Since Halloween is tomorrow, I thought we'd do something a little different. There are tons of books out that have a supernatural flavor which feature characters with a queer bent. There is a cottage industry on Amazon about werewolves. There are books out there with angels, not fallen, who express some level of desire. Plenty of books featuring magic and thus wizards and witches. And of course there are the vampires.
Vampires have become all the rage thanks to a terrible series targeting teenage girls. However, Anne Rice had some very sexually ambiguous characters starting with Interview with a Vampire. Louis de Pointe du Lac was one of the lovers of the Vampire Lestat. Many of the vampires in the Vampire Chronicles are bisexual or simply open sexually. I happen to have read only the first three books of the Vampire Chronicles and part of Memnoch the Devil.
My favorite series from Ms. Rice is the Mayfair Witches. The Witching Hour is explores the history of a family from Scottish roots, through France, to time in Haiti, and finally in New Orleans. And there is a very prominent queer member of the Mayfair line. Julien Mayfair was bisexual and in many respects a monster. Powerful, wealthy, and handsome he got everything he wanted. Everything. Several of the female witches had some bisexual experiences. Anne Rice has no problem with expressing sexual attractions or relationships. (See her Sleeping Beauty series if you have any doubts!)
There is a vampire series written by Michael Schiefelbein featuring Victor Decimus, a Roman Officer from the time of Christ. What is fascinating is that the author studied for the priesthood for ten years. Vampire Thrall, the first book I read, is set in a monastery in Italy. Victor is tormented by who he is and what he has done, but that doesn't mean he won't continue to do things. The author's history infuses the books with religious overtones. I must admit you practically smell the dank dust in the monastery and feel the damp coolness that gets bone deep. Such settings really make the series work on several levels.
I won't lie, but tons of vampire literature has erotic overtones. Some more subtle than others. David Thomas Lord has such a series starting with Bound in Blood. The star of this show is Jack Courbet, another French vampire, and one with a major issue with his family. One of the great features of this book is how Jack describes his need to feed every three days. He starts to smell and look bad after a time without blood. A gay vampire spelling out how he needs to look good in order to seduce the unwilling. There isn't much new here and the character is shallow, but he didn't want to be a vamp and that is where the family issues come to play.
For me, I read Dracula when I was twelve, so vampires have certain engrained traits. I don't mind some deviation that is what myths and legends are for: there are unknowns to what scares us. But don't give me emo sparkle crap for a vampire. I can take a doormat like Louis as a vampire or a rock star like Lestat, but not the Twilight vamps.
There are tons of books, again about witches, werewolves, vamps, angels, and many other supernatural creatures that have GLTB themes. It is about the 'other' in society, the outcast. It makes those characters ours in a sense. But there is one last writer I want to mention: Douglas Clegg.
He has written the Vampyricon series that explores the founding of vampires. A nice mix of supernatural elements, I bring Mr. Clegg up because he is a gay writer. But I also bring him up for a book that is the most intriguing take on a great tale. He wrote, Mordred, Bastard Son. That book is definitely one with supernatural elements and a fresh take on some Arthurian tales. I enjoy these types of books the most.
I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween. Please share what books you like that had supernatural elements to them, or a good fright to them. I love a good thriller from time to time. I think I might reread something scary just for Halloween.