Dark tales

Queer Fear and Queer Fear II, edited by Michael Rowe (Arsenal)--Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and ghouls mingle with boys and girls in these two collections, featuring over 40 stories that range from scary to erotic.

Daughters of Darkness: Lesbian Vampire Stories and Dark Angels: Lesbian Vampire Stories, edited by Pam Keesey (Cleis)--Sink your teeth into two anthologies of tales ranging from gothic to kinky to futuristic fright, from grrrls, dykes, guys, and transgender authors.

Bending the Landscape: Horror--Original Gay and Lesbian Writing, edited by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel (Overlook)--This anthology features more fantasy and irony than most, in 17 tales that feature sex and scares.

Vampire Vow and Vampire Thrall by Michael Schiefelbein (Alyson)--This well-written (but also blasphemous) duology follows a vampire who once hit on Jesus Christ, then became a bloodsucking monk determined to destroy the priesthood by murder and seduction.

Escape From Fire Island by James H. English (Quirk)--A hilariously campy story that allows you to choose your own ending when zombie drag queens attack Fire Island.

Call of the Dark: Erotic Lesbian Tales of the Supernatural, edited by Therese Szymanski (Bella)--Sexual seduction by vampires and ghosts seems the topic of nearly two dozen tales herein, with lesbian sex mixed into the bloody brew.

Shadows of the Night: Queer Tales of the Uncanny and Unusual, edited by Greg Herren (Southern Tier Editions)--Gay and lesbian psychodrama plays out in short stories involving vampires, murder, zombies, revenge, and--for light book club reading--necrophilia.

The Ghost of Carmen Miranda, and Other Spooky Gay and Lesbian Tales, edited by Julie K. Trevelyan and Scott Brassart (Alyson)--Spirits haunt boys and girls in this collection of spooky stories, many of which contain both chills and laughs.

Grave Passions: Tales of the Gay Supernatural, edited by William J. Mann (Masquerade)--Ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and even elves mix blood and lots of sex in this anthology.

Firelands by Michael Jensen (Alyson)--Gay frontiersmen face a hungry wendigo in this violent novel that erases boundaries.