinci of ocular abuse.

A saner, scientific view hails the eye as the second most complex organ in our bodies. Primacy belongs to the brain, which dedicates around half of its resources to processing visual information; hence, vision’s intimate relationship to emotion and intuition. Few body parts are romanticized in song and literature or studied to ascertain someone’s true intentions.

(FX) Victoria the sheep and the “eye midge” in “Alien: Earth”

Sheep, though, are hard to read. In the fourth episode, “Observation,” Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) and Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant) release the eyeball creature into a tank with one such gentle beast (named Victoria in real life) and watch as it slaughters her before taking control of her neural system.

Sheep are simultaneously fluffy and unsettling owing to their perpetual smirk. This evolutionary gift adds a clammy disquiet to the eye-jacked livestock, which never rests and is constantly evaluating its captors and fellow captives. While Kirsh and his Hybrid assistant Isaac (Kit Young) study them, the eye midge devises its own experiment that ends up killing someone. Conclusion: Humans are easily distracted.

We need your help to stay independent

Subscribe today to support Salon’s progressive journalism

In a 2022 episode of the podcast “Your Weirdest Fears,” Northwestern University professor David Tolchinsky peeled the transgressive nature of eyeball horror down to a basic dread of annihilation.

“We’ve heard the expression eyes are the windows to the soul,” he said, “and if your eyes are destroyed, there is that fear of being obliterated.” People who aren’t sighted may have a different interpretation to offer, he adds, before throwing in the theory that eye horror is usually intermingled with some sexual psychological desire. In “Oedipus Rex,” Tolchinsky reminds listeners, the mythical hero reacts to the realization that he’s been sleeping with his mother by gouging out his eyes.

(FX) “Alien: Earth”

Sexuality isn’t overt but symbolized in “Alien: Earth,” and the rest of the franchise, through the xenomorphs’ unmistakably phallic and vaginal design, reflecting the species’ reproductive overdrive. These violative space abominations force embryos down their victims’ throats to gestate inside their guts before bursting through their torsos. T. Ocellus takes another route, attacking the openings on its prey’s faces with the most direct route to their guidance systems. One views humans as walking wombs, the other as meat vehicles. They may also be natural enemies, since the eyeball monster lacks a mouth and xenomorphs don’t have peepers.

Humans are constantly revising their assessments of other beings’ intelligence while arrogantly presuming our superior sentience, with the world’s billionaires placing themselves above everyone else. But as the movies and this show keep proving, our estimation of our supposed genius is probably overblown. As Boy Kavalier’s adviser, Atom (Adrian Edmondson), warns him, all it takes to bring the world to its knees is for one of these specimens to escape.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

The Prodigy CEO doesn’t want to hear that: “Oh, if only you could talk!” he whines to the space sheep after it demonstrates that it comprehends what he’s saying — that, and nothing more — punctuated by taking a giant dump on the floor of its enclosure. Darwin was right to be unsettled by the human version of the eye, but at least we can read them. As “Alien: Earth” skitters toward its season finale, it’s clear that this being intends to do worse than its sheepish gaze lets on.

Debating whether the eye midge is more dangerous than one of the greatest monsters in film, then, is less provocative than considering the newer adversary’s motivations. Decades’ worth of movies establish what the xenomorphs want, while the deadly eyeball’s motives and full capabilities remain murky. But in the franchise’s ongoing parable of mankind’s hubris, the all-seeing enigma in “Alien: Earth” adds another reason to make us shudder.

New episodes of “Alien: Earth” debut Tuesdays on FX and Hulu.

about the “Alien” universe

The post The “Alien: Earth” terror we can’t unsee appeared first on Salon.com.

[ad_2]