Feeling frightful? 🎃
BY ELEANOR NOYCE, IMAGE BY PEXELS/COLE KEISTER
Boo! The spooky season is upon us. It’s no secret that us queer people love Halloween. From the crisp turn of the autumn leaves to the cosiness of pumpkin spiced lattes, we’re obsessed with everything about this time of year. It’s just so much cosier, right?
As the evenings get shorter and the dark slips in, battening down the hatches and snuggling up on the sofa with a pile of Halloween watches has never felt more appealing. From the camp to the overtly queer, here are our favourite spooky TV series and movies to stream.
The Midnight Club (2022)
Fresh from Mike Flanagan and Leah Fong – the masterminds behind The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor – The Midnight Club is set inside a hospice for mentally ill teenagers. As an exclusive club forms, its members make a chilling pact: the first to die must send a sign from beyond the grave. With two LGBTQIA characters, the producers are continuing their queer storyline streak. Dani and Jamie stans: this is one for you.
Stream on: Netflix
What We Do In The Shadows (2019-)
Is there anything more camp than vampires? Evidently, not. A mockumentary-style comedy horror, What We Do In The Shadows follows the hilarious adventures of four vampires living in Staten Island: Nandor The Relentless, Nadja, Laszlo and Colin, the infamous energy vampire. Nadja’s outfits are the star of this show: think fangs, black parasols and huge skirts. In the words of Lazlo: “Gay is in, gay is hot, I want some gay, gay it’s gonna be.”
Stream on: Disney+
Stranger Things (2016-)
No Halloween listicle would be complete without Stranger Things. Robin Buckley is one of our favourite onscreen queer characters, and Will Byers equally looks set for a queer-focused storyline in season four. Plus, we’ve all read those fan theories about Eddie, Steve and Nancy all being bi. I mean, it would make sense, right?
Stream on: Netflix
Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
Horror fans, this one is for you. Featuring Sadie Sink, Olivia Scott Wench, Kiana Madeira, Maya Hawke and more, the Fear Street Trilogy has a fiercely female-led cast. Drawing on horror, slasher and supernatural, this isn’t for the faint-hearted. Placing Deena and Sam’s lesbian love story at its heart, this is an all-time fave.
Stream on: Netflix
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
It isn’t Halloween without The Rocky Horror Picture Show. This musical comedy horror will always have a special place in our hearts, holding poignant meaning for the LGBTQIA community. Judith A. Peraino famously compared Brad and Janet’s initiation into Frank N. Furter’s world to the self-discovery of queer identity, and historically, members of the LGBTQIA community have comprised a huge element of Rocky Horror’s cult following.
Stream on: Hulu, Disney+ or ESPN+
Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice might not have any overtly queer themes, but it’s camp, to say the least. Lydia’s red wedding dress, Beetlejuice’s black and white pinstripe suit? Camp! An early Tim Burton film, this one is essential viewing for any and all goths. It’s weird; it’s out there, but it’s Halloween in a nutshell.
Stream on: Amazon Prime
First Kill (2022)
First Kill was infamously cancelled after just one season, but we’ll forever be indebted to its queer representation. Following the difficult love story of high schoolers Juliette and Calliope, the teens learn that they’re derived – Romeo and Juliet style – from the opposing camps of vampire and vampire hunter. Both ready to make their first kill, this makes for an interesting, spook-tacular watch.
Stream on: Netflix
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