[Review] Beyond the Veil: Supernatural Tales of Queer Love.
Beyond the Veil: Supernatural Tales of Queer Love.
A. R. Ward and Jelena Dunato (editors)
Ghost Orchid Press
⅘ Stars
One of the greatest gifts short story collections give readers is the opportunity to discover amazing new voices that would’ve otherwise gone unnoticed. As a long-time reader of horror fiction, coming across a book that features diverse authors always makes me happy. This collection features many types of queer protagonists: trans, asexual, non-binary, gender-fluid, gay, bisexual, and lesbian characters. Being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community means that a lot of people still see us as monsters and freaks; the heteronormative society that we live in makes sure to isolate queer people and make us feel defective. Even though each writer approached this theme of queer isolation in their own way, all of them tapped into those feelings and used them to craft fifteen incredible stories. I struggled to select only my top five stories and offer all of you a closer look into them. Before we jump in, I’d like to make it clear that by no means did I dislike the other works featured in this book. The following highlighted stories are just the ones that resonated the most with me personally.
Together Forever by Evelyn Freeling: Nothing sounds more awful than to be haunted by your abusive partner after they’ve passed away. That is the exact situation our protagonist is in, except nobody knows her famous ex was abusive, and much less that what triggered her ex to commit suicide was the end of their relationship. Is the protagonist really being haunted by her abusive ex, or is she just being haunted by anger and guilt? Even after reading it, I’m still not sure. This story was the perfect mix of wonderful prose and a compelling plot.
Breathe Into This by Kristin Osani: A Reaper will do whatever it takes to collect every person’s last breath for her balloon collection, but her life takes an unexpected turn when she grants a human’s desire to visit Paris. What made me love this one so much was that I could see the Reaper not only falling in love with their partner but also falling in love with being human and discovering the simple pleasures of life.
The Perfect Man by Felix Foote: A college student deals with his heartbreak by sculpting a clay man that resembles his crush, but he had no idea how this would change his life. This was a shorter story that reminded me of R. L. Stine’s books. It could’ve easily been part of the Fear Street series, and I mean that as the highest of compliments. It’s a more playful concept with a twist that, although very predictable, worked well and made for a very entertaining tale.
Resistance by Morgan Melhuish: This story was based on the German invasion and occupation of Belgium during the First World War. Two women that were forced to join a convent due to their sexuality try to find a way to survive when the town they live in is overrun by soldiers. A very heavy tale, it had beautiful descriptions and well-written characters with an absolutely devastating ending. TW: Sexual Assault.
A Wound Full of Teeth by Sam Kyung Yoo: I think the best way to summarize this story is by saying it’s a “wholesome version of Malignant (2021).” A woman struggles with the fact that if her best friend found out her secret they might not want to speak to her ever again, but after a ghost hunting experience goes south she has no choice but to tell the truth. By far this was my favorite story of the whole collection, as it depicts my dream relationship: best friends that have a ghost hunting Youtube show. I’d give everything to read a whole book series about these two, and the author writes great action scenes as well as amazing characters.
Farewell House by Kayla Whittle: The same concept as Night at the Museum (2006), paintings and sculptures come to life after the sunsets. However, the story takes place during the collection’s final night together, as the museum has closed, and they have all been sold to different buyers. In my opinion, this was the most bittersweet tale in the collection and it made me cry a good amount, so consider yourself warned.
